The Londoner: Stanfords ‘ecstatic’ after crowdfund plea pulls in £95k

Stanfords, London’s iconic travel bookshop, has been “completely overwhelmed” by the response to its crowdfunder, which may save it from going under.  

“We’ve been absolutely flabbergasted,” chief executive Vivien Godfrey told The Londoner, adding that before “we couldn’t see the light at the end of this big, black tunnel”.

Stanfords, which has been trading since 1853, started the page last month, aiming to raise £120,000, which would sustain it until March. It has now raised more than £95,000, with 41 days left to go.  

Ms Godfrey explained that goal was set before lockdown was announced, which made things more difficult as with travel restricted, “demand has just fallen to the floor”.  

“I was feeling even more concerned... extremely depressed and miserable,” she said. But alongside the crowdfunder, news of the Pfizer vaccine has left her, and the industry, “ecstatic”.  

A string of high-profile authors have backed Stanfords. Earlier this year Robert Macfarlane praised it as “both a bookstore and a magic carpet”.

Ms Godfrey added that one benefit of lockdown has been an increase in online orders, as readers have been doing a lot of “armchair travelling”. Soon, we might be able to do the real thing once more.

Stanfords’ crowdfunder can be found here. 

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