Dear Family & Friends,

We want to start off by thanking everyone for the positive words of encouragement and the support that the community has given to us it is greatly appreciated. We. thank U in advance for your contribution to our continued growth and development of Third Eye Books Accessories and Gifts LLC.

2021 was a big year of growth for Third Eye Books Accessories & Gifts LLC. Here's a quick recap of how we started and got here.

October 2020 - We started a fundraiser to help cover expenses with reopening a brick and mortar store. We set a goal of $25,000. With the help of the community we were able to make our goal in February 2021 with final total of $25,055 raised. Thank You

January 2021 - Located space on Craigslist

February 2021 - We signed a one year lease at 2518 SE 33rd Ave

March/April/May - We spent this time remodeling the space that was once an office for a home/office cleaning business that had occupied the space for the past 20 years. We hired and consulted with a local design specialist, a contractor and a painter to help us achieve our "look and feel" at 2518 SE 33rd Ave. In addition, we transferred the books from a back bedroom and storage unit to their final destination, the basement. We purchased new fixtures, business equipment and inventory to ready ourselves for upcoming opening.

June - Grand Opening June 20th - Track and Field 3 Time Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion Tianna Bartoletta (Madison) was a our guest author with her debut book "Survive and Advance." The event was well attended and the community was given the first chance to look inside the store and ask us questions about the process. Our first day of retail business at 2518 SE 33rd Ave was June 22nd 2021 at 10am.

July-December - We hosted over a dozen author/ book related events in this period of time. We had several author book signing events inside and outside the store. We also used this time to connect to local schools, youth agencies and the local literary. We hosted few online zoom events with authors, educators to allow community members to ask questions and listen to authors. A big thanks to all who came to support the store during this time. Although, we didn't keep track of "numbers." I'm willing to bet we had a hundreds of customers from all around the Portland Metro area and across the country. We even had a couple of international visitors!

The Future: As you heard us discuss in our TEDX conversation in the video. We have always wanted to expand our bookstore outside of the brick and mortar storefront. In addition, to address areas that make it easier to access Third Eye Books Accessories & Gifts LLC books and services both inside and outside the store.

Our Plan:

Part One. Create a mobile unit to service The Portland Metro area. We plan to create a good olde fashion bookmobile with a modern twist. A mobile unit is "tried and true" strategy to address literacy concerns in our communities. We have developed a unique strategy to address the lack of diverse reading material for children and families both in school as those who are homeschooling. This plan will allow us bring our carefully curated collections to schools, groups, community events, etc. We started out tabling events as vendors offering books and gifts for sale. This allow us to recapture that feeling of community and hopefully boost literacy efforts in the community.

Part Two: Make 2518 SE 33rd Ave more accessible to community members with different abilities. We have always wanted to construct/build a ramp, elevator, lift, etc to allow community members to browse inside the store. At the moment, both entrances have a staircase to get inside the store. We plan to work with a local contractor to fulfill this goal. At the same time. It has also come to attention that there is opportunity to serve people outside the store. We would like to expand our bike rack to include a space for scooters, big strollers and of course more bikes. This will allow security and convenience while shopping. Plus, (This is the good part) we would like to install a free mini library outside the store and possibly expanding to other locations. Several of our customers have free libraries in the community and it's opportunity to expand on this wonderful idea.

Project Goal: The objective is promote early literacy and the access of black books. To promote and support a reading culture amongst children, young adults, and adults in the metro area and beyond.

Thank for your time and support.

Third Eye Books Accessories & Gifts LLC

Michelle Lewis & Charles Hannah - Owners & Operators