Meet Leah and Bea Koch of The Ripped Bodice in Culver City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah and Bea Koch.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It’s a pretty short story, as in the amount of time it takes to circle LAX several times. We decided we wanted to open a store together, and if we were going to do that we wanted to sell books, specifically romance novels, and The Ripped Bodice was born.

Has it been a smooth road?
There are always struggles when opening a small business. Lots of things don’t go the way you planned, and plenty of things come up that you never could have planned for.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Ripped Bodice story. Tell us more about the business.
We are the only exclusively romance bookstore in the United States. We specialize in the literature of love. We’re proud to be a feminist, sex-positive business sister owned business.

We’re here to end the stigma around romance novels and to help you find your next favorite read.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Publishing has been changing for a long time, and bookstores have to weather those changes. However, as a specialized bookstore we feel we’re in a unique position to give our customers something they can’t find when buying books online: community.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3806 Main St.
  Culver City, CA 90232
• Website: www.therippedbodicela.com
• Phone: 4246034776
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: TheRippedBodice
• Facebook: facebook.com/therippedbodice
• Twitter: TheRippedBodice

Image Credit:
Jenn Leblanc