Local Business: What’s New on W. Broad Street? The Dark, Unbound

Now we know what’s going to replace Dominion Camera on W. Broad Street! 

In July, we reported on the closing of Dominion Camera, Falls Church’s beloved camera shop of 56 years, but there was no news at the time about what might come next at that choice downtown retail location at 112 W. Broad St. 

Now, however, a cryptic and mysterious poster on the old camera shop’s windows has announced that its next occupant will be……. The Dark, Unbound….Muahaha! 

How tantalizing. No word on the poster about what The Dark, Unbound is exactly, or when it plans to open up. 

With a little sleuthing, however, we found The Dark Unbound’s website and had a look at their Facebook and Instagram postings. 

Turns out they’re likely to be a charming, enchanting, and perhaps even be-witching little startup bookstore offering “a uniquely atmospheric retail and gathering space in Falls Church, Virginia, providing a curated book selection and aesthetically related merchandise in a cozy and moody environment that encourages customers to visit, browse, linger, and learn.”

The Dark, Unbound will also be Falls Church City's only independent bookstore, since residents often rely on One More Page at 2200 Westmoreland St., just over the border with Arlington.

But, there will be much more to this cozy little spot than simply books and merchandise to browse. “We are a proudly feminist and queer fantasy bookstore, shop of miscellanea, and host for metaphysical and educational events,” Annette and Margaret (no last names given), the owners of The Dark, Unbound LLC say. 

Far from being political or new-age ideologues, however, the owners present themselves on social media as quite bold, yet quietly warm, supportive, humorous, caring, socially responsible, and creative. They’re also most enthusiastic about bringing their bookstore and events space concept to the welcoming community of Falls Church City. 

And in this age of book-banning, they intend to provide a haven for targeted as well as hard-to-find books.

Introducing themselves on the website, Annette says she’s “The mystic and the metaphysicist,” and she “aspires to be a mermaid one day.” While Margaret who "always reads past her bedtime," describes herself as a “lover of all things freaky, fantastic and flighted.”

Their vision is to create a bookstore that “specializes in underrepresented voices in the fantasy, science-fiction, speculative fiction and horror genres,” saying they have “been fans of these genres since childhood, but had to take a break from reading for a long time because of the sameness of what was being published.” 

Even though it’s become easier for diverse voices to emerge with self-publishing and independent publishers looking to expand selections and audiences, Annette and Margaret believe they can offer more in-depth cultivation and selection, combined with creating a book store that is so much more than simply a bookstore.

“We are opening The Dark, Unbound specifically to spotlight and celebrate… works from women, Black and Indigenous Americans, queer voices, and international writers, and to give them their place on the shelves instead of the same old familiar authors in these genres,” they say.

The shop will also be “full of unique merchandise finds: curated vintage and new art, decor, journals, antique bookends, candles, and metaphysical supplies that will appeal to the crafters, the curious, and the curiosity collectors. Our merchandise will be offered at a variety of price points, because we recognize the magic of browsing beautiful things, and we want that to be accessible to everyone.”

Nurturing Community in an 'Analog World'

But the shop will also serve as a wide-ranging social and events space. “We recognize that there is a need to nurture our community. Despite the ease of living in a digital world, in recent years, more and more folks are realizing the mental health benefits of congregating and socializing in the analog world. During the day, we will offer tea and coffee, and a variety of comfortable seating and working areas through the store, for folks to meet and play games with friends, work or read alone, or participate in an event to learn and grow with others. Regularly in the evenings, we will offer a variety of programs and educational classes to nourish your mind, body, and spirit… and together we will build a community of lovingkindness in Falls Church.”

“Our mission is to build an inclusive community of like-minded people;  compassionate humans with open minds, broad viewpoints, and a desire to make a difference in this world,” they say. “People who have big imaginations and good energy, a love of reading and learning, and who understand that spending time in worlds beyond the ordinary is good for us. To that end, the Crones of The Dark, Unbound will be ever-present to share their love of these spaces, these topics, and these authors with our customers…. Our goal is to be a place where customers feel welcomed and thrilled to be part of the excitement that is The Dark, Unbound.” 

In addition to nurturing the community, the space will also be devoted to providing educational programming in a wide range of categories, including: Author Talks, Book Clubs, Meditations, Chakras, Tantra, Breath/ Energy Work, Qigong, Sound Baths, Latihan, and Drum Circles.

Even the Miscellanea they’ll offer will be beyond what you might see in most metaphysical or new-age bookstores. “Like crows and magpies, we love to collect pretty things,” they say. “Come and browse our unique merchandise finds: curated vintage and new art, decor, journals, antique bookends, candles, and metaphysical supplies that will appeal to all the crafters, the curious, and the curiosity collectors.” 

“... We recognize the magic of browsing beautiful things, and we want that to be accessible to everyone – to help in your personal spiritual journey ... or maybe just to feather your nest,” they say.

For book browsers, the selection also promised to be eclectic and exciting. “We do not differentiate between adult or young adult audiences, since many books in these genres have appeal to wide audiences and we aim to offer the broadest selection of fantastical stories to everyone,” they say about their Fantastical Fiction selection. Sections will also specialize in Underrepresented Voices, Metaphysical Books, and will offer both new and used book titles.

Mindful that not every customer can afford pricey books or merchandise, The Dark, Unbound will even offer a Lending Library to the community.

Origins of The Dark, Unbound

After marketing their wares at local merchandise conventions – or “various witchy markets,” in the area – Annette and Margaret decided last summer to take a leap of faith and launch their first Dark, Unbound bricks-and-mortar bookstore, posting their first Facebook profile pic on June 5. 

Five days later, they announced “My lovelies – we are doing a thing. It’s a big thing. It’s an exciting and somewhat terrifying thing. We are on our way to making this thing a tangible reality and this is where you come in. We’re opening a BOOKSTORE!!” Not only is the name of the bookstore “the coolest name ever,” they posted, but they let their supporters and followers know, “We are building a space that will not only carry underrepresented voices in fantastical fiction, but – wait for it – it will also be chock full of curiosities, like antique bookends, witchy mirrors, local art, leather journals, and so. Much. More. The Dark, Unbound will be a community of readers, gamers, misfits, crafters, spiritualists, and anyone brave enough to be authentically themselves (or not so brave and just need a place to feel safe).”

In addition to hosting metaphysical events and nurturing community, they also foretold “cushy sofas, bright-colored floor cushions, game (or work, if you must) tables throughout the store because we want you to come in and sit for a spell.”

Then, they asked for blood donations.

Not literally, however. As a startup, they encouraged supporters and followers to help donate funds for their vision to: https://www.thedarkunbound.com/donate-blood/.

The challenge was to find a retail site that could meet their exacting requirements. On December 21, their new LLC posted “Here we are Darklings! Entering a new year! We have worked very hard this year. Learning, buying, planning, poppin'-up – we've been doing all the right things to move this vision forward. The one, really critical piece is finding just the right location. One that meets our quirky standards, that's ADA compliant, that's moody and warm and spacious. And it just wasn't ready for us. We trust the Universe, though, and are approaching the new search with open hearts and much, much more knowledge. We wish you grand adventures and love unbound as you continue this journey with us!!”

Soon they had selected West Broad Street in Falls Church City, and they were full of thanks and gratitude. By Valentine’s Day, they were posting an enthusiastic, and most entertaining thank-you and love-you reel on Facebook, announcing that their supporters’ generous donations and tremendous morale-boosting helped them get ready to launch.

“[Both:] Hi, I’m Annette. And I’m Margaret. [Annette:] And we are the proud owners of The Dark, Unbound, a fantastical bookstore and metaphysical gathering space in Falls Church, Virginia,” they begin their reel. “And we’re here today to say we love you. On this very special Valentine’s Day. [Margaret:] Our journey began about a year and a-half ago and while we knew it was going to be a lot of work to start up our own business, we severely underestimated how much work it was going to be. It’s truly a labor of love and just like everyone and everything else we love, we are very pleased and proud to be able to give 100 percent of ourselves to this. [Annette:] Yeah, we are. We also wanted to say a very special thank-you to those of you that have gifted so freely of your time and support both energetically and financially. Every donation makes a big difference and thanks to you, we were able to pay our bills last year…. All of your reactions and your excitement really is what keeps us going. Your anticipation is our fuel. [Annette:] Yeah, and so, our darlings, we’re here to say we love you….”

Were Annette and Margaret appearing on Shark Tank, they would certainly sway the “sharks” to invest. 

See you downtown at The Dark, Unbound!

By Christopher Jones