GUNIFORT UWAMBAGA

Our series ''FOUR the Community'' is all about taste makers in and around Amsterdam. Focusing on their own growth and by doing so also inspiring others around them. Meet @gunifort, co-owner and publisher of @mendobooks: ''Decide on your own path, stick to it and work hard every day'' 📚

WHEN DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO HAVE A BOOKSTORE?

Yes so my journey in the book industry started by chance. When a started to study ten years ago I walked in to a beautiful bookstore in the nine streets area of Amsterdam and started working there ever since.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU LEARNED OVER THE YEARS?

So in the past years I’ve learned that u can’t control everything. We started with this location in march 2022, at the beginning of the pandemic. Which was obviously scary at the beginning but we survived, so I’ve learned that u can’t control everything and u just need to continue.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?

I describe my personal style as very much that of my own. I always have one rule everyday when I walk outside the house is: “how do I feel today? How can I express that and how can I make other people happy with my style”.

IF YOU CAN GIVE AMBITIOUS YOUNGSTERS SOME WORDS OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

My words of advice would be: “just decide your own path and stick to it”. It sounds very cliche but that’s the name of the game.