Darren Winston of Sharon, Conn. has been selling rare books since 1995, a business he ran out of his New York City apartment. After he and his wife had their first child, they realized it was time to move out of the city, and vaguely knew the region from their day trip explorations. In 2009 he opened up a shop, Darren Winston, Bookseller. The more relaxed pace has allowed him to get involved in the community, and back to his first love, music. I’ve always sold things that interested me personally — it started with collecting records as a young teenager and selling them, and then doing the same thing with guitars. I was selling rare books privately, and then at flea markets and book fairs in New York. But after we became parents we realized that we didn’t want to raise a family in a 700-square-foot apartment. We were motivated by the idea of starting a new chapter in our lives. I never planned on having a shop. Then one day my wife and I drove past this storefront that had an "available" sign on it. It was in a perfect location — at a four-way stop, right on the green — and overnight I decided I wanted a shop. When we started filling it, we left big, open spaces for art because we had the idea that we would show the work of local artists. Now we have author signings and gallery exhibits several times a year. We’re planning a few for this fall.
One of the best parts about moving here is that it brought me back to music. I’ve been a musician my whole life, but took off 17 years. Now I play guitar with a local band called The Harlem Line. We first met because through the music teacher at Indian Mountain School, where my children go, because he knew that some of us parents were musicians and got us together to play for a gala at the school. Since then we’ve played for private parties, at The Boathouse, Stissing House, The White Hart Inn, and even in the city a couple times a year. It’s been a personal renaissance for me. I'd like to think I’m fairly business- and community-minded. I'm a past president of the Sharon Historical Society and a trustee at Indian Mountain School, as well as other local boards. I love what I do, love books, my shop, playing music, and I drag my family in where appropriate. This is a lovely part of the world — we’ve all drunk the Kool-Aid. My life has been hugely extended by being able to slow down and get more out of the things I want to do.
