Far from the madding crowd, on the corner where two roads meet—Brent and Yangco—is Mt Cloud Bookshop, a haven for bibliophiles or anyone who enjoys the company of books.
This author had a chance to talk to Feliz Lim Perez, one of the owners and founders of this well-loved local bookshop for Baguio Chronicle’s Negosyong Cordi program.
According to Feliz, Mt Cloud will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this August 2025 since it first opened its doors at Casa Vallejo in 2010. Certified booklovers, Feliz and her older sister decided to open a bookshop catering to the needs of the community with a focus on providing primarily Asian titles and later featuring more Filipiniana options.
“We kind of wanted to have a more Asian bookstore… that eventually led to us featuring more Filipiniana—books published in the Philippines, written by Filipinos, and about the Philippines,” remarked Feliz.
Although they initially intended to stay in Casa Vallejo because of its long history, they had to find a bigger space as they also had to cater to growing demand and expand their book collection. This led to Mt Cloud moving to its current address in 2019.
When asked about their biggest market by age group, Feliz said, “We have a very diverse patronage. People of all ages come here although the children’s market is quite strong—which is why we have a dedicated children’s reading room.” And by featuring local storybooks, Feliz said they are hopeful that children here will get to identify more with their ethnic roots rather than be influenced by blond, blue-eyed characters that figure prominently in Western stories or reading materials.
“I think just the fact that it’s a business is a major challenge. But one of our biggest concerns is inventory as we need to dedicate time to finding any book or item that’s unaccounted for,” remarked Feliz when asked about the challenges they face as entrepreneurs.
Mt Cloud not only helps local authors by prioritizing Philippine books and publications but also by giving them and their fans or readers a chance to get together and interact during book signing and other similar events. Aside from this, they also have regular happenings like their open mic poetry reading called “Third Monday From the Sun” and “Fifth Saturday,” a children’s storytelling session held on the fifth Saturday of the month.
The bookshop also has its “Pop-Ups at 978” events where local artists and small businesses converge to hold workshops, sell their products at their pop-up stores, etc.
To budding entrepreneurs out there dreaming of building a successful business, Feliz has this to say, “It’s important to build a community around you as a business. Hindi pwedeng ikaw lang… that’s why we’re trying to be more collaborative with the businesses here, the community, and the artists. Community building is super important.”
If you want to watch our interview with Feliz at Mt Cloud Bookshop, you can check out the highlights of our Negosyong Cordi segment on Mt Cloud on Facebook.
Alternatively, you may also view the full episode on Baguio Chronicle’s official YouTube channel.
