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The three owners of the bookshop met on the canal. Paddy had a respectable job when he first moved on to the canal. He was managing the drug consulting service for people who has drug addiction problems, helping them get housing and medical care etc. Paddy had really good education, graduating from English literature major of Oxford University. Before the bookshop, Jon and Paddy used to work together on the street market in Archway selling second-hand books. When the bookshop opened, Paddy quitted his job and worked in the bookshop full time.  

Stephane was also living on the canal when Jon first met him. Stephane has a nickname Noy, because he lost one eye in an accident and the nickname was derived from 'no eye'. They met at a party on the canal. Jon was invited to DJ at the party and Noy helped him out with his equipments with his truck. That was how they met and it turned out that they had a lot in common: they both had kids, both had boats, both liked to party, had similar political opinions, had similar attitudes and beliefs about society and the way of living. They became pretty good friends. Noy was the one who owned a beautiful boat - a 1920s-era Dutch barge that now they used as the bookshop. Noy offered his boat for free on the condition that he was a partner of the business. 

At that time, Paddy and Noy didn't know each other. As Jon said, Paddy and Noy were like opposite end of the spectrum of the kind of people he knew. Noy is a genius in his own way and always sees things differently, while Paddy is well-educated and 'knows what he is talking about'. Jon was like a bridge for their friendship and future business cooperation. He was the one that persuaded the other two guys into the business, giving them courage, energy and commitment. The story of the bookshop all began from their friendship. 

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