The NYCmagazine store, café and bodega selling «magazines, cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, food, beer, beverages, lotto, groceries, e-smoke»: a meeting point for the mags community, Iconic Magazines
The birth of Iconic Magazines in New York City: in conversation with owner and director Hemal Sheth
In the early 2010s, when the creative hunger of Lower Manhattan set off a need for spaces in which new ideas and perspectives could be exchanged, and community and culture could be formed, Hemal Sheth, Iconic Magazines’ owner and director, had a vision.
The family-owned shop initially started «like any other bodega or convenience store that serves food, drinks, and beverages to customers». However, as the creative drive in the city manifested in increased magazine demand and sales (magazines being sites of developments of culture, devoured by those seeking out a certain type of more), Sheth saw a gap he could expand into. «I thought of combining everything into one», he says.«A store that serves lifestyle and brings people together, giving them the ability to read, drink, and eat». «The combination of a collection of magazines with a café and bodega, making it ‘iconic’».
Through that vision, Iconic Magazines «became a gathering place for like-minded individuals who were interested in exploring new ideas and engaging in intellectual discourse»: «a reflection of the vibrant cultural scene that was taking place in Lower Manhattan at that time».
The three Iconic Magazines stores in Lower Manhattan, NYC: Mulberry Street, Lafayette, and Bowery: selling hard-to-find and rare titles
Stocking a plethora of publications – from the long-established magazines like US and British Vogue, to the more arcane The Drift, or the yet even niche titles such as that which chronicles basketball shoes made between 1984 and 1986, as consulted on by collectors from Japan and other such countries, «there really is no ideal client».
«We want to serve everyone. Iconic’s audience varies from the occasional reader to magazine enthusiasts. From people looking for a quick read, to those who collect magazines. We love finding different magazines and publishers from around the world so there are options for everyone».
These options, piled and displayed, occupy Iconic’s three Lower Manhattan locations at 188 Mulberry Street, 238 Lafayette Street and 215 Bowery.
The Iconic stores in New York City: piles of magazines on the floors and along walls, preserving the physicality of paper
White-fluorescent-bright with brown wood and silver-paneled walls, the magazine area of each store has publications stacked on the ground and wrapping the pillars and walls.
The arrangement of the stores instigates a movement. As customers navigate the space, reaching out across the piles of matter set out on the floor, thumbing through stock, digging to find, then grab their desired publications, a choreography highlighting physicality takes place. That is, if packing three-stores-full of printed matter, was not assertion enough of where Iconic Magazines stands on the matter of the physical.
Despite the fact that many regard print media to be a dying, if not dead, industry (see all the ‘print is dead’ rhetoric), Hemal Sheth maintains that the physical – the object and the experience of the object – is necessary.
Citing the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns which limited physical interactions, Sheth explains that: «We were able to find a way to get magazines to consumers through online ways, but it did not feel the same as actually finding a magazine in the store. Now that the lockdowns are over, it’s great to see the culture of New York coming back and seeing all our customers back in the store». When it comes to the tangible, he proclaims, «there is something unexplainable about it».
A transformative space/Host: temporary installations at Iconic Magazines locations in NYC
As much as Iconic is certain in what it is, it is also open to being something other. Valuing how «collaborations allow Iconic to bring together a range of perspectives and ideas, resulting in a well-rounded product», there is what Sheth describes as «a willingness to collaborate with others to create something». That willingness is often expressed through immersive brand installations and pop-ups, which occupy and drastically transform the Iconic sites.
In its lifetime, Iconic – the magazine store, cafe and bodega which sells «magazines, cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, food, beer, beverages, lotto [tickets], groceries, [and] e-smoke» – has been temporary turned into a party location, an astrology booth, and a clothing store, to name a few. It has also had its front window display plastered in full-coverage printed vinyl, time after time, advertising one brand after another. At its most extreme, it has even seen its signature black façade painted sage green at the Mulberry branch, complete with green awnings and a fully green display set up.
Community building at Iconic Magazines bookstore: offering a space to gather the citizens of New York City around readings
Although these residencies work as means to promote the brands and magazines, they also serve another function: a social one. «We believe that a magazine store can be more than just a retail space; it can be a cultural hub where people come to discover, learn, and socialize. By hosting parties and other events, we hope to attract a diverse audience and create an environment where everyone feels comfortable and inspired».
This social element, which is «a key aspect of what [Iconic] is building here», has historically allowed brands like Iconic to become woven into the cultural fabric of the cities and communities they exist within. A magazine store, a bodega, a host, Iconic is an offering to the people of New York, «a space where readers can come together to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences».
«Overall», as Sheth says,«community and community-building are at the heart of Iconic Magazines’ mission to inspire, inform, and connect people from all walks of life».
Iconic Magazines supporting independent publications: a support offered to the niche publishing industry, hard-to-find titles and magazines
In that vein, Iconic also offers support to independent and hard-to-find magazines, providing them with the vital support they need to navigate the industry.
Bringing nine years of industry experience, and the expertise and network that comes with that, to the table, Iconic is able to lend support through the entire publishing process. From guidance on the editorial content itself, to assistance with design and layout, and strategy on distribution and marketing. «Whether you are just starting out or looking to take your publication to the next level», they want to ensure that «Iconic is here to support you every step of the way».
Iconic Magazines, New York City
Iconic Magazines is a magazine store, café, and bodega, with three locations across the Lower Manhattan area: at 188 Mulberry Street, 238 Lafayette Street and 215 Bowery. It stocks hard-to-find publications and magazines of all kinds.
