Books & Mags
Hen’s Teeth, Dublin. A dialogue on the lack of cultural spaces in Ireland
A hybrid gallery, hi-fi café in Dublin 8 where art community meet, born from DIY pop-ups and crowdfunding to answer the city’s need for more cultural spaces
Future Bookstore in Changshu and the question of what a literary space can become
In an ancient water town in Jiangsu province, Future Bookstore uses a traditional pagoda, a speculative interior by Mur Mur Lab and a reduced selection of titles to explore how...
Books Are Magic: Brooklyn’s indie bookstore growing with community spirit
«Last year, someone submitted a squirrel census, and we bought that». Thriving in the digital era, in the words of owner and founder Emma Straub
Librairie Candide in Brussels and the reshaping of a neighborhood
Prior to taking over the bookstore, Eric Haegelsteen spent twenty-five years of his life in administering services as an auditor in Kongo, Cameroon, Ivory coast and Senegal
New Mags Copenhagen: a 100–square-metre flagship in the Ny Østergade district
Finding roots in Scandinavian design to the creation of a flagship store, New Mags Copenhagen: art books, independent magazines, and design-led editorial culture
Casa Magazines, New York. The community around one of the last-standing magazine shops in the city
At Casa Magazines, «inclusivity extends to independent creators – to those who walk in with their merch saying, ‘I want to sell my magazine here’, Casa responds with ‘How many...
Libreria, London. A bookshop by Second Home, a labyrinth of books
Covering 830 square meters and housing more than 6,000 titles, Libreria is designed to go against the algorithm. No digital recommendations, no Wi-Fi, no distractions
Biutiful Shop Annecy: a concept store rooted in French Alpine tradition
On Rue de la Poste, founders Céline and Ludovic bring together the atmosphere of Annecy’s old village shops with a selection of everyday objects, design pieces, beauty products and publications
Soul Studio. Can you exist online? Defining visual identity and style
The online store Soul Studio selects curated products and publications: it includes a collective collaboration among designers, artists, and brands to create limited edition prints and objects
Gudberg Nerger, Hamburg. The future of digital is print
Founders Jürgen Nerger and Jan ‘Gudberg’ Müller-Wiefel on the conscious act of choosing a well-crafted book or magazine and diving in without being distracted by hyperlinks and clickbait
Santedicola: the rebirth of a Roman newsstand as a civic and cultural hub
Santedicola, Piazza Imola, Roma: Gaetano Orefice and an abandoned newsstand in San Giovanni district: a small-scale cultural hub, adaptive reuse and sustainable design
Librairie Sans Titre, Paris. An independent-publishers and artists’ hunter
Finding the spot was a chance event for Mathilde de Galbert, who discovered what she says «looked like a bookshop», while cycling around the neighborhood, one Sunday morning
The Library Project, Dublin. A shop, gallery and festival dedicated to printed photographs
«It all started with a crazy idea», says Ángel Luis González, the man behind Ireland’s number one address for photobook lovers. A conversation about his cultural hub in Dublin’s Temple...
Avril 50, Philadelphia. A time capsule of 1984 with magazines and journals
Established while he was completing his second master’s degree, Shahidi founded Avril 50 as a response to the lack of stores carrying magazine publications and academic journals that catered to...
Smoke Signals, San Francisco. Two thousand reading materials sold at a time
«In French, smoke signals means signaux de fumée – communicating through smoke signals – how I see newspapers and magazines as a tool to share and disseminate information today»
Soho News International, New York. Three-thousand magazines on Prince Street
Magazines span in volumes at Soho News International – showcasing a diverse set of titles in genres. Esoteric and well-known, catering to the wider sense of audience in the New...
OWSpace, China. A space designed on the concept of solitude
Boxes and corners provide a shelter for those who seek solitude and quiet with levels of interaction at OWSpace Bookstore, on the Golden Beach of Qinhuangdao
Livraria Mandarina, São Paulo. Where mandarins are metaphors for growth and resistance
«We compared the Livraria to a mandarin tree. As its seeds become fruits, books turn into knowledge in the process of reading.» - In conversation with Roberta Paixão and Daniela...
De Reyghere Boekhandel, Brugge: literature that has survived world wars
De Reyghere Boekhandel acts as an institution of change for the inhabitants of Brugge, supplying domestic and foreign literary goods – in conversation with fifth generation Thomas Barbier
Printed Matter, Inc., New York. Where publishing, social activism and inclusivity take precedent
«Our guardian trajectory is to take art off the pedestal and out of the sanctity of the museum, and fold it into everyday experiences». Max Schumann, Director of Printed Matter,...
Chandal, Barcelona. A shop in El Born to explore what the world has in store
Hunting for objects that integrate functionality, beauty and responsibility in their production is what the store’s owners have been doing since 2008, allowing Chandal’s perspective to grow with them
Under the Cover, Lisbon. A magazine’s cover is a part of the selection criteria
The world of independent zines and alternative press has had a metamorphosis over the years. It started with fanzines in the Thirties
Anzenberger Gallery, Vienna. Works that experiment with media from a perspective of curation
Founded in 2002 by Regina Anzenberger, the space is a platform for photography-based art. Visitors are introduced to a concept-based body of work in the form of exhibitions and books
Boekie Woekie, Amsterdam. Three owners and 7,000 art books from independent creators
Since 1986 Jan Voss, Henriëtte van Egten and Rúna Thorkelsdóttir have persevered in maintaining the child-like essence of the bookstore while seeing through the intertwining of art related literature
Koganecho Art Book Bazaar, Japan. For the mixture of arts and functions
Thirty minutes south of Tokyo, Koganecho is part of a non-profit organization aiming to promote the arts and provide a safe space for children and adults alike
Athens’ Hyper Hypo and the unfinished business of independent publishing
In a city where economic crises have erased much of its printed culture, Hyper Hypo works without a business plan, without trend reports, and without the safety of predictable sales
Bleu&Book, Taipei. From a life in a television network to owning bookstores across Taiwan
«There are over two hundred independent-bookstores in Taiwan. To stand out, bookstores craft a thematic identity, serving a certain subject matter in a multitude of genres»
Gaia Store, Cervia – connecting the present with the past since 2016
A new community of young people linked by the passion for fashion, interior design, and perfumes has found its temple in the philosophy of Gaia Store
Aedicola Lambrate, reclaiming Milano: a micro-publisher to help the city
Aedicola is an independent newsstand and micro-publisher fostering print culture, civic engagement, and community life in a rapidly transforming Milan
Biblioteka, a public reference library, democratizes art, architecture and photography
Libraries are sustainable spaces as they discourage the mass-production of printed materials whilst encouraging the exposition of printed materials that the public doesn’t have access to
Amen, Madrid. A corner in Malasaña, the ‘barrio de las Maravillas’
A former printing house, renovated as a DIY project, named Amen – a sign of gratefulness for having gotten all the work done. Few lines by Rocío Mendivil
Vroman’s Bookstore and Book Soup intertwining to serve the California community
Two stories coming together: Vroman's Bookstore and Book Soup are held under the same management, with the common mission of being a ‘hodgepodge for diversity’
Village – the bookstore was founded to present art into the Leeds suburbs
Village – a bookstore gallery showcasing art from creators far, wide, and those surrounding them – sustained by the addition of a bookstore
Macondo, Verona. The window on the world of the Italian fashion agency 247
«Our brand mix counts labels by designers belonging to different categories: women, members of LGBTQ+ community, people of color and other minorities», in conversation with Manuel Marelli
Good Press, Glasgow. The only bookstore in the UK with an open submission policy
«I might appreciate 10% of our stock, but I respect 100% of it. After it has been made, a book, zine or record deserves visibility». In conversation with co-founder Matthew...
Bookstore in 798 Art Zone, Beijing. Conveying the memoir of its Jewish American heritage
We do not want to use the architectural language and form thats has been already applied to works» - an architectural project by Hie Wei
Theatro, Portugal. Gravitating to the world of prose and poems
A town’s population of 64,000, and a market permeating with booksellers, it was not a viable proposition to open another stand-alone bookshop
Librería Conarte, Mexico. A wooden dome for readers in the center of Monterrey
The council for culture and art is a space that wraps the reader in through a dome that plays with visual perspective
Troquer, Mexico City. Intellectual architecture reshaping the retail therapy experience
An online fashion retailer selling second-hand luxury. Lucía Martínez-Ostos and Ytzia Belausteguigoitia began a store as a business centered on the two friends’ local network
McNally Jackson Books, New York. Inside the Nolita indie scenario
Founded in New York in 2004 by Sarah McNally, a former editor at Basic Books and daughter of Holly and Paul McNally, the owners of the Canadian McNally Robinson Booksellers...
Shreeji Newsagents, London. The Marylebone Staple
«Shreeji is part of the social-fiber of the community. During the pandemic it has shown how stores in the locale acts as a sanctuary and how they were supported by...
Laforet Harajuku, Tokyo. A crisis of subculture
What has become of Japanese subcultures? In Laforet, in Tokyo, they still exist. History shows us how culture has always dominated markets in the long run, according to cycles
The Broken Arm, Paris. The blurred line between art and life
Simplicity of materials can draw attention to garments, artwork, literature and music on display: thinking can matter more than buying, according to the trio Joste, Lafarge and Steinmetz
Odd Kiosk, Barcelona. An exploration of queer based literature
Odd Kiosk was a response to the climate of these spaces, giving the youth, in importance, a space to explore their sense of self without harming one’s mental health
Ona, Barcelona. How a Barcelona bookstore is reviving a lost language through literature
A store that vies to preserve Catalan culture through literature, spearheaded by Taxto Benet: «Catalan needs people to read in Catalan, to write in Catalan, to purchase Catalan books»
Nemika, Tokyo. Japanese philosophy and the cycle of life in garden-themed experience
It derives its name from the three elements of the Nemika world – root ‘ne’, fruit ‘mi’, and flower ‘ka’. Together, the three words allude to the materiality of soil and earth interpreted...
