here & now » stores

MIKE MILLS PILLOWCASES

sr — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:54:11 +0000

I want these new Mike Mills pillowcases which have just arrived in store with our friends at Third Drawer Down.

STORE OF THE MONTH: SAUTTER + LACKMANN / HAMBURG

kvr — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:44:04 +0000

In Germany, we sort of take it for granted that every bigger city has at least one traditional art book store to satisfy your craving for printed matter in art, design, architecture and photography. They are usually run by grey-haired men in cardigans and thick glasses, or ladies smelling of cheap perfume, who all know exactly what to find where among hundreds of books piling up in every available corner – something that the Internet will never ever do for you.

It’s only when you go to other countries that you realize that this is not necessarily the case everywhere, so let’s raise our glasses for a moment to the old art book dealer of your neighbourhood, the ones you start missing only when they have disappeared. Sautter + Lackmann is a point in case, which has been holding up the torch for 42 years now in Hamburg, and gloriously so. It’s the place to go for digging into your monographs on Baselitz and Warhol, but for a long time, it was also the only store in Hamburg that was selling mono.kultur, pretty much from the very beginning – so much for stuffiness. And it’s always nice to know that there are some things you can still count on.

Sautter + Lackmann
Admiralitätstrasse 71/72
20459 Hamburg

DONLON BOOKS

sr — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 04:28:24 +0000

There’s an enjoyable interview with Conor Donlon of Donlon Books in the latest apartamento magazine. This independent bookshop is my type of bookshop, (and it also sells mono.kultur).

Donlon Books
77 Broadway Market
London

STORE OF THE MONTH: ATHENAEUM / AMSTERDAM

kvr — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:28:15 +0000

Athenaeum is something of a wet dream for anyone who is even faintly interested in books and magazines. A proper bookstore with over 50,000 titles in stock, established in 1996 on Spui square in the heart of Amsterdam, they included a Nieuwscentrum a few years later, which has pretty much everything in terms of periodicals and magazines, ranging from all the major global newspaper to the smallest independent titles. The fact that they were one of the very first stores outside of Germany to carry mono.kultur just shows their zeal in assembling anything that is worth the paper it’s printed on. In short: an essential stop on your bike ride through Amsterdam.

Athenaeum
Spui 14-16
Amsterdam

STORE OF THE MONTH: FOYLES / LONDON

kvr — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:51:51 +0000

When I was a student at art school in London, Foyles bookstore used to be a regular spot to hit for research, general browsing or simply to escape afternoon rains. Somehow the many floors and corridors and shelves crammed with piles and piles of books always had and still has a soothing effect on me, and Foyles, after 109 years on Charing Cross Road, being one of the last major independent bookstores in London certainly helped to maintain this atmosphere of a love for books rather than money.

So it was a great pleasure when they approached us recently to ask if they could sell mono.kultur. It’s a fairly new development that Foyles offer magazines as well, but their impeccable selection certainly shows that they choose with a great amount of care and expertise. Funny to think that these days, some art student might discover mono.kultur while escaping from the rain – somehow a comforting thought.

MOTTO MELBOURNE

sr — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:21:56 +0000

Motto is coming to Melbourne as a temporary bookstore in collaboration with Neon Parc (and mono.kultur will be there in the mix!).

8 – 25th February 2012
12 – 7pm daily
6 Duckett Street
Brunswick
Melbourne VIC 3056
Australia

STORE OF THE MONTH: FAMILY / LOS ANGELES

kvr — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:05:32 +0000

Since we have that arch-American of all genres – comics, as exemplified by Chris Ware – on our cover these days, we thought we should introduce one of our first and most loyal stores in the US this month, with the nice name of Family, which is the place to go to if you’re after high-quality art books or low-quality zines, which, of course, are very much part of the LA skate and punk culture. Family bridge the gap between high and low with that Californian insouciance, translating into a relaxed, ‘Who cares? As long as it’s good…’ And really, why should one worry too much about these things when the sun is shining and the beach is nearby? Sigh.

Family
436 N. Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
USA

PS. No, the image above is not the actual Family we are talking about – since we couldn’t find a proper interior shot, and this was one of the first images to come up when looking for ‘Family Los Angeles’, we thought, ‘Who cares? As long as it’s nice…’

STORE OF THE MONTH: BANANAFISH BOOKS / DALIAN

kvr — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:24:29 +0000

Anyone who has ever been to China will have experienced how difficult it is to get foreign magazines there, let alone any magazines that are worth the paper they are printed on. This is mainly due to the fact that the distribution of printed matter is still overseen by the Ministry for Communication, and importing foreign titles is not an easy task, involving plenty of paperwork.

And so we are so pleased that our friends at Bananafish Books have expanded their online store to an actual physical location in the northeastern port town of Dalian, stocking an immaculate range of independent titles, including some of the finest that Europe, Asia and the Americas have to offer. It’s the first venture of its kind in China, and we can’t wait to see more of similar places pop up over the country.

Bananafish Books, in the meantime, have also started their own suitably named publishing imprint called A Perfect Book, and are even offering the services of their Riso printer for artists and designers to produce their own titles. Just like home – except it isn’t.

Bananafish Books
53-1, Wenhua Street
Zhongshan District
Dalian City
Liaoning Province
China

THE VOICE KNITTING COLLECTION

tw — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 10:22:57 +0000

No Christmas presents yet?
Translate your favorite song or personal audio message into knitting patterns (orders until tomorrow will arrive in time for Christmas). The perfect scarf, cardigan, pullover, skirt, or blanket for music-lovers.

Trikoton, created in Berlin, is more than just a fashion label: as an interdisciplinary team, trikoton explores new ways of generative design and interactive production processes. Trikoton transfers voices into clothes, giving them a poetic touch.

Trikoton’s limited editions are available in selected shops in Berlin (other stores here):
Trikoton Showroom, Manteuffelstrasse 48, 10999 Berlin
Temporary Showroom, Kastanienallee 36a, 10435 Berlin
Zehnle von Langsdorff, Oderbergerstrasse 51, 10435 Berlin

MAGCULTURE SHOP

kvr — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:28:32 +0000

A nice new idea from magCulture, who we like, as you might have noticed. They’ve just opened their new online store, which is actually more like a personal recommendation: A selection of 8 independent titles only, handpicked by founder Jeremy Leslie. The deal is that each title will be available in limited stock only and replaced by a different title as soon as it is sold out, meaning that the selection will constantly rotate. Simple and sweet. Sweeter still: mono.kultur #29 with Chris Taylor is on offer right now, so get your copy now before it’s gone.