Individuals from across the industry meet at Foyles to discuss what bookshops of the future will look like
Foyles Photo: Mike Stephens,
PA
The new Foyles "bookshop of the future" came one step closer to realisation
last week, after two workshops were successfully held at Foyles’s current
premises.
Authors, poets, sales directors, librarians, booksellers, technology
developers, publicists and literary agents gathered at Foyles’s flagship
bookstore at 113-119 Charing Cross Road in London in order to share ideas about
what its new bookshop should look like and the nature of future bookshops in
general. Foyles will move to its new premises at the former home of Central St
Martins College in spring 2014.
Those attending the day were divided into various groups to discuss three key
themes: diversity and choice, bookshops as cultural destinations and
diversification of products and services.
Miriam Robinson, Foyles's head of marketing, described the response to the
workshops as “overwhelming,” saying, “six hours of the day for busy people is
not an insignificant period of time to give up. It has been so heartening to
know people care this much.” Gene Alloway, a bookseller from Michigan, travelled
to London specially for the workshop and it was his first time in the capital.
The new building, formerly an art school, is imposing and has a feeling of
prestige and creativity to it; “a hallowed space,” according to Alex Lifschutz,
the architect in charge of designing the new shop. It is made up of a large
front façade, an atrium, assembly halls and a series of mezzanines.
Lifschutz was keen to talk about the opening of nearby Tottenham Court Road
Crossrail which is expected to dramatically alter the local landscape. More
people will pass through the area, with more space and access to shops.
The ideas that emerged throughout the sessions encompassed everything from “bibliotherapy”, personal shopping, physical membership clubs, writers in residence, listening ports for audio books, moveable book shelves and a whole range of products and services including wedding gift lists, suggesting that future bookshops will be very much a social experience. The possibility of performances, art installations, gigs and exhibitions was also discussed. It emerged that a bar serving alcohol should be an integral feature of the new Foyles shop – "Hemingway's Bar" was the preferred name by some.
The workshop's participants also placed great emphasis on creating a sensory, tactile environment for children, recognising the importance of the children’s book market.
Full story
The ideas that emerged throughout the sessions encompassed everything from “bibliotherapy”, personal shopping, physical membership clubs, writers in residence, listening ports for audio books, moveable book shelves and a whole range of products and services including wedding gift lists, suggesting that future bookshops will be very much a social experience. The possibility of performances, art installations, gigs and exhibitions was also discussed. It emerged that a bar serving alcohol should be an integral feature of the new Foyles shop – "Hemingway's Bar" was the preferred name by some.
The workshop's participants also placed great emphasis on creating a sensory, tactile environment for children, recognising the importance of the children’s book market.
Full story
