Assouline Opens London Boutique

By Judith Rosen, Publishers Weekly

After launching upscale boutiques in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Istanbul, Turkey, late last year, New York-based art book publisher Assouline is invading the U.K. with its first store, located on the ground floor of London’s 136-year-old Liberty.
The store’s soft launch is today. But it will have a more formal celebration later this spring, with authors like James Danziger, who wrote the foreword to Cecil Beaton: The Art of the Scrapbook; Nick Foulkes, author of Tag Heuer; and Amy Sacco, author of Cocktails.

“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Assouline to Liberty,” says managing director Ed Burstell. “It’s a fantastic partnership, Assouline as the world leader in publishing quality book titles and retailing collectible objects, and Liberty as the great heritage emporium in London.”

Assouline’s 1,000 sq. ft. boutique includes its signature Mondrian “Wall of Books” and Goyard trunk, which doubles as a library with 100 books. In addition to 1,000 Assouline titles on art, design, style, travel, and culinary arts, it contains Assouline gift items—leather book bags, stationery, and candles—as well as vintage books and a communal library table on which to browse. The Liberty Assouline also features the publisher’s first café, or “artisanal lounge,” serving coffee, tea, and champagne.

The London store provides same-day courier service within the city. And it offers a library design studio team that can curate a personalized home library, which Assouline founder Prosper Assouline considers “the next step in modern luxury beyond a home theater.”