Books are not afraid of deep alleys?
Fast forward to 2022, we were overwhelmed and hit by a variety of 2021 annual reports and year-end summaries, and at the same time, we also routinely received an annual book report from Douban.
In recent years, the rise of mainstream bookstores, such as Tsuruya Bookstore, Zhong Shuge, Fangsuo and other large bookstores frequently appear in high-end shopping malls in major cities; at the same time, those small and beautiful independent bookstores have found another way, or hiding in a corner of the city, deep in the alley, or hidden in a deep mountain village, although hidden in the city, but in order to be able to gain a firm foothold in this era, they are trying to persist in their own way, bringing more niche published books to book lovers, so that they can find a peaceful haven in bookstores.
This issue introduces bananafish, an independent bookstore from Shanghai, which is different from mainstream bookstores, TA is an independent art bookstore integrating bookstores, exhibition spaces, art workshops, etc.
Provide a safe haven for small and beautiful works
As an independent bookstore with more than 11 years of existence, BANANAFISH has always occupied an important position in the hearts of art magazine lovers.
In 2008, one of its founders, Sophie, started from the blog "Sophie Independent Bookstore", from the perspective of aesthetics, design, photography, bookstore and publishing, looking for art dynamics and fresh information that occurs around the world, and used text writing as the arrival of Banana Fish Bookstore to accumulate the first loyal fans.
Banana Fish Bookstore Dalian Store
In the winter of 2009, Sophie and her husband founded the "Banana Fish Bookstore" with the concept of "Zine in Processing", which is the first independent bookstore in China to focus on importing paper works published by independent labels and artists from all over the world, covering four main formats: BOOKS, COFFEE, GALLERY and RISOGRAPH.
"BANANAFISH" takes its name from A Perfect Day For Bananafish, the opening novel of J.D. Salinger's collection of short stories Nine Stories, which also serves as the domain name of banana fish bookstore's website. Sophie explained in her blog at the time, "The name is meant to show what banana fish bookstores do, and it represents a normal state and expectation held by young people in the current Chinese environment." ”
Banana Fish Bookstore Gubei Main Store
Banana Fish Bookstore has undergone several urban relocations since its first store landed in 2011, from Shanghai to Dalian, from Dalian to Nanchang, and even had a two-year dormancy period, and returned to Shanghai Shiquan Road from Nanchang in 2014. Until 2021, it moved to the current office on Yanping Road in Shanghai, and then opened a new store in Shanghai's Gubei District, which constantly tried the possibilities of independent bookstores, but never gave up and poured all its love.
Do bookstores in a "curatorial" way
Independent bookstores are usually smaller in size, with unique spatial design and display methods, as well as a rich and curious variety of books, a series of cultural activities, bringing a different way of experiencing.
In July 2021, banana fish 2.0 stores entered the store with a new logo and the concept of "THE BOOK MADE ART". The space design of the store was carried out by the Beijing Space Station Architects, which created two book walls on the left and right and three wood chip display shelves with flexible height adjustment for banana fish.
Banana Fish has always been a bookstore in a "curated" way, in addition to creating an aesthetic space, it also has its own unique editorial ideas in the selection of books, trying to differentiate between different stores.
For the current store, Sophie said that she will pick a better understanding, so that customers can find their favorite books in 10 minutes. She also expects, "That new readers will be exposed to our book selections and discover a new world like our original experience in Europe." Maybe that's the expectation that everyone who opens a bookstore has.
Banana Fish Bookstore mainly sells niche magazines, photo albums, zine, bean books at home and abroad, as well as a limited number of posters, small handmade utensils, etc., such as handmade candles in the "ivory tower", porcelain from Hangzhou Whisper studio, etc., all in all, can be classified as "niche".
The current office where the Banana Fish Bookstore is located, located in the core area of Jing'an Temple, as a new landmark in Shanghai in 2021, gathers a number of creative life brands, such as in the Park, Super Plant Company, ABC Camping Shanghai's first store Monte Monto by ABC, craft beer brand Mikkeller Tasting Room, Eaves, Internet celebrity restaurant BONICA and so on.
Gather multiple identities and operate in self-production mode
Banana Fish Bookstore has multiple identities, both as a bookstore and a ZEINE cultural promotion platform, an independent publishing house "Banana Fish Publishing House", a printing studio called "Bread and Meals", and a design company.
In a small space, it integrates multiple functions such as bookstores, galleries, printing craft studios, and cultural promotion platforms. The store also holds offline events with different themes such as book launches and small exhibitions from time to time.
The two founders of Banana Fish are also the organizers of THE UNFOLD Shanghai Art Book Fair, and they provided the foundation for the art book fair to land in China. Banana Fish Bookstore also cooperates with many art museums, not only in books, but also in the way of making handmade books to join the museum's public education. Their Artist Craft ZINE grant program is also designed to encourage young creators.
As an independent publishing house, Banana Fish Publishing House also designs and funds the publication of independent works for photographers, poets and artists, becoming a self-producing bookstore.
In addition, Banana Fish Bookstore operates an online bookstore at the same time, and also opened a Little Red Book account in line with the trend, but interestingly, the above records are all the books selected by each customer in the store and the stories that happened to them, which is quite heartwarming.
The future of domestic independent bookstores?
Although independent bookstores take the "niche" route, we can always find some commonalities in the direction of book selection, specific to magazines, I can often find familiar figures such as "Casa BRUTUS", "MagazineB", "LOST" and "Little Days", and Japanese illustrator Noritake's literary and creative works.
In addition to banana fish bookstores, there are not a few independent bookstores in China, such as the "Half-Storey Bookstore" also located in Shanghai, the "Jetlag Books" in Sanlitun, Beijing, the Ferry Bookstore, the Old Paradise Bookstore, the "MOSSES" in Hong Kong, the "Yimu Old Store" in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, the Creative Bookstore "One-Ninth" in Suzhou, the Unricooked Art Bookstore, and the Bookstore with a Plan, some of which are also quite famous in the industry.
It is understood that the emergence of "a shop" was more or less inspired by the banana fish bookstore. Out of their love for banana fish bookstores during their reading period, in 2015, founder Kafka & Josam returned to their hometown of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, to found "ONE HALF IN", which defines itself as a small living place to share art and culture through paper reading and life details.
Since then, the "One Old Shop" has developed into a physical space that includes BOOKMART, PROJECTION ROOM, and BETTER LIVING. The BOOKMART Convenience Bookstore Program, initiated by them, opens small guerrilla stores through cooperation with different cities and different types of spaces, and brings their favorite books to different communities and the public.
Their wish is that they hope to show the independent cultural status of Zhoushan through the "Yimu Old Shop", and also hope to promote the development of independent publishing and positive life aesthetics in Zhoushan, bringing more interesting and meaningful things to the city.
The "Half-Storey Bookstore", also located in Shanghai' Hongkou District, is located on Harbin Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, adjacent to landmark buildings such as the 1933 Old Square and the Dream Theater, and most people who patronize the half-storey bookstore come to admire it. Its main architectural and design books are out-of-print, and the space itself is a model for transforming itself from an industrial heritage to a bookstore.
The paper industry, which has been impacted by new media, and the wave of physical bookstore closures affected by the epidemic, have been heard in particular in the past two years. The existence or return of physical bookstores often only requires a book, a cup of coffee, a lecture, and an exhibition to bring like-minded book lovers back together and bring back the warmth of increasingly distant community relationships.
Excellent paper books carry a variety of cultures and arts, and have also inspired countless artists, brand founders, designers, and culture enthusiasts to create more creative inspiration, which is beyond the reach of fragmented Internet information. No matter what the future of independent bookstores in China, with the progress of the times, its existence still satisfies some people's demands for knowledge, and they shine in the city in their own unique ways, opening the door to new ideas and inspiring more people to explore and think about the future.
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Author | AriaChoi images | from the brands' official channels
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