What will become of the shops? More than ever, the high street appears to be under mortal threat, its shops boarded up as the sad 'bricks and mortar' survivals of a pre-online retail world. But behind the bleak appearance, there is more to see. Back to the Shops offers a set of short and surprising chapters, each one a window into a different shop type or mode of selling. Old shopping streets are seen from new angles; fast fashion shows up in eighteenth-century edits. Here are pedlars and pop-ups, mail order catalogues and mobile greengrocers' shops. Here too are food markets open till late on a Saturday night, and tiny subscription libraries tucked away at the back of the sweet shop. Over time, shops have occupied radically different places in cultural arguments and in our everyday lives. They are essential sources of daily provisions, but they are also the visible evidence of consuming excess. They are local community hubs and they are dreamlands of distraction. Shops are inherently spaces of imagination as well as of practicality. They belong with their own surrounding streets and town; they bring back the times and places of our lives. They linger in stories of all kinds, whether far-fetched or round the corner. From butcher to baker and from markets to motor vans—after reading this book, you will want to go back to the shops.

The limitations of a tiny space, rather than inhibiting designers, often result in some of the most innovative and exciting retail design. While small shops offer the chance for famous designers to experiment and showcase their skills for the retailers who can afford them, other independent retailers will be competing for the same customers and looking for ideas to implement on their own. This book brings together some of the best recent, innovative examples of small store designs from around the world. All the shops measure less than 1,600 square feet (many much less), and are grouped by size, with explanations and tips from their designers. Types of outlet featured include fashion, accessories, opticians, technology, food, and confectionery. The book is divided into three sections: small shops, smaller shops, and tiny shops. Each section begins with an interview with a designer of a small shop, explaining the creative opportunities and difficulties in greater detail. This book will be inspirational for retail designers and small shop owners looking to create their own big statement in a small space.

Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened To Record Shops? documents the sad disappearance of a cultural icon from our high streets. Once a thriving industry, the UK has gone from having over 2000 independent record shops in the 1980s to just 269 in 2009. Written by Graham Jones, who has worked in the distribution industry for over 25 years as a record company salesman, this book presents a snapshot of a business that is under threat of going the same way as the stamp shop, the coin shop and the candlestick maker. Jones’ speaks to 50 record shop owners to see why they have survived while nearly two thousand others have closed. These interviews form the basis of the book, which celebrates the rich social history in which the record shop is steeped. In 2012 Last Shop Standing was made into an award winning 50 minute film, featuring interviews with Johnny Marr, Norman Cook, Richard Hawley, Paul Weller and Billy Bragg, alongside many of the record shop owners featured in the book. Given a new tagline – ‘the rise, fall and rebirth of the independent record shop’, the film has been screened around the globe and was an official selection at the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival in 2013.

This lavishly illustrated book celebrates one of the most influential and successful retail centers in the world, from its opening in 1965--when it changed the retail landscape by inviting European designers such as Gucci and Valentino to open stores within a shopping mall--until the present day. Theater of Shopping tells the story of retail visionary Stanley Whitman and the creation of Bal Harbour Shops, the most successful luxury fashion shopping center in the world*, and one of the last family-owned malls in America. Written by critically acclaimed author Alastair Gordon, Theater of Shopping is a cultural history of both a place and a personal legacy. The open-air mall opened in 1965 as a pedestrian-friendly environment that turned shopping into a kind of theatrical event, while featuring the work of young design talents like Valentino, Versace, Mugler, de La Renta, and other foreign designers who were unknown in America before first showcasing their collections at Bal Harbour Shops. The text weaves together fashion, luxury commerce, architecture, landscape design, urban development, and family history, to create a highly readable narrative illustrated with more than 300 images including never-before-published drawings, plans and photographs by renowned photographers including Richard Avedon and Ezra Stoller.

An antidote to online retail and fast fashion, the enduring beauty of a vintage item, purchased with all its imperfections and age-worn beauty, is the inspiration behind this new series from Michelle Mason, stylist and founder of Mason & Painter. Vintage Shops London is the first in a series that spans three capital cities; London, Paris and New York. As well as highlighting some of the most inspiring vintage shops in each city, each book offers practical styling tips to show how the reader can recreate their own 'vintage look' capturing the spirit of each place. Over 30 vintage stores and markets from each city are profiled with a description, what it is best known for, and illustrated with sumptuous special photography, which tells the story of each store, its shopkeepers and their inspiration, including behind-the-scenes tips.