Underneath a frilly awning on Dundas West stands a brand-new shop called Issues, where a clean, curated assortment of magazines rests neatly on wall shelves painted shades of butter yellow and dove gray. StarTogether
Underneath a frilly awning on Dundas West stands a brand-new shop called Issues, where a clean, curated assortment of magazines rests neatly on wall shelves painted shades of butter yellow and dove gray. Walking inside is a borderline disorienting experience — unlike Indigo and other bookstores that have allocated seemingly half their square footage to novelty socks, polyester blankets and seasonal hot chocolate mixes, the only items available for sale at Issues are magazines.
It takes an unshakable optimism to open a store dedicated solely to print media in 2022. Between the publishing industry’s constant mergers, layoffs and shrinking audience — not to mention the ascendancy of e-commerce over brick-and-mortar retail — it’s never been easier to assume that magazines are living out their final days in palliative care. But Issues’ proprietor, Nicola Hamilton, a 33-year-old who has logged a decade in Canadian publishing , scoffs at that notion.
She first got the idea for Issues after noticing that stores such as magCulture in London, England, and Casa Magazines in New York City had built thriving businesses hawking hard-to-find periodicals. If they could manage it, then why couldn’t a creative city like Toronto sustain the same thing? With the closure of bars like the Press Club and the Design Exchange’s pivot from museum to event space, there was also a dearth of spaces where magazine junkies could come to nerd out and be themselves.
Issues challenges the concept of magazines as ephemeral objects. Rather than disposable items to be skimmed over at the doctor’s office then relegated to the recycling bin, magazines are, in Hamilton’s view, collectibles to be kept and cherished well into the future. Part of that is necessity: the most affordable title on offer is Bon Appetit at $6.99; the most extravagant is Inque, an annual literary magazine, at $110.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
West Point Alum Warns the School is Going Woke'Almost every speaker was a leftist whose ideology was liberal and progressive.'
Read more »
Enbridge snaps up stake in West Coast LNG plant as demand surgesEnbridge Inc. has extended its push into liquefied natural gas as global demand soars, scooping up a stake in a proposed LNG project on the West Coast — even…
Read more »
House approves bill to help West fight wildfires, droughtU.S. House passes bill to help western states battle wildfires, drought
Read more »
After abortion ruling, West Virginia could become 1st to pass new billA bill banning abortions except in case of rape or incest is up for a final vote Friday in West Virginia's Senate, which could make the state the first to pass new legislation restricting access to abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last month removing its protected status as a constitutional right.
Read more »
After abortion ruling, West Virginia could become 1st state to pass law restricting access | CBC NewsA bill up for a final vote in West Virginia's Senate could make the state the first to pass new legislation restricting access to abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling removing its protected status as a constitutional right.
Read more »