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The Fair
Words by: Alicia Hoisington July 01, 2022

Matthew Goodrich is an award-winning interior designer and strategist known for projects that feature rich narrative content and foster interaction and human connection. In 2017, he established GOODRICH, a new design practice to create hospitality interiors and brands which fuse conscious, meaningful design with operational innovation.

“Reading and research is a central part of our firm’s design process, and we never begin a project without several deep dives into bookstores for inspiration,” Goodrich says. “We find digging deeply into books provides the foundation to understand the multiple contexts of a project, and also presents a deeper trove of images and information from which to draw.”

Here are some of Goodrich’s favorite shops that he says are well worth your visit, either in person or online. And if you are ordering books online, he says to order them through Bookshop.org to earn money for your local independent bookstore.

Frenchtown Bookshop, Frenchtown, New Jersey
@frenchtownbookshop / frenchtownbookshop.com

Barbara de Wilde and Scott Sheldon have done such an outstanding job at selecting this shop’s range of fiction, non-fiction, culture, food and art titles that you will have a hard time choosing just a few books to leave with. The good news is that everything stocked is so discerningly and thoughtfully chosen, you cannot make a mistake here. If you want help, Barbara’s daughter Helen O’Connor, who we call the “book whisperer,” will spend time making insightful personalized suggestions for you, and you are guaranteed to leave happy. Otherwise, you browse peacefully in the beautifully designed store, surrounded by art, great music, and other voracious readers. Recent purchases: Homo Irrealis by Andre Aciman, and Olivia Lang’s shimmering collection of essays, Funny Weather.

Fondazione Sozzani, Milan, Italy
@fondazionesozzani / fondazionesozzani.org

Part of the magical multisensory design experience that Carla Sozzani created at Corso Como 10, this gallery and book store on the second floor is an absolute must on any visit to Milan. The gallery is programmed with fascinating exhibitions on photography, decorative arts and design, and fashion. The bookstore and design shop has an outstanding selection of books on art, design, fashion and photography, including house publications. On my last visit I bought two monographs for our studio library: Piero Portaluppi: Tra Tradizione e Avantguardia by Lorenzo Pennati and Patrizia Piccinini, and Gino Sarfatti: Opere Scelte by Marco Romanelli and Sandra Severi. Pro tip: After making your purchase, have an Aperitivo in the leafy courtyard downstairs.

Panoply Books, Lambertville, New Jersey
@panoplybooks / panoplybooks.com

This knockout shop sells rare and used books. Owner Roland Boehm has great taste and vast knowledge, and this small store is packed to the ceiling with fantastic books, including rare art, design, and architecture books, as well as fiction and non-fiction. He also has vinyl records, vintage magazines, and a few wonderful pieces of art and design for sale amongst the books. For our UBS Arena at Belmont Park project, we put together a beautiful library of books from this shop over the course of several visits. It’s also an excellent source for books to use in styling for photoshoots: excellent covers and bindings abound. If you are here on a weekend, there is a good chance my partner Thom and I will be, too. We visit weekly and always leave with arms full.

Photo by Myleen Hollero

Press Online
@press_sf / pressbooks.us

Founded as a brick-and-mortar store by Paulina Nassar and Nick Sarno, this store now operates as an Instagram-only shopping destination. I love seeing the Instagram posts from Press when they pop up in my feed. They sell a technicolor cornucopia of cool, weird, and hard to find art, design, and photography books from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. I usually don’t act fast enough to buy them, but their selection has raised my awareness and piqued my curiosity, and I am a devoted follower. Scroll through their feed to see the world though a lively lens, and then click on the link in the bio to buy the books that are available. They also work with customers to curate collections of books for sale or for libraries.

Printed Matter, New York, New York
@printedmatterinc / printedmatter.org

Founded in 1976, Printed Matter has been a platform promoting, selling and hosting public programs like talks and readings. The shop sells a staggering number of artists’ books and zines, posters, prints, multiples, and out of print publications. Give yourself plenty of time to explore and browse through the range of artist books and zines. An hour spent here is truly mind-expanding. The dedicated gallery space has great shows, often supported with public programs and lectures. I’ve bought many books here over the years, but also purchased objects and multiples that we display in our interiors projects. On a recent visit, I picked up Victor Boullet’s Philip Glass, 5th October 1995 New York City, and a limited-edition print, Salty by Michele Oka Doner.

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