Q&A: INTERVIEW WITH THE OWNER OF UNIQUE ART BOOK STORE HARDCOVER




HARDCOVER is a unique book store situated at the third floor of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. When you walk in, you immediately see that it is not your typical book store. Its armed with a modern, artistic design and set as a “book gallery.” Sound weird? This is because Mr. Shane Suvikapakornkul had a career in art galleries before opening Hardcover. The artistic set up and unique styling helps sell its books, said Shane in an interview with our reporter.

Q: Why did you choose to start a book store?”
A: Novels and other kind of books are mostly becoming E-books, but Art books still cannot be turned into such books. People have tried, but failed. Because of the consumers’ behavior, the market for Art books is still a large market.

Q: What made you choose to focus on selling “Art books?”
A: I wanted to bring beautiful, good art books that Thai people don’t know to the market. Art books are very important to learning art. But in large book stores like AsiaBooks or Kinokuniya, if you don’t walk to the shelves, you won’t see these kinds of books. I want people to see the variety of art books from abroad, to know what kinds of books they make and which one works.

Q: Where did the name “HardCover” originated from?
A: Because this is Asia, if it’s some other names or some books jargon, people wont “get” what kind of shop it is. The word “hard cover” is something everyone knows, even those with little knowledge of English. It also indicates art books because they are big books with hard covers. I want it to be something memorable and easy to understand.
   
Q: What was the idea behind the deco?
A: Books have its own anatomy. These vocabularies have been used in the industry since before the internet. It’s something antique book lovers need to know and use. It’s not possible to email it to customers as I have to explain different parts of the books to them. Sometimes customers will ask about a certain book: do you still have it or is it in good shape? These are the ideas I used to decorate the shop.

To experience the uniqueness of Thailand’s first and only “book gallery,” visit HARDCOVER at Rm. 305, 3rd floor of Bangkok Art& Culture Centre. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11.00- 20.00. Tel. 0-2214-3155




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