Your Friendly Neighbourhood TYPE

Joanne Saul and Samara Walbohm met while going for their PhDs in literature at U of T, so it's no surprise then that their mutual love of the written word led them to open TYPE, an independent bookstore in Toronto.

The first location opened on hipster haven queen west in 2006 and the second location followed in the Forest Hill village just one year ago (the village location is pictured above celebrating the first anniversary)

 

A rarity in today's age of the bargain book superstore, TYPE offers customers a sense of cozy familiarity that has been lost with the decline of the local neighbourhood bookshop. Staff are friendly, the selection is well-edited, and the decor is wonderfully eclectic with damask wallpaper and smokey glass pendant fixtures.

 

Coffee table, hardcover and paperbacks mingle on industrial library shelving which categorizes the books by subjects printed on a lable maker - an ode to Saul and Walbohm's days spent in the stacks at U of T's Robards library. The Queen location also houses a gallery as well as regular workshops, including a children's literacy program. 

 

Eclectic displays of knick knacks, stationary and and novelty mini-books are pleasant afterthoughts at the counter, and an entire section at the front is dedicated to paper goods, toys and magazines.

Worth a special mention is the adorable kids section chock-full of toys and a mix of classic and new titles. Notables mentions  include Charles Pachter's new picture book M is for Moose and The Jolly Postman, which I had to bring home with me as my younger sisters had destroyed my original copy by taking out all the letters.

Here are some of my picks from TYPE:

 

Freud Magnetic Puppet, $9 

Moleskin Pocket Notebooks, set of two, $10.95

And You Shall Know Us By The Trail of Our Vinyl, $27.95

Roger La Borde Polka-dot Invitations, $12

Letterpress Travel Journal, $15