Printed Matter, Inc. — Attraction in New York

If wizards were real, they would shop at Printed Matter. This tightly packed gallery and book store is the essential art book store that all other book stores (MOMA i'm looking at you) aspire to. I have never left the store without wishing I was significantly more capable of spending thousands of dollars a year on books. I have also never left the store uninspired.

There is something unbelievably liberating when you see 15,000 unique pieces: collections of ideas that are both precious, and worthless at the same time. They are meaningful or as dumb as you make them - and unlike most clothing stores they eschew trends and tastes. The unbelievably democratic collection has oddball works ranging from scientific and geometric proofs all the way to murder mysteries...but every book is something you'd probably never see anywhere else.

If you have a creative in your life, this is ground zero for birthday's and Christmas. If you yourself are a creative, do yourself a...

Such an important place. Lucky to have it as a brick-and-mortar shop, as it seems easy enough to leave it at just the biannual fair.

More than just art books, they also have a small collection of screen printed bags, shirts, and the like, and records/CDs/tapes.

Nearly everything they carry is incredibly hard-to-find elsewhere – including zines by local makers as well as limited edition artists' books. Their open submission policy provides for a rich, diverse selection with items at every price point (practically anywhere from 50¢ to $500) and niche intellectual interest. Additionally, they've got some fun rotating freebies up front and a generally busied but helpful-if-you-want-it staff.

Some of our favourite finds: Cropping the Ocean by Bjarne Bare and Roni Horn's Making...

YOU MUST GO! Stumbled across the Chelsea location of this storied shop. Amazing. The variety is extraordinary and I loved browsing and my purchase. In fact one of the gents behind the counter said "Oh, you like Vince Aletti? We're having an event in November, do you want to join us?" And, he wasn't the guy checking me out. So, here's to pride of ownership and customer appreciation. I didn't catch his name, but I really appreciated the invite and signed up. I felt like I was back in the New York I found 20+ years ago and it was a really nice reminder. I'll be...