Size does not matter

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In the past decade, gigantic architectural splendour has swept across the fashion retail world. Superbrands have embraced words such as complex and epicentre to define what houses their creations. In every big city deemed a fashion capital stands monstrous fashion complexes on top of which the sparkling metal logos of fashion houses shimmer in the sun, testifying the greatness of the glamourous industry.

VERY SMALL SHOPS by John Stones Laurence King Publishing 2009 256 pp / 1,125 baht

However, hidden around nooks and crannies of smaller towns are retail shops that are not the work of architectural barons such as Herzog & de Meuron or OMA. While elephantine complexes are a staple one-stop shopping point for consumers, smaller shops are often converted from old, pre-existing buildings and thus require much more interior design ingenuity to transform their tiny spaces into eye-catching retail salons.

Mykita, in Berlin, Germany.

John Stones' book, Very Small Shops, presents a visual feast of small retail shops around the world. Categorised into small, smaller and tiny, the different shops share one mutual characteristic - ingenious design that maximises spatial restrictions. While huge retail complexes celebrate their one-stop-for-everything characteristic, smaller venues know their attraction lies in their eye-catching interiors which can much better reflect the character and concept of the creations they house.

F-Shop Hamburg, in Hamburg, Germany.

But Very Small Shop is not just a mere picture book; it's a journey into the mind of retail designers to figure out why and how they handle their limited retail spaces. There are images of an empty store, a completely decorated store, a floor plan and a checklist of materials and techniques. Take the astonishing example of Shu, a shoe shop in Valletta, Malta, which houses 75 pairs of shoes on display and stores 600 others within its miniature dimensions of 7 by 3 metres. The design team solved the problem by utilising the basement to expand the space vertically instead of horizontally, installing three interlocking staircases both for shoes to be displayed and for clients to sit and try on their favourite pair.

Shu, in Valletta, Malta.

'Very Small Shops' is available at Asia Books.