Photos by Stacie Joy
P&T Knitwear, the neighborhood's newest bookstore, debuted at 180 Orchard St. between Houston and Stanton this past Saturday.
This is a family-owned independent bookstore, podcast studio, event space and cafe ... "run by a team of passionate lifelong readers and listeners." (Our previous post has more about the owners.)
So far, we've heard good things about the shop, which offers free WiFi ... EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by and shared these photos...
P&T also has an event space that seats up to 80 people. (See their upcoming events here.)
The space is free to use not only for book events but also for community programs, workshops, mixers and more. You can email info@ptknitwear.com for info...
P&T is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
15 comments:
This looks great. Will definitely be checking it out. Love that they have events as well.
Agreed, this looks great and is exactly the kind of thing I've been wanting in this area for a long time - a bookstore with space for readings and events. Now if we could get one north of Houston!
@9:25
Book Club at 197 E. Third St. near Avenue B is "a bookstore with space for readings and events."
I stopped by opening weekend. Great staff, cute gifts and a decent selection of books. I love how community-minded they are. Support local bookstores!
Wow, this space looks huge. Looking forward to checking it out.
Personally I found the space to be a bit antiseptic and uninviting. Maybe it was the high ceilings and very bright lighting. Kind of reminded me of a Seven-11, only with books. The bleacher seating seems awkward, uncomfortable and a bit difficult to navigate. Be prepared to take a few kicks to the back while reading your latest novel. Sorry to be such a negative Nancy but the design is just kind of weird.
Maybe if it was too cozy, ppl would never leave. Which was kinda what I was wondering about when I read the description.
The design/seating feels similar to Powerhouse in Dumbo which is I think what they were going for. If you want cozy, Book Club Bar on Ave B is definitely the place to go!
Hi! I’m Julie, the store’s General Manager. Thank you for this feedback. We totally agree! (Also want to second the shout for Book Club Bar, they are awesome!)
The store looks different in real life than it did on paper. We are coming up with ways to soften it up and make it more inviting. We want people to feel comfortable hanging out. I think you’re right, those high ceilings have a certain effect that we need to work with. We do have additional display fixtures that are coming in (they’ve just been on back order and are slow to ship), so we’ll be adding more books and display spots in there, which I think will bring in a lot of warmth. And we’re working on adding a lot of colorful staff picks to the shelves. To me, color helps a lot with warmth. The space is definitely a work in progress. We want it to reflect our energy and enthusiasm, because we have a lot of it! We expect it to change as we settle in. Thanks again for your comments here and thanks for visiting!
"Book Club at 197 E. Third St. near Avenue B is "a bookstore with space for readings and events.""
J'adore Book Club Bar, but it's a much smaller space for events. The more the merrier!
I think this space looks cool! Totally agree with the Powerhouse comparison. Not every book shop needs to become a defacto living room. I love Book Club Bar and go there often but it is super small and during the summer it's a bit stifling. Plus, with this neverending pandemic, high ceilings and lots of space is a great thing.
Barnes and Noble on Union Square also has very high ceilings, but I think what helps warm the space up there is the lighting. Same thing goes for St. Mark’s books when it was in the Bean coffee shop space on 3rd Avenue years ago. Ditto The Strand. Good warm lighting goes a long way. But it’s great to have a new bookstore in the neighborhood and I’m looking forward to seeing the events.
I popped in over the weekend too and was impressed. Nice to have another bookstore around, definitely. The staircase-seating reminded me of the 53rd Street Library which has a similar feature. Might be uncomfortable after sitting for a long period of time but for a brief author event or lecture, might be fine.
Very curious about the "podcast studio" deal--what's that about, who gets to record a podcast, where will they be distributed, etc.--but first impressions are definitely good for this new store!
From what I can tell, anyone can use the podcast studio! I believe you have to sign up for a time and be pre-approved and I don't think they help with distributing (though I could be wrong!) but it's seems really cool for anyone with a good idea who can't afford the equipment/find a quiet spot to record in their apartment.
So easy fix to add warmth to the lighting by simply adding dimmers. Also most LED light fixtures have built in switches to adjust the temperature from cool light to warm faux daylight. Darker colors on the walls might work, say forest green to complement the wood. My personal choice would be to use 4 x 8 birch wood panels instead of white sheetrock. Rem Koolhas did some really great spaces in lower Manhattan using wood panels. However, what I would really like to see as a wall treatment would be to use reclaimed lumber from a a nearby gutted tenement. There's literally tons of old southern pine that get tossed into dumpsters all the time. Lots of artisans have made funky furniture from those old beams as well.
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