Taschen Books has opened a mini-boutique, the first of its kind in Canada, inside the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Modelled after a similar set-up at the Chicago Institute of Art, the branded “shop within a shop” features select titles from the German publisher, best known for its art, architecture, design, and “sexy” books. In 2011, Brent Riley, director of divisional merchandising for books at the Art Institute store, told the Chicago Tribune: “With Taschen comes publicity. They are constantly promoting their own products and own stores on a worldwide basis. We’ve tapped into that.”
Roberta Samec, co-owner of Toronto’s Hornblower Group, is Taschen’s Canadian sales representative. She says Taschen titles have always sold well at the AGO, in particular those related to exhibitions, including the museum’s current show, The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910″“1918.