When distinguishing a great shop from a good one, several qualities come to mind. Perhaps the storefront is as beautiful as it is historic, with perfectly-aged signage alluding to a storied past. Once inside, you may find a hawk-eyed curation of many goods or a passionate pursuit of a single good. And the shopkeeper, the glue to hold it all together, can bring an irreplaceable sense of place and reason to stay just a moment more—or both.
It’s this perfect recipe that designer Paula Flynn has spent the past decade chasing and documenting through her website The Shopkeepers, an extensive directory of brick-and-mortars, guides by every shop type and region, and profiles on their keepers. Now, her newly released book The World’s Most Beautiful Shops is a culmination of the thrills of the hunt and ode to the most distinct retail experiences across the world. “Each of these have managed to create a special moment in time that speaks to the sensibility of their location [and] heritage,” Flynn tells Condé Nast Traveler. To her, the book is a tribute to the art of shopkeeping in all its many forms, while the shops themselves are “projects influenced by where they are, rather than copying something you might find on the other side of the world.” Ultimately, it’s those stores that “give a place its character” that Flynn is keen on spotlighting.
While shops can close or evolve, Flynn is confident their legacies will remain. “[The book] is a tribute, and I think they’re shops people can always look to to be inspired.” From a 237-year-old candle shop in Lisbon to a townhouse-turned-textiles-museum in Istanbul, explore 20 of the most beautiful shops in the world below, courtesy of Flynn.
