FORM & FOLIO opened in 2018 with a radical premise: a bookshop is a classroom. Every shelf is a syllabus, every display a lesson in composition. We borrow from Bauhaus pedagogy — where material, color, and structure aren't decoration but the very substance of understanding.
We believe browsing is a form of study. That the physical arrangement of books teaches as much as their contents. That a well-composed shelf can change how you think about reading itself.
The ultimate aim of all creative activity is the book.— Adapted from Walter Gropius, 1919
We hold three principles sacred:
▲ Form. The shape of a book — its binding, its margins, its typographic rhythm — carries meaning before a single word is read.
■ Community. Reading alone is contemplation. Reading together is curriculum. Our events, clubs, and workshops make the private act collective.
● Knowledge. Every genre is a discipline. Fiction teaches empathy through structure. Non-fiction builds understanding through evidence. Poetry distills language to its essence.
Our organizational model mirrors the Bauhaus teaching diagram — concentric rings of discipline radiating from a core purpose: the reader.
Our staff are teachers, curators, and readers. Each brings a discipline to the shop floor.
Former librarian turned bookseller. Believes every shelf tells a story about stories.
Reads 200 novels a year. Curates by structure and voice, never by trend.
Programs author readings and workshops that treat literature as living curriculum.
Philosopher, barista, and defender of the long footnote. Runs our reading room.
400 sq ft, 2,000 titles, one idea: the bookshop as Bauhaus workshop.
Launched virtual reading groups and mail-order curriculum boxes during lockdown.
Moved to current space: 1,800 sq ft with café, event space, and letterpress studio.
Named "Most Beautifully Organized Bookshop" by Publishers Weekly.
Co-host weekly literacy tutoring sessions and donate 500+ books annually to under-resourced schools.
Visiting artist residencies and student exhibitions in our gallery wall space each semester.
Exclusive local stockist for their handmade editions. Joint letterpress workshops quarterly.