Masters Bookstore

Masters Project is an independent commercial organisation headquartered in St. Petersburg, with a unique mission to teach people of all ages with the history of art and develop thinking skills about the phenomena of the contemporary artistic process. As a continuation of the educational project, the company opened a second bookstore in a growing cluster of the historical Petrogradskaya Storona of Saint Petersburg. The flagship Masters Bookstore combines a bookstore, a coffee shop and an exhibition space for collaborations. There you can find special editions and latest books about painting, architecture, design, fashion and photography. Part of the space is reserved for a coffee shop, well-known Russian roasters and coffee suppliers Sibaristica Coffee Roasters.

The location of the specialty store was chosen in the new elite residential complex Futurist not by accident. The developing stylish Petrogradsky district turned out to be the perfect spot for the rebranded Bookstore project and the style of its founder, Polina Bondareva. It is noteworthy that the development of the project took a record short amount of time, since the stylistic decision was agreed upon very quickly.

The layout was developed in such a way that the visitor experience can be the most complete, and they could consistently view all the products. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a large yellow installation. The colour scheme (a combination of branded vanilla yellow and French gryy) was specifically chosen by the founder of Masters herself, but the design task was to find the perfect balance to make the interior of a small bookstore relevant and not overloaded with unnecessary details. Simple, brutal and tasteful, as we say.

Next is the coffee shop seating area in neutral grey tones and open shelving compositions with light wood finish. Upholstered furniture was custom made based on the studio design at two production sites in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The development of pilot samples and the coordination of fabrics took several months. Stainless steel bar counter is located right next to the seating area. In combination with rough concrete and bright lighting, the space is filled with dynamics.

Shelving compositions made of natural light oak veneer. Bar island made of steel. The tables are pure concrete (Ominimalsim). Poufs – Senbei by RYMAR.studio.

Photo by Sergey Krasyuk.