If only Readers' and Viewers' Advisory were this easy!
Published on Monday November 19, 2012
Published on Monday November 19, 2012
Biblio-mat
ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR Every book is a surprise at the Biblio-mat, the latest in hipster technology at the Monkey's Paw on Dundas St. W. Owner Stephen Fowler, right, and his friend, designer and animator Craig Small, came up with the idea at a cottage weekend. Small then built the machine.
For the arcane, the absurd and an absolutely eclectic collection of second-hand books, the Monkey’s Paw is a destination for bibliophiles.
But if you can’t decide what to take home from Toronto’s idiosyncratic bookshop, the Biblio-mat, a random book vending machine, will choose for you.
And it will only cost you a toonie.
“I was picturing a skinny guy sitting in a cardboard box feeding out books,” jokes Stephen Fowler, who owns the Monkey’s Paw on Dundas St. W., just west of Ossington Ave. “I never actually believed it would happen.
“It is, as far as I know, the first antiquarian book randomizer.”
With no window on the vending machine designed and built by Toronto animator Craig Small, what book the Biblio-mat spits out with each toonie is a mystery each time. Its stock will stand up to the seemingly random titles the Monkey’s Paw offers, selected by Fowler himself, but supply may be the next challenge.
“It’s definitely struck a chord with customers,” Fowler said as he loaded the machine Monday.
The pistachio-coloured and retro-themed machine has a certain rhythm to it: each toonie starts the hum of a lever and rings an old telephone bell as the book pours over the top and falls into the open tray.
Fowler and Small first spoke about the idea of a random book-vending machine in July at a cottage weekend.
It became a labour of love for Small, eating away evenings and weekends with designs, animations and eventually the build itself inside his garage.
The result was an old metal office supply cupboard, originally called the “book-randomizer,” which went live in late October.
Since then, blogs around the world have picked up on the novel idea. Fowler spoke about the Biblio-mat on NPR and a video Small created drew 12,000 views overnight. Small said in the 15 minutes it took him to get to work Monday morning, it jumped to 24,000 views.
For the small shop that featured both the 1970-71 Canadian Tire Fall catalogue and a collection of select works by Lenin in the front window, the draw of the machine plays off the cautionary tale of the Monkey’s Paw tale: be careful what you wish for.
“I’ll have to figure out how to stock this thing for the next year,” Fowler said. “I’m going to have to start scrambling for books that are sufficiently Monkey’s Paw flavoured.
“The theme of this shop is to hold unusual books that are going to surprise people, not your usual pile of bestsellers,” Fowler added. “We go through considerable pains to find really odd and out-of-the-way published artifacts.
“And the stuff that goes into the machine is no different.”
But if you can’t decide what to take home from Toronto’s idiosyncratic bookshop, the Biblio-mat, a random book vending machine, will choose for you.
And it will only cost you a toonie.
“I was picturing a skinny guy sitting in a cardboard box feeding out books,” jokes Stephen Fowler, who owns the Monkey’s Paw on Dundas St. W., just west of Ossington Ave. “I never actually believed it would happen.
“It is, as far as I know, the first antiquarian book randomizer.”
With no window on the vending machine designed and built by Toronto animator Craig Small, what book the Biblio-mat spits out with each toonie is a mystery each time. Its stock will stand up to the seemingly random titles the Monkey’s Paw offers, selected by Fowler himself, but supply may be the next challenge.
“It’s definitely struck a chord with customers,” Fowler said as he loaded the machine Monday.
The pistachio-coloured and retro-themed machine has a certain rhythm to it: each toonie starts the hum of a lever and rings an old telephone bell as the book pours over the top and falls into the open tray.
Fowler and Small first spoke about the idea of a random book-vending machine in July at a cottage weekend.
It became a labour of love for Small, eating away evenings and weekends with designs, animations and eventually the build itself inside his garage.
The result was an old metal office supply cupboard, originally called the “book-randomizer,” which went live in late October.
Since then, blogs around the world have picked up on the novel idea. Fowler spoke about the Biblio-mat on NPR and a video Small created drew 12,000 views overnight. Small said in the 15 minutes it took him to get to work Monday morning, it jumped to 24,000 views.
For the small shop that featured both the 1970-71 Canadian Tire Fall catalogue and a collection of select works by Lenin in the front window, the draw of the machine plays off the cautionary tale of the Monkey’s Paw tale: be careful what you wish for.
“I’ll have to figure out how to stock this thing for the next year,” Fowler said. “I’m going to have to start scrambling for books that are sufficiently Monkey’s Paw flavoured.
“The theme of this shop is to hold unusual books that are going to surprise people, not your usual pile of bestsellers,” Fowler added. “We go through considerable pains to find really odd and out-of-the-way published artifacts.
“And the stuff that goes into the machine is no different.”
No comments:
Post a Comment