On a narrow street just off Brick Lane in east London, Libreria glows with a golden light. The bookshop, with its reflective surfaces and vibrant colour, invites visitors to step inside and wander slowly. Shelves curve and fold around the space, drawing the eye from one theme to the next. Novels sit beside works of philosophy, political thought and art criticism, arranged to spark chance encounters between ideas.
Conceived by Rohan Silva, co-founder of creative workspace Second Home, Libreria was imagined as a place to move away from screens and daily demands, a space for immersion and discovery. “Rohan wanted to create a bookshop that fostered the discovery of new ideas,” explains bookseller Erika Sanz Gomez. “He had an idea to arrange books in a way that was different from traditional bookshops - creating themes that group ideas. In this way, customers are able to find books they might enjoy but might not have picked up otherwise.”
Today if you walk into Libreria you are likely to find Erika and manager Lloyd Sowerbutts. Reading has shaped them both. “I liked to read as a child, but my family weren't into reading, so I would constantly be interrupted,” Lloyd says. “I rediscovered the joy of reading at university. Studying Fine Art opened my horizons through the introduction to Italo Calvino's fiction and the ideas of Susan Sontag, Edward Said, and other notable novelists and thinkers.” Erika, who moved to the UK five years ago, read avidly as a child, returned to books in her teenage years, and has since deepened that relationship through her PhD in Comparative Literature.
The design of the shop was created by Spanish architectural office SelgasCano, who drew inspiration from Jorge Luis Borges’ short story The Library of Babel. Inside, reflective surfaces, saturated colour and repurposed materials heighten the sense of exploration. Erika describes how “in the autumn and winter months, the warm, yellow glow of the shop is a siren to passersby and enhances the magical feel.”
Libreria’s themes, from ‘Wanderlust’ to ‘Enchantment for the Disenchanted’, form the framework of its shelves. “We select new books that we believe our customers would expect us to stock, and we continually look to enhance the thematic curations with brilliant writers in response to current events and customer interactions,” says Erika. “It’s a collaboration of sorts with our customers, leading to an organic evolution.”
The effect is interdisciplinary, encouraging readers to move across forms and subjects. “Our thematic curations will result in novels sitting cheek by jowl with ideas and work by key thinkers,” Erika says. “A customer can be in front of a shelf and a glance up, down, left, or right will offer a tapestry of different genres and moods, which we hope engages their curiosity.”
Libreria is also a place of gathering. “Our events programme mostly features talks and discussions with great authors. We host these to support their books and share their work with as wide an audience as possible,” Erika explains. Past speakers include Nikki Giovanni, Michael Pollan, Colum McCann and Bernadine Evaristo. Many of these conversations are later shared on The Libreria Podcast, extending their reach beyond East London.
This September, that spirit of connection extends to TOAST’s Slow Sundays, a monthly series of gatherings across select TOAST shops. Centred on unhurried pursuits - mending, reading, making by hand - each event invites time for creativity and reflection. In Edinburgh, Harrogate and London Notting Hill, the next edition will explore the craft of bookbinding, accompanied by a special selection of titles curated with Libreria that will be available to swap.
Each Sunday offers the opportunity to sit with words, paper and thread, a chance to consider the book as both vessel and object. “A book swap offers an opportunity to build connections with others and discover something new to you,” Erika says. “It’s a great way to share a love and enthusiasm for entertaining and provocative writing.”
Join us for Slow Sundays with Libreria in selected TOAST shops on Sunday 28 September.
Words by Alice Simkins Vyce.
Photography by Ellie Smith.
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