Call it instinct, call it second sight. Graydon Carter claims that you know your reader when you see them. While touring the streets of Manhattan's West Village this week, Mr. Carter pointed out that “there are probably a lot more people in this part of the city who read books than there are people who don't read books.”
That may be why he chose a section of Hudson Street in the Village as the site for his new retail venture, Air Mail Newsstand, an expansion of Air Mail, the digital newsletter he launched with Alessandra Stanley in 2019.
The store arrives in Manhattan after Air Mail opened other stores in London and Milan. Like its namesake newsletter, the product is intended to appeal to an urbane crowd.
The strictly edited books and high-quality glossies such as “The World of Interiors,” “Kinfolk,” and “Beauty Papers” are supplemented with a variety of novelties that are luxurious and have a charm that can only be found here. For example, a curly brass shoehorn ($145); Chez Dede lampshade with palm tree pattern ($345); Old-fashioned typewriter paper ($15); Or an Air Mail logo baseball cap ($30) like the one Larry David wore in a recent episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Mr. Vanity Fair's former editor-in-chief. Is Carter adopting a new identity as a store owner? not quite. But “there is a merchant in everyone,” he said, unperturbed.
He sees retail as an inevitable adjunct to publishing, a symbiosis that is also acknowledged by brands like Monocle, which has a store in the West Village, and Highsnobiety, a sneaker blog that has evolved to include an online store. The publication won this year's National Magazine Award for General Excellence.
“You can’t just sell ideas in a magazine,” Mr. Carter, 74, said. “If you recommend a book, you want to help readers find it. If you’re writing about a TV show, let your readers know where it’s streaming.”
Located inside a 1905 townhouse, the Air Mail newsstand has honey oak floors, brass finishes, and a mirrored bar serving strangely spicy coffee. Magazines are displayed at the front of the store and rotating books are displayed at the back. Currently, 100 titles are collected under the title “Women Writers, Past and Present,” a high-quality group that includes works by Jane Smiley, Zadie Smith, Hilary Mantel, and Daphne du Maurier.
The store was designed by architect Basil Walter, who worked with Mr. Carter to develop the Waverly Inn, his restaurant in the West Village, and a space where Mr. Carter hosted parties as editor of Vanity Fair.
Like most clever merchants, Mr. Carter is himself a knowledgeable and unashamedly enthusiastic shopper. Other merchandise, such as Air Mail Newsstand's CBD-infused elixirs, lapel pins and many items featured in the newsletter's e-commerce arm, Air Supply, “are based on things we try and like,” he said.
Mr. Carter sat down at a table in the back of the store Tuesday and pulled out a flat, neat object that looked like a credit card. “This is an amazing tape recorder.” He spoke with the honest joy of a boy discovering his first set of Erectors. It costs $159, is sold at airmail newsstands, and can connect to a smartphone, Mr. Carter explained.
He acknowledged that it seems counterintuitive for a digital publisher to open a newsstand-style store, especially as both print magazines and traditional newsstands are in decline. But Mr. Carter is not afraid. “We definitely like print,” he said.
Air Mail has occasionally published print versions of its newsletters, and an annual or semi-annual print product is not a dream. “At some point, we’ll be doing printing,” Mr. Carter said.
“But we retired because there was only so much we could do in a day. “Of course I’m not actually retired,” he admitted with fake regret. “I should be playing golf right now.”