by Meredith Thompson

The Prints and the Paper is nestled among a budding community of shops, theatres, bakeries, and restaurants along 124th street between 107th and 108th avenue in Edmonton’s Westmount neighbourhood. Its magical window displays draw you in. A single long room, shelves on either wall, old-fashioned secretary desks covered in treasures, a long table down the middle made of old piping with stools periodically spaced along it … it is part gift shop, part art gallery. Ideal for browsing. This centre table is taken up with cards, specialty cookbooks, design books, art books, and so much more. The walls are covered in prints, clocks, and artwork. The back wall is dedicated to children’s books, a dollhouse, and stuffy toys of classic literary characters, including Babar, Frog and Toad, and Madeline.

The Prints and the Paper is a labour of love that emerges from the wonderful sensibilities of shop owner Sandy Muldrew, a kind, warm, and incredibly knowledgeable person. In his past lives, he was a CBC television producer as well as the owner of a haven for local film buffs, Sneak Preview Video. I worked for Sandy at Sneak Preview once upon a time, and our conversation about books and his shop continually turns to the movies we both love, but I steer him back on track with a question about the shop itself. 

“I always had the vision of a long store and a table in the middle,” he smiles. “That’s probably why I chose this space.” 

He points at the centre table from his stool behind the counter with its glass top, under which lies a display of vintage printer’s blocks. “I designed this table myself, and my brother figured out all the specs for it, all the measurements for each pipe, and made the seats out of walnut. Then I put it all together.” 

 I look around at the furniture Sandy has amassed over nearly a decade in this location. Each piece is chosen with purpose, from the oversized secretary desks rescued from Alberta Government surplus to the perfectly placed apple boxes. Sandy’s dream shop is a living work of art. 

There’s something for everyone, from three-dimensional cardboard T-Rex heads to posters of birds dressed in medieval clothing, and an assortment of stationery worthy of any enthusiast. But my eye keeps being drawn to the back corner of the shop where we are sitting. There are kites, a working cuckoo clock, a The Adventures of Tintin book display. The entire wall is dedicated to children’s books. I am sure Sandy can boast one of the best collections in the city. “Because I love graphic art, I’ve always collected illustrated books and children’s books are the most illustrated books,” Sandy says. “It’s a fine art. The best children’s books are the simplest ones where the child has some sort of reaction. 

“The children’s book section has doubled in size since I first opened,” Sandy explains. “It was about two years [into the store being open] and it was a Saturday morning, and I sold almost my whole stock of children’s book and a light went off in my head. I thought, this neighbourhood is great—it’s not only a lot of young families with children, but also a lot of grandparents.” 

“I love the mice in the matchboxes,” I say, pointing to the dollhouse and display of beautiful cloth mice next to their hand drawn match boxes. “I always look at those when I’m here.” Sandy smiles. “Sometimes I’ll be closing up on a winter’s night, and it’s dark outside. As I’m turning the lights off near the display, and I do a double take because all the mice will be missing from their matchboxes. And then I go to the doll house and a child has put them all to bed or something, but they’re all in there.” 

I’m curious to know how Sandy collects the books that are for sale. Every book I pick up shows evidence of the artisanship that goes into bookmaking—from the quality of the paper to the design choices and the diversity of the subject matter. “People recommend books to me,” Sandy says. “I try and have a lot of not only fun books but also science books, bedtime books, Indigenous books, French books, search and find books, British books, international books, poetry for children, storybooks, all the classics….”

But the store has more than just an amazing kid’s book selection. There is a dedicated Studio Ghibli section at the front, and what Sandy calls “gift” books throughout. Poetry books, photography books, books on art and design, books on architecture, cookbooks, a great graphic novel section, and travel books. 

“Design is very important in the world. It makes people happy,” Sandy says, and everything about the shop confirms this. “I think you’ll find treasures every time you come in, if you look for them. There’s something for everyone.” 

“I have a lot of favourite books in here,” Sandy says. I’ve asked him about his favourite books. He pauses, looking at the books on the shelf across from us, as if he’s unsure of which to pick. “Oooh, there’s a Moby Dick shadow box book. Each page is a box with levels that create a scene. I think that’s a fantastic book.” He looks around the shop, seeing more of his favourites jumping out at him. “I have a book on Tokyo—a graphic designer wandered around Tokyo with water colours. And there’s an artist in Vancouver who does ‘her favourite places.’ She did one of Vancouver and she’s just done one on Victoria. I love slowly adding to my collection of books that will delight people.” Which is exactly what they do. I have never once visited this store and not in some way been delighted, whether with a postcard, a pop-up book, or a fridge magnet. 

“That’s the way I look at the store,” Sandy says, “it’s a little bit of magic. It’s a throwback to a neighbourhood shop. I think of the store sort of like Fezziwig’s in A Christmas Carol. He tried to keep his store going against the tide of modernism. He stuck to his principles. I like the idea that against the odds the store is succeeding.” 

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