New Shop To Sell Tools For Nomads In Coolidge Corner

BROOKLINE, MA — If you love the gift section of the Brookline Booksmith and the fun practical built to last items at the Boston General Store in Coolidge Corner, rejoice! Brookline is about to get another similar shop.

Topdrawer is slated to open soon in the space formerly occupied by 2nd Time Around across from the SS Pierce building on Harvard Street. The shop will sell everything from backpacks to bento lunch boxes, to house shoes and sunglasses to pens and notebooks and wallets and rainboots all with a "Japanese aesthetic."

According to one representative the shop is scheduled to host a grand opening celebration on June 28.

In the meantime crews were there working and the brown paper was still up in the window and no sign had been placed as of Tuesday morning. While the Brookline location is not listed on the chain's website, it is listed as a member of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce under the "travel" category already.

The Japanese-American manufacturer and retailer is slated to open its second Boston area store (the first is on Newbury Street). They specialize in "tools for nomads," or tools for creative professionals built to last.

The company: Kolo Topdrawer was once two companies, now combined: Topdrawer was the boutique division of Itoya, a Japanese stationery retailer. Kolo was an American premium manufacturer and one of the most important brands in Topdrawer stores.

They now have eight stores including in two in San Francisco, two in Chicago Boston, Tokyo, and Osaka. This ninth would be their first in Brookline.

The store bills itself as a place for creative professionals to get inspiring supplies that last a while.

"In the course of one day, we might be working on a plane, a train, a cafe, and a park bench before ending up at our office or studio. Working this way requires the right tools, and frankly, the cheap, predictable supplies from the bloated superstores weren’t helping us and weren’t inspiring us. And buying products that would one day likely end up in a landfill didn’t seem right. We longed for the days our grandparents knew, when a person could buy a good tool that would last a lifetime and might even be passed down to the next generation," reads their website.

Kolo Topdrawer says they offer products curated from around the world, tools for working, photographing, eating, and traveling that you'll only have to buy once.

Address: 275 Harvard Street

Sound familiar? Boston General Store hopes to sell stuff built to last in Coolidge Corner

Brookline Booksmith: End of An Era, But Not An End

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