It's been a while since I've had the chance to profile a bookstore. My fear is that the lack of new offerings in this city is indicative of the worrisome state the independent book business is in. If I were a betting man, I'd say that there have been more store closures than openings in Toronto during the last year or so. So I was quite pleased to hear of the recent opening of BUILT, a new store specializing in books on architecture. Opened by David Michaelides at 401 Richmond, BUILT joins Swipe Books as his second venture in the building.

Hoping to fill the void left by the departure of Ballenford books, Michaelides has stocked the store with an eye toward those serious about architecture and industrial design, rather than the lover of coffee table books. But, will fate be kind to a specialty bookstore of this kind? I caught up with the owner to get his thoughts on the new venture.

See my profile of BUILT in the bookstores section.