Fellner-­Louvigny in Luxembourg city is a modern, narrow and intimate space lined with home-made bookshelves leading to an open mezzanine that will serve as an exhibition gallery. The marriage of books and art is perfect for Fellner, a native Dutchman who has spent years dedicated to both.

Building much of the furniture from scratch and getting a smithy to make other unique pieces, Fellner single-handedly transformed the ground floor of the recently renovated building. And, more importantly, he also hand-picks every book that he stocks, travelling to book fairs and wholesalers, and to airplane hangars in England. Indeed, the shop feels as though it has been carefully curated.

Fellner-Louvigny specialises in books about culture--whether that be fine art or photography, cooking or interior design. But customers will also find the quirky type of book about a subject such as the history of aquariums that will usually only interest specialists, or eye-catching titles that will entice the curious browser. Fellner also stocks a range of books by Taschen, the German publisher that specialises in beautifully designed art books. And a section of children’s books is packed with lovingly made illustrated books and stories for the young reader.

Fellner came across the address at 12 rue Louvigny by chance when the owner asked if he had any ideas for uses for the space. “I hadn’t even thought about doing a bookstore again,” he explains.
But, frustrated with working as a freelance art project consultant and curator, the empty space inspired him to put together a business plan to open a new store.

“Literature sells differently because of the internet. People see the latest work by an author and click on Amazon. But my headline is ‘surprising’. Books that people aren’t looking for specifically.”

Fellner has also tapped into the market for cut-price books, so that many of the titles on his shelves are available for under €20.
And he can order any book in print in English. He reckons around 60% of the books in stock are English-language titles. “English is becoming more and more common in the city,” he explains.

Following a soft opening, the bookstore is now up and running and getting busy ahead of Christmas. “Most of my customers so far have been under 40. That is astonishing. That shows that young professionals are interested in culture. That doesn’t mean they go to Mudam every week, but they are educated, they have lived in big cities, and they do have a curiosity.”

As for the art space, that is a complimentary addition to the retail outlet. “The idea is to have a showroom for Luxembourgish and resident artists. For sure our contemporary, upper-class good artists,” he says.

The first exhibition at the end of January will feature six artists who have worked in or have strong connection with Japan. “The artists I have chosen have a different approach.”

This article was first published in the Winter 2019 edition of Delano Magazine.