Due to the rapid development of internet, online shopping is very much welcome to people nowadays and makes people’s lives easier and more convenient. Although most people favor online shopping, some still like to go for brick-and-mortar to enjoy the nice touch of products and the beautiful design of actual shops. To attract customers, many shops have popped up in recent years, and they do create new shopping styles.
AGCT(公寓咖啡館), a clothing brand, was founded by two local designers with landscape and architectural design background in 2009.It was originally a studio and clothing exhibition space and only for the brand partner. In order to make the brand closer to the costumers, they decided to create a shop with mixed elements of clothing and café.When entering the coffee shop on the third floor, the rich aroma of coffee is all over the place. Designers cleverly integrated the seat area inside these fashion garments so each seat can be found in some little surprise.There is a large French window seat, people can enjoy the greenery outside with very good lighting. Whether it's sunny or rainy you can feel the flavor of nature. There is also a long table for students who come here to study, with designers' clothing on the other side. In addition to this, there are also a variety of accessories and antique cameras, even an old typewriter!
Ms. Lin(林姓學生), a student of National Taiwan University (台灣大學) said that she always takes her laptop or books and stays there by herself. Lin also suggested that the window seat is the best choice because of the awesome view.
Galette café(葛樂蒂咖啡) is a characteristic café that has combined the elements of a coffee shop and a puzzle shop. It is located on the Xinhai road and easily accessible by both private and public transport. The café is quite spacious and comfortable for relaxation. In terms of the interior decoration, it is decorated with different kinds of exquisite puzzles on the wall. More interestingly, even small items, such as door handles and coasters also have some elements of puzzles.
There are a wide varietyof puzzles from different designers, and the puzzles designed by Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy(幾米) are the most popular. “They are so cute. Coming here to choose one puzzle of Jimmy's has become a happy thing for me,” said Ms. Zhou（周小姐）.
The café offers some puzzles for customers to play for free, and it is good news for puzzle lovers that they can save lots of money.Mr. Xu(徐先生), who is a puzzle enthusiast and one of the costumers, said “I like this café because I like puzzles, and it is a good place for me to kill time on the weekends.“ Another costumer, Lin Jie (林婕)said,” Sometimes I make appointments with friends, and if I don’t know a lot about the persons, it’s hard for us to find something to talk about. So I will choose this café, we can play puzzles together, we will no longer fall in an embarrassing situation. ”
Mini Storage(儲房咖啡館) is a café with bright and cozy atmosphere that sells both coffee and flowers. It's a place that will make you willing to want to spend a whole afternoon having a cup of coffee and enjoying the warmth of sunshine in front of the flowers next to the room's window.
When you push the door, the first fragrance is the smell of flowers, coffees and fruit. Then you will see a bright bar. And beside the bar is a place full of colorful bouquet, blooms and plants. The idea of interior design is taken from a movie named Valentine's Day. This flower shop not only sells flowers but also has a bar providing drinks and coffee. Customers come here to get some coffee and bring back a bouquet of flowers at the same time. Consequently, Mini Storage's manager Iris conceived the idea and started to sell flowers and coffee together in her shop.
To mention about interior design, Iris said”when I was a college student,I joined the climbing club. Since then, I fell in love with nature and I have been hanging pictures and movie posters of nature on the tables, tableware and on the wall.” Everything you see is about the nature. She thought putting the things she likes together will make the most perfect work. But compared with the other managers of some coffee shops, she should pay more attention to every detail as coffee and flowers are very different. Although operating a shop as such is not an easy thing to do, Iris wants to make Mini Storage a place where she can express her own life style and attitude.
