Potterton Books, a bookstore with a focus on graphic design, art books, fashion, and rare and out-of-print books with headquarters in England, is now up and running in its new location in the New York Design Center at 200 Lexington Avenue in New York City. In July, the store was forced to move from its original location at 979 Third Avenue, where it had opened in 2001, after the landlord didn't renew the lease. 
"We were given 60 days to get out," said Darcy Woodall, the store's managing director. "Under normal circumstances that would be a death knell for a business."
The New York Design Center, a building full of designer showrooms and some antiques galleries and dealers, heard about the closure and reached out to Woodall. The center had an open 1,100-square-foot space on its fourth floor; after agreeing on terms for a lease, Potterton Books moved into the building in early fall. After some relatively minor remodeling, Potterton Books "soft-opened" in late October and was fully operational by mid-November.
"We were really fortunate that the New York Design Center had this space and made it available for us," said Woodall. "It's turned out to be fortuitous; I think this will be a better location."
Potterton Books now is now able to open on Saturdays and stay open later on weeknights. And according to Woodall, the new location is larger than the old space and has a better, more open configuration. Woodall plans to use that extra floor space to host more events. In addition to traditional author events, Woodall wants to start a designer's book club and host lectures and discussion sessions with art historians and designers. The New York Design Center, she added, has done a great job promoting the store and providing marketing assistance during the move.
Although she's got no definite plans yet, Woodall intends to throw a grand re-opening party in January, after the holiday rush winds down.
The Design Center, Woodall said, is a natural fit for Potterton Books; the building is crammed with designers, and most of the store's books are art- and design-focused. "Interior designers are probably about 80% of our customer base," Woodall explained. "If they're doing research for a project, they'll come in and want to look at our art deco books, or for 18th-century French influences, or just look around for general inspiration. We try to be a real resource to people." --Alex Mutter
