Microcosm Publishing's SE Zine Store Expands Twice in Past Six Months, Adds Zine Trike

The last time I was in Microcosm Publishing‘s zine store located in the ActivSpace building on SE Main, I spent more time keeping the lil’ guy at bay than I did actually browsing for new books.  The reason being that the store was so small that no matter where I positioned myself, he was always within reach of one book rack or another.  And since one of his favorite things to do is pull books off shelves, it became a constant battle between the two of us.

Since then Microcosm has relocated the store to a larger space within the same building, while also adding a “zine trike.”  What is a zine trike?  Exactly what it sounds like, a zine store mounted on a trike.  While the trike is used as a display shelf on Portland’s many rainy days, any time the sun comes out you can spot the trike out and about finding new readers.  Have I mentioned before how much I love Portland?

Microcosm’s zine store offers all the zines and books Microcosm publishes, such as the DIY guides and Powell’s bestsellers Make Your Place and the Zinester’s Guide to Portland, but it also carries thousands of self-published zines and small press titles.  The store opened 18 months ago, right before the bottom dropped out of the economy, and has since managed to hold on through some rough patches.  In fact they continue to buck the general malaise that hovers over the economy and the book industry specifically, and according to Microcosm’s Jessie Duke may be looking to expand the store front yet again.

So go down and check out their new digs, and the next time you are downtown keep a look out for zine store on wheels!  You can keep track of its whereabouts on Microcosm’s Twitter page.

Image credit Microcosm Publishing.