Katherine Ennekens visited 40 retailers with a unique shop interior. The oldest dates from 1875 and has remained virtually unchanged since then. All the interiors in this book are more than fifty years old and have been well-preserved. The majority of the shops are still open for business, while others have been closed for some time and are awaiting a second lease of life. A whole variety of shops are portrayed, including pharmacies, bakeries, hat shops, jeweller¿s and butcher¿s. Contemporary photos by Evy Raes and archive images display the unmistakable charm of these shops and make us aware of the need to treat this vulnerable heritage with care. Katherine Ennekens has been realising cultural projects in Antwerp since 1997, from exhibitions and guided walks to theatre and readings. Through these projects, she got to know numerous authentic shop interiors and often fell a little in love with them. She is also the author of Verhalenbazaar: Vakantieherinneringen van 1930 tot 1980, a book on holiday memories. Photographer Evy Raes gets her inspiration from everyday life. For her project Kom binnen! she photographed authentic interiors from the past over a period of five years. This resulted in a photo exhibition in St Peter¿s Abbey in Ghent and a book of the same name. In 2010, she travelled through Mexico. This journey was the inspiration for Kijk!, a book that helps children discover photography.

Autor Katherine Ennekens / Photographie Evy Raes