What are your thoughts on the notion that “print is dead”?
I consume news and certain magazine articles entirely online, it’s something that changes daily so it makes sense. News isn’t timeless. Books are very important physically because they’re a piece of curation and they’re meant to be timeless. When we do a book, we take the curator or the author and the photographer with the right point of view for that specific theme or topic.

When we do a book on, let’s say, Andy Warhol—we work with the director of the Andy Warhol Museum to select the 100 most important works. It’s not something we google. We bring a sense of curation to it. This is what is important because it brings this intellect and this emotion together through the text and the images. I think that [a book as an] aspect of being a timeless piece of home decor as well is also important. So, print is not dead for us, that is for sure.

It’s also about curating an experience of understanding art, or whatever the topic is. We want you to experience something, and not through the product, but through the brand in general.

What’s the most memorable project you’ve worked on?
The travel series. It’s the Ibiza Bohemia book, which was the first travel series book. At that time I had just launched the marketing department, and I think that was the first book for which I had a 360-degree plan. It was essentially a style guide to Ibiza, with beautiful images. My parents created a crazy, beautiful cover, very vibrant and striking. My mother actually drew the symbol on it herself. I really saw how people were engaging with it, and that sparked the beginning of a collection, the travel series.

How would Assouline approach the Asian market?
The Asian market is very new to us. I’m here to learn and assess. We need to really be in the right location and associate with the right partners as well to keep that brand longevity. If there is a different, specific product that we need to develop just for the [Asian] market or a collaboration we need to do to expand our reach, I’m open to it. I’m very happy to start developing touchpoints with customers in boutiques or around the region.

Do you think it’s easier to sell a book as a book or as a decorative object?
Both, it depends where you are. Our books are in English, so usually in countries where English is the primary language, definitely as books. But we stand out from competitors in the publishing world because our books are and can be decorative pieces, they are luxurious, and they are also often used as gifts.

Can you sum up the company’s vision in one sentence?
We want to create luxury libraries.

What’s a luxury library?
An experience. We want to be the authority in every aspect of a client’s library in addition to the books; the furniture, fragrance, carpet, interior design, all of it.

Tell us more about your digital magazine and podcast.
We’re here to celebrate culture. We’re here to shine lights on different themes and celebrate heritage. The magazine and the podcast are a platform to leverage that, both are titled Culture Lounge. I’m curating the content and hosting the podcast. I want to interview the photographer and the author about the real inspiration behind the book. I want to ask them: “Why was it created in this certain way?” And that’s what the magazine is for.

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