Nestled between darling coffee shops and natural wine bars in Echo Park is the most incredible bookstore we’ve ever seen, Untitled. Started over ten years ago by a new friend of ours, Dário Solari, this book store has gone from being online only (its predecessors were ‘Kanimambo Books’ and ‘StudioXol’) to a place where people can gather and shop books IRL while hanging out at their in-house cafe and garden. This is the sort of place you come to when you need inspiration. Dário has been in the book game for a long time, and his curation is art-forward and eclectic. You will find poetry and art books, photography books, new books, old books, books found in dusty old shops in Japan, and other various global trips. There is something for both the serious collectors and the casual shoppers, but you will leave Untitled feeling inspired and having discovered something new.

Dário has been in LA for 25 years, but his aesthetic and cultural influences come from his upbringing in Mozambique, South Africa, Portugal, the East Coast, and of course California. His parent’s work in the UN took the family on many global adventures as a child, and each place he lived and traveled to became a collection of experiences that were saved in his bank of visual memories and played a part in how he approaches life and art today. As a teen, he idolized surf and skate culture on the West Coast, which also played an important role for him as a visual artist. Dário studied architecture, became a photographer and painter, and continues to explore new inspiration, which is why he is so drawn to such a visual medium.

Dário explained to us that the motivation for opening a brick-and-mortar shop after existing online for so long was a craving for community, and the shop serves to bring people together. There is an alchemy in these human interactions that "algorithms just can't do," he explains. The shop is also a place where he can indulge his love of plants, the shop is full of them, making you want to come and stay a while. Dário's 10-year-old daughter, Skye, is very much a part of the fabric of this store and this community, although she claims to "hate books". Having this multi-functioning space, being a small business owner, and, on top of it all, a father- Dário is a master of preparedness. His Tsuchiya Kaban Diario Large Tote contains everything he needs day or night: Laptop, snacks, water bottle, change of clothes - you name it. It fits his style, which he describes as "Dapper/Skate" - think plaid wool pants, skate tee, lace-up oxfords. The bag works for his professional life, but he also uses it on his beach days with Skye.

Dario’s initial attraction to this bag was its simplicity, but what sold him was that it was made in Japan. Being in the book business, Dário has traveled to Japan extensively and understands the elevated level of detail and quality when it comes to Japanese-made goods. In the world of books, he seeks out old Japanese books that have a special high-contrast style made on old presses, a dying craft, he tells us. Dário is someone who values the time, effort, and heart that goes into craft. He wears his Tsuchiya Kaban bag all day, every day, and is invested in his relationship with this exceptional object because he understands how meaningful it is and how each crease he makes in the leather tells a story, just like one of his special vintage books.