Intérieurs de magasins

Katherine Ennekens has a mission: to ensure that the still intact old shop interiors in Belgium are preserved for the future. Unfortunately, there are few of these beautiful examples of craftsmanship left today. To map and draw attention to these remaining heritage gems, Katherine published the book 'Intérieurs de magasins le passé au present' in 2014.

Of the 40 authentic interiors she presented there, many have since been lost: it shows how fragile this heritage is, and thus how important it is to treat it with care.

That is why Katherine Ennekens now brings this second book, hoping that a better fate awaits her 40 ‘new’ old shops. All these interiors are located in Belgium, are built on site, older than 50 years and exceptionally well preserved. The most diverse types of shops are featured, spread throughout the country: from a tobacco store in Antwerp to a poulterer in Sint-Truiden, from an optician in Charleroi to a candy store in Bruges, from a cheese shop in Brussels to a shoe store in Verviers. Some are still open, some were given a new use, some stand empty behind the closed shutters. Photographer Bart Kiggen captured them all for this book and for posterity. And, who knows, to inspire (young) shopkeepers to start a business in an authentic interior and thus help preserve the charm of a village or town.