Manga meets 3-D maps at new local shop

Elmwood

House of Local welcomed a new business onto the second floor of its campus at 680 Watt St. recently — a striking blend of art, literature, and civic pride.

Dotted Lines is primarily a manga shop, but prides itself on being an accessible community space for just about anyone. It shares this quality with its product. Used books line the walls, lighting up and filling the small space with colour and character.

Manga — a form of comic originating from Japan and well-known for its right-to-left reading style — is technically a genre in itself, and part of its charm comes from its variety. There’s action, romance, horror, sci-fi and much more, with audiences ranging from young kids to older adults.

Store co-owner Andrea Santos grew up on manga, and it remains a large part of her life. As someone closely familiar with the retail world, running her own, independent store has always been a dream.

Santos originally planned to open a shop related to tech, she said, but found the initial investment to be too expensive. While she is a fan of collectibles, she wanted to offer something a bit more niche, and eventually landed on manga, as she has a large collection she needed to cull anyway, she said, with a laugh.

Alongside the books, Dotted Lines also sells 3-D printed products depicting recognizable local landmarks, such as 3-D maps and miniature versions of the Winnipeg sign from The Forks (made with permission). These are coded and created by Santos’ partner and store co-owner, Dylan Silver.

“Dylan was thinking (of the name) dotted lines,” Santos said, explaining the origin of the shop’s moniker.

“(They’re) found both in his files, in order for him to make models, and then maps. And there’s always dotted lines in manga. So we were like, yeah, OK.”

Although they are very different, the two products — manga and 3-D maps and collectibles — mesh well, Santos said.

Dotted Lines began as a booth at a market, and then an online shop before it gained its own retail space at House of Local. Santos believes the local retail hub complements the type of space she aims to nurture as she grows the community there.

“I was like, OK, that seems very like a good starting point for a very tiny business like mine. But it’s always been a matter of ‘Do I have time? Do I have the budget for that? Do I have the energy to do it?’ Because that’s one big thing … I guess I do have the energy for it,” she said.

She added that selling their products from home was beginning to get “tricky”.

”Another reason why (they chose House of Local) is because there’s a coffee shop downstairs,” she said. “I feel like coffee shops and books really go well together.”

Santos said she hopes to create a safe, community space for people to connect over a shared interest . It’s personal for her, as the 29-year-old has always made a beeline to the manga section at countless bookstores over the years.

“Winnipeg has like a big anime and manga community that I feel is untapped,” she said. “And personally for me, I’d love to like go in a store that … is specifically for what I’m interested in, (that) feels like a safe space.

“It’s an art form that’s blooming, as well. And I think that since there’s a community, there’s a lot of like people who don’t know where to bring in their old books. It’s going to the landfill, which I feel is a waste,” Santos said. “And then, just to have friends (in a space) who love manga that know what you want or can recommend things to you.”

While Dotted Lines doesn’t yet have the physical space, Santos also hopes to foster a place for people to create their own manga, as well.

”If the world doesn’t end tomorrow, that’s one thing that I’d really want to have … one day a week where we could just be like, ‘Hey, do you have any manga ideas?’ … I mean, we have a lot of local comic book artists and manga artists, but why not have more? Because I feel like Winnipeg is very artistic, as well.

“I feel like that’s one thing that I’d really like if I have a bigger space … enough (for people) to do their hobbies, hang out and have fun.”

Santos said there’s no way to predict the future and there’s room to grow, but that in the moment, she feels good.

“I can look back, and say, at one point, I had my own manga shop,” she said — which is a nice start.

To check out Dotted Lines’ selection of books and printed products, visit dottedlines.ca

You can also find the business on Instagram: @dottedlines.shop