There’s a massive coffee shop on Dupont Street that houses artist studios and community events that include film viewings and collage nights. It’s called Typist, and it’s the brainchild of career typist Nicole Bhersafi. If the concept weren’t already welcoming enough, it’s now home to a new vintage shop, Odd Thing, operated by Ana Popova. 

Typist opened in March of 2023 when Bhersafi, having spent several years building a career as a busking typewriter poet, began a search for affordable studio space to situate her practice. When she found the unit on Dupont, it was bigger than what she’d envisioned but she figured she could share it with artist friends. And since there was already a built-in counter, she could even launch a coffee program to supplement the rent.

“As an art student I already had [experience working in coffee] because that’s how you survive,” laughs Bhersafi. 

So she turned the back of the space into artist studios, and the front into a cozy coffee shop which she also rents to creatives in the café’s off-hours. Programming has included workshops, readings, performances and all kinds of private events — from birthday parties and weddings to film productions and open jams. She didn’t intend to become a business owner per se, but before long, the coffee bar was bustling, and she needed help running it. 

Meanwhile, Popova was going on four years of lugging her vintage collection around the city to set up at café pop-ups (as a side hustle, no less).

“It was a lot of work,” she says. “A lot of schlepping stuff around and packing the car.” She harboured her own dream of opening a café with a vintage retail section, so she’d been using coffee shop pop-ups as a proof of concept to see if customers would be interested in shopping her collection in that setting. As it turns out, they were, and the business was going so well that last year, she was able to quit her day job to pursue Odd Thing full-time. 

Though Popova and Bhersafi had never met in person, multiple friends suggested that Typist would be a great place for Odd Thing to do a pop-up. So by the fall of 2023, Odd Thing held its first pop-up at Typist — an occurrence that would continue monthly for the next eight months. Over the summer, Popova also started hosting vintage tailgates in the Typist parking lot, featuring music, barbecue and multiple vendors, an event so popular that they intend to reinstate it next summer. 

It was around this time that Bhersafi was hit by the realization that she could no longer run the café alone.

“I was really struggling with workload capacity, I was running everything by myself at the time, including being the main barista on site,” she says. “Ana was telling me about her dream to open up a café/vintage spot, and since we already had a sort of quasi-permanent set up here, we struck a deal.”

They decided that Popova would help at the café a couple of days a week in exchange for floor space, and Odd Thing opened as a permanent fixture in September. 

The vintage shop is right at the centre of the café, running along the back wall, so it’s impossible to miss. Popova considers her stock to be wearable everyday apparel, composed of natural fibres, and mainly sourced from the ’80s and ’90s with certain ’50s/’60s pieces mixed in. 

She has her own studio in the back to process the clothes and is meticulous about presentation, ensuring everything on the floor looks and feels like new. She also has permanent displays at Bazaar in Kensington and Arts Market in Little Italy. “It feels like a step towards my goal of owning my own shop,” she says. 

One of Popova’s studio mates is Typist’s studio manager, artist Ernesto Cabral de Luna. Several artists share the back space, separated by wall dividers into exceptionally affordable 150-square-foot units, considering the state of Toronto’s rental economy ($500/month.) The units are rented on a month by month basis so Cabral de Luna considers new applications as space becomes available, ensuring each artist’s practice is compatible with those presently using the space. Right now one of the spaces is vacant, and artists are welcome to apply together should they be interested in sharing. 

Every weekend, Popova also invites another vintage vendor to share the front space with her, asking that they promote their pop-up rather than charging them a fee.  On top of that, she’s added her own programming to the space: a monthly collage event. The ticket costs $30 and includes a complimentary drink and access to all materials, including Popova’s collection of vintage magazines — participants can make as many collages as they’re able. 

“I’d say it took a year to get to the place where the right people were coming in,” says Bhersafi. “That’s Ernesto, Ana, Andre our barista. I’m seeing this place excel the most through other people using it to its full potential.” 

Sadly, the building has been purchased by a developer and is intended to be torn down in two years.

“Since this place is coming down, I’m continuing to focus on making this a space for cultural growth and development,” says Bhersafi. “We’re very flexible and we do not price gouge anybody. I’m always happy to work with students or artists on the lower end of what they can pitch in. We’ll always find a way to make it work.” 

Typist is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at 390 Dupont St.