The joy of record collecting is equally tempered by the reality of properly storing few dozen to thousands of vinyl albums. Symbol debuted a decade or so ago and focused on this problem with a range of furniture quality vinyl storage pieces. In the time since, the brand has stayed rooted in the analog sound world and has expanded the furnishings offer to include seating, tables and storage for home and work.

New for 2026 in NYC is the Symbol Loft, a hybrid showroom/design studio and main office. The space hosted an opening gathering and live jazz composition performance by Billy Martin, Matt Glassmeyer, and Jonathan Goldberger.

The 3rd floor space on Bowery is a quintessential NYC loft with white painted floor, original exposed brick walls and tin ceiling. The showroom occupies the front and the studio workspace is tucked in the back. The gravitational pull of Symbol’s numerous lounge-style sofas, vintage light fixtures and audio gear are hard to resist for a few hours of chillout album listening. There’s no audiophile pretension or do-not-touch furniture showroom vibes here.

Matt Richmond, Director of Product Development at Symbol shared a couple interesting projects they are working on. The first is a collaboration with their partner USM for new album storage units.

The second project is a prototype for a modular record storage system adapted from aluminum crates made by an overlanding accessories company. It’s a different direction from Symbols other furniture derived vinyl storage towards a rugged functional aesthetic.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter