Matt Carson, owner of Last Supper Books Credit: Photo supplied by Matt Carson
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed folks walking around downtown Hamilton with canvas bags with the words, “Last Supper Books,” printed on them. I remember thinking, “What a strange name for a book store.”
Then, when I was searching for a poetry book by a specific Hamilton author, Google sent me to Last Supper Books. So, off I went to 148 James Street North in downtown Hamilton to the storefront that had once been home to a well known vintage shop, Daddy’s Plastic.
Customers inside Last Supper Books Credit: Matt Carson
Inside Last Supper Books, I found a haven for book lovers and met owner, Matt Carson, who opened the indie bookstore in the fall of 2024 generating great excitement and rave reviews. That’s when I knew Small Change listeners needed to hear from Matt.
Matt is an entrepreneur and community builder. His work extends across grassroots, non-profit and for-profit ventures where he attempts to inspire experimentation, collaboration and creativity.
Last Supper in-store event Credit: Matt Carson
Matt currently owns and operates Last Supper Books which serves as a cultural hub, hosting community gatherings for events like Catered Coworking, Books on Film, Doodle Feast, and Book Club. Last Supper Books also sells merchandise to raise money for a variety of charities including St. Mathew’s Cathedral Café that provides programing, services and hot meals to meet the needs of community members seeking support.
Last Supper tee shirt for sale in support of St. Mathew’s Cathedral Café Credit: Last Supper Books Instagram
A week before the COVID pandemic, Matt serendipitously founded Try Me Again Later (TMAL), a collective that encourages community-driven resource sharing, community meetups and outdoor experiences like its popular year-round outdoor coffee klatsches.
Matt Carson outside landmark shuttered building at Hamilton's Bayfront Park Credit: Matt Carson
Then, in 2023, Matt co-founded Secret Sound, an intimate music series, with Tyler Bersche of the Hamilton band Ellevator. Matt explains why he and Tyler ask attendees to 'enter with reverence' and re-imagine how they understand the concert experience. Matt shares which performers and venues participate in these very unique, secretive, concert experiences. Matt also shares what’s next for Secret Sound enthusiasts.
Prior to Secret Sound, Matt worked in the music industry supporting emerging and established musicians with their online marketing and publicity at Auteur Research as well as putting on concerts in Toronto and Hamilton.
Last Supper music event inside the store Credit: Matt Carson
The extensive list of artists that have been represented by Auteur Research is mind-blowingly impressive! Of course, there’s Hamilton band, Arkells, as well as Joel Plaskett, Hawksley Workman, Julian Taylor, Iskwe, Tara Lightfoot, Shane Ghostkeeper and even Martha and the Muffins who had the hit Echo Beach back in 1980 and, incredibly, the band is still performing today.
Matt talks about his time at Auteru Research and how that influenced the long list of projects that he is currently involved with and what is next for Last Supper Books.
Oh, and what does the name mean? Well, Last Supper Books are “𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.” And, the fish on the tee shirt really is just a fish skateboarding on a board made out of a book. Nothing more, nothing less.
Additional information:
Last Supper Books, 148 James St. North, Hamilton, ON
541 Eatery and Exchange is located at 541 Barton St East, Hamilton.
Art Crawl on James Street North takes place on the second Friday of each month in 2025, from 7 to 10 pm. Local galleries, studios, shops, and restaurants welcome visitors.
Supercrawl, Hamilton's biggest outdoor music and arts festival, takes place September 12 to 14, 2025 on James Street North.
Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your financial support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
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