Prepared to share your secret source?
Sat, 5 Jan 2008
Calling all Australian readers. Are you prepared to give up your favourite/secret vintage shops? Stylist, photographer, author and blogger Pia Bijkerk emailed me with an interesting request.
".... one of my stories will be featured in home beautiful soon and i am writing up a list of antique and vintage stores for them that i can recommend to readers - i have all my faves from sydney in there but i have NO contacts for Queensland (well, nor melbourne or the rest of oz!) - would you be able to recommend at least one or two from there so in the hope they will mention it in the article? i REALLY want to promote cool vintage places across the country. in the story i am saying something like this 'instead of heading to the mall on a saturday, go and check out your local antique or flea market etc bla bla'.... do you reckon if you posted about it people might write in from around oz with some shops to recommend?? or markets?"
So oz antique and vintage lovers spill the beans on the hottest and the most fabulous stores in your city. But we're on a deadline. Pia is completing the story brief this weekend so we need your tips by Monday Australian time. Never mind if you miss the deadline still leave all your fav spots in the comments below. Then we can let everyone in on the fun.
P.S. Pia sent us this lovely dog on a bed photo as a thank you in anticipation! Read more about this cute pic and Michelle Young's work on Pia's blog
P.P.S. Stay tuned for more cute pet photos again this week.
Reader Comments (11)
thanks guys. having just read your WINKS, I think I should start looking into Canberra, how fantastic!
wow won't that mean they'll be able to ask more for their vintage pieces with more demand?
this is an incredible coincidence... see my blog for reason :)
hiya gals :)
Great store drey!!! Love all the photos. I want that love seat .... and the ball chair ..... and the.... all of it!
Oh, oh, Old Hat Homewares in Twin Street, Adelaide. Definitely worth a mention!
ooh - I'd love to share my recent most awesome Melbourne find .. but i'm quietly stalking the store ATM for some special things and need to eliminate competition until I get them !!
Sorry !!
I stick to the Salvation Army and the local church thrift store (which I'm keeping secret). For books try Bent Books in West End, Brisbane. Clothing Retro Metro in Paddington and Lifeline Vintage Revival, Ipswich Rd, Annerley (slim pickings at times but I have scored big time here). In case you can't tell I'm from Brisbane like Jo.
thanks everyone, just wanted to add a note in regard to drey's comment: i like to promote smaller businesses rather than large corporations as even though we all like to keep these shops to ourselves, if we don't share them they could go out of business quicker than you think, and then there is nothing for anyone! retail is hard these days and we need to do everything we can to ensure small businesses survive. otherwise the likes of us stylists can only promote the large franchises. hope this makes sense.
Thanks for the tip for Adelaide Mandy!
true true... there's an Antique Junk Shop on Mt Alexander Road in Moonee Ponds, Victoria that's pretty good for vintage stuff (esp lighting)...
De Bretts Antique Market, 646 Mount Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds
there's also a couple in Footscray, Victoria... one selling retro and another selling antique/vintage... names/addresses i can't help sorry... don't visit often enough...
Note to everybody: DON'T tell ANYONE about your favourite retro/second-hand/antique place! Good places are like good tradesmen; hard to find and impossible to replace.
It's bad enough as it is, with "vintage" being the look du jour and every half-baked lifestyle show on TV encouraging the masses to swarm down to their local Good Sammy's and pick the place clean. I used to have a great Salvation Army store just down the street from me, but now it's difficult to find a parking space, let alone anything decent within.
nice play of the devils advocate blandwagon. I'm sorry to hear you find it hard to find a parking space.
Sorry, pia, but it's very frustrating.
Also I live in Perth, where 99.9% of the things in second-hand stores aren't groovy old junk, but homewares from Target circa 1998.