Retail Store We Love :: Brusselsprouts (Kalgoorlie, WA)

Tell us a little bit about your store
My store is situated in the mining town of Kalgoorlie, WA which is located 600klm east of Perth & primarily cater for 0-6yrs with a few items for grown ups too. I sell a mix of handmade, local & imported products with the majority of stock being handmade.



When/why did you open your store?
I opened the store last November. My own label was doing well & I would get alot of emails from other wahm's asking for advice on how to get their products into stores & the difficulties some had experienced with store owners not appreciating the uniqueness of handmade. This inspired me to open a store where my own & other handmade items could be showcased & sold with the respect they deserved. With only Target or Kmart to shop for childrens items I believed there was a need for this type of store here n Kalgoorlie & since opening the response has been overwhelming.



What labels designers do you stock in your store?
My own label Brusselsprouts, Primrose Lane Creations, 76 Tilly Lane, Alice & Lilly, Smoochy Kiss, Iszle, Millaruby, Inner Earth Soaps, Sweet William, Only Midge & many more.



Why do you love handmade so much?
Most importantly for me it would have to be the quality, there is so much love & attention to detail put into each product. I also love that each item is unique, if its from new materials, vintage, upcycled every piece has its own story or history. They are items to be treasured & passed on, not disposed of easily.






Name 5 feelings (single words) that your customers will feel when they enter your store
Happy, Intrigued, Satisfied, Calm, Surprised

Visit the Brusselsprouts Blog for more information.

Retail Store We Love :: Making Spaces Marketplace

Tell us a little bit about your store
Making Spaces Marketplace is a boutique style space - part retail store, part market - in the heart of the Parramatta CBD. Its purpose is to give designers a unique opportunity to display and sell their own products on a temporary basis and to provide a venue where lovers of handmade can purchase in one convenient location.



When/why did you open your store?
Our store opened just last week, on the 20th July! Our philosophy, and the reason we opened it, is based on the idea of "makers helping makers" and our aim is to generate continued support of each other within the handmade community and promote our work to the wider community at the same time.

Making Spaces Marketplace is a project developed under the Pop Up Parramatta initiative in conjunction with Arts NSW that is focused on injecting creative enterprise and creative infrastructure into unused buildings and spaces.




What labels designers do you stock in your store?
So many wonderful designers are represented here! We have lots of Made It businesses such as The Twin Thing, Creative Wishes and Billy Mac Clothing. There's also some established brands such as Xavier and me, benconservato and Jenna Appleton and some exciting up and comers such as Muzz and by katy. A listing and images of all of the designers in Making Spaces can be found on our blog makingspacesmarketplace.blogspot.com





Why do you love handmade so much?
What’s not to love? It's what we do! We are passionate about non mass produced products, indie designers and the handmade community. We know handmade as producers and as consumers and are huge advocates of it being a way of life.



Name 5 feelings that your customers will feel when they enter your store.
Intrigued, fascinated, welcome, happy, delighted.

Opening Hours
10am - 4pm, Wednesday - Friday
9.30am - 3.30pm, Saturday

Shop 17, Greenway Plaza
222 Church St, Parramatta.

Visit blog for more info makingspacesmarketplace.blogspot.com

Retail Store we ♥ :: in.cube8r @ The Valley Brisbane

Retail Store we ♥ :: Vicki from in.cube8r @ The Valley
incube8r.com.au

Tell us a little bit about your store (where is it)
This little pink shop is the first franchise of in.cube8r in fitzroy - it's located on Wickham st in fortitude valley, just down from the brunswick street mall, and right opposite the post office. All our signage is now up, so you can't miss us!!! We have 90 australian artists under one roof, and are the place for emerging artists to "test the retail market"

when/why did you open your store?
I was introduced to in.cube8r by an old friend on a weekend trip to Melbourne in January this year - and from the moment I walked into the store I knew I was in trouble!! As an artist i thought I'd love a cube, but as a passionate supporter of all artists, I knew Brisbane would benefit from having their very own in.cube8r. It was less than 4 months from the first visit to me opening my own store - twas a busy and frantic time in my life to say the least!



What labels designers do you stock in your store?
I stock nearly 90 different artists in the store, so narrowing it down to a few is too hard!! Instead I'll say that we stock artists specialising in clothing, bags, artworks, jewellery, pottery, ceramics, clutches, toys & magnets, just to name a few!!

Why do you love handmade so much?
Because things made by the hand come from the heart, not a machine

Name 5 feelings that your customers will feel when they enter your store.
overwhelmed, amazed, inspired, delighted & pink!!! (is that a feeling, if not it should be!!!)

Carnegie: Little Shop of Handmade

Tell us a little bit about your store
Little Shop of Handmade is about 13km South East of Melbourne CBD in the Suburb of Carnegie.

We sell 100% Handmade in Melbourne/Rural Vic goodies - with the exception of our craft kit's and books which are sourced all over the world, but then you go ahead and make it yourself in Melbourne so it still fits in with the theme. One of the requirements for stocking at Little Shop is that all items must retail for under $50. We have an AMAZING selection over 40 designers/craftsters including our own in house Brands "Little Shop Of... and Morgan and Jane"...

We literally are a little shop - but you wont believe how much we have packed into the space.... we have big plans for a second store called the "Big Shop of Handmade" later this year or early 2011

when/why did you open your store?
We opened in July 2009. Originally the store was only going to be my studio/showroom as I had totally outgrown my spare bedroom just dealing with internet orders I was getting from Made It, Etsy and littleshopof.com - I also had about 15 Stockists to look after and my weekly Market stall to make for - it had become crazy to say the least...luckily my husband Jon was happy enough to step over the boxes and push the mess aside to sit down at the table for dinner "Bless Him"!

We actually live in Carnegie ourselves and had our eye on this cute little shop front for a while - the store was never open and on our daily walks past we dreamed if only this was ours....we could do so much etc then one afternoon we saw the for the lease sign ( a few weeks before we heading to India for a month YIKES! ).

The shop had a small studio space out the back plus a sweet little shop front - so the shop was born. I have lived in the area for about 3 years and knew that I could get away with doing such an exciting concept in an unexpected shopping strip. We are still pretty close to the City but really at the start of suburbia and the area is full of ex inner city livers who moved out to start families - so lot's of professional groovers Photographers, Designers, Copy writers etc so I really wanted to bring a more inner city concept to the burb's - it's been amazingly received - it's awesome! at least twice a week I get comments on how much the shop is like those found on Flinders Lane, Fitzroy, Northcote and even Japan WOO HOO!



What labels designers do you stock in your store?
ohh so many - all your Melbourne Market favourites - Little Shop of, Rummage Style Vintage, Scrumptious Productions, Lark, Blockage, Aunty Cookie, Rabbit and the Duck, Owl and Fox, Mingus, Button Tree, Pirdy, Buttons by Lou Lou, My Very Button, Pocket Carnival, Studio Leanne, Empress designs, Pear Shaped, Mainichi, Blue Ginger Designs, Here we go Loupy Lou, Print Space, Sooooound, Crayon Chick, Emerge, Peeping Tom Papers, Vendela, Maggie Dolly, Little Gooseberry, Jo Sew and Sew, Night Owl, Scotatto, Cserpent, Kalliopi, Lekker, Red Letter Studio, Shei Collection, Boombi, Wee Small Hours, Charlie Parker, Le Pappillion, Shonah, Ali, Pinky Pig, Pezimystic, Betty and Hamish, Polka Dot Rabbit, Pins and Thimbles, Antigone K, Nilla Nilla, Bella Girl, Pepperberry and Co, Faith, Hope and a Whole Lotta Love. Gee, Chuckles Designs...

I think thats everyone, so sorry peeps If I have missed anyone out! We pretty much cover Newborn to Nanna not too much stuff for boy's but I have certainly made it easy for a boy to come by a present though - the general consensus from Ladies shopping with partners in the store is "You can buy me ANYTHING from this shop!"



Why do you love handmade so much?
My background is 10 years in product development for mass market . Towards the end of my career I never felt connected to any of the products I was designing and making - basically it was mass produced junk inevitably ending up as land fill, never to be cherished or kept forever.... and I did not like that at all, no siree!.

I had also totally disconnected myself from the creative side of my work too - working in corporate is always about the bottom line...some one else's bottom line ( and they seemed to be driving fancier cars and living in bigger houses than me when I was doing the hard work!). I love that handmade has absolutely no boundaries and restrictions and what's really important is the feeling of excitement, happiness and the small sense of achievement it brings when starting or finishing a project....if only that happened everyday to every one! What a world!



Name 5 feelings that your customers will feel when they enter your store.
Thrilled, excited, amazed, inspired, welcome

Little Shop of Handmade (visit website)
8 Woorayl St
Carnegie, Vic
3163

Opening Hours
• Sun , Mon, Tues ~ Closed
• Wed - Fri ~ 11am - 6pm
• Sat ~ 10am - 4.30pm

Newcastle: relax at the Blackbird Corner

Tell us a little bit about your store?
Blackbird Corner was set up by me (Nici) my Sister Jen & my partner Sean in 2006 in Cooks Hill - Newcastle NSW.



When/why did you open your store?
After years of wearing clothes we'd designed & made ourselves we realised there was a demand for what we were into. Because we design/make most of our stock we pretty much just make what we like and have never really been particularly interested in what’s in or out of fashion. We all love anything to do with birds and oriental fabric/styles are definite faves too.

We also wanted to create a store where people can feel comfortable, be greeted with a mixture of subtle scents from our incense & the handmade scented "Touch of Bohemia" Soy Wax Candles. Customers can spend as long as they like browsing, or take a seat & flick gently through one of the gorgeous Aussie Mags we stock whilst listening to our fave tunes.































What labels designers do you stock in your store?
The things we make & sell include: unique Clothing + Printed Tees + Accessories + Cards + Homewares. We cater for Women in sizes 4 to 18+ and Men from Small to 2XXL with a teeny range for babies & toddlers. My labels are called Wayward Girl & LINT. Jen's is Hex(6) + Jen & I make a range called My Fascist Mother. Sean's label Anorak is our biggest seller. We have also taken a few select items on consignment but only from long term customers due to the size constraints of our tiny shop. Oh and we happily stock a collection of Zines by Suzy Pow from Bird in the Hand Zine Distro too! www.zines.wordpress.com































Why do you love handmade so much?
We love making & selling quality limited run & one off handmade wares. Seeing someone walking down the street wearing an outfit we made is immensely satisfying & rewarding. We also try to support other Crafty Folk
whenever we can - we recognise that these things are Labours of Love! Admittedly we do sell some “mass produced” things too - toys & trinkets that remind us of the those we had when we were young, which make us feel nostalgic & happy. We also stock a pretty good range of Aussie Magazines (including Frankie, Peppermint & Wooden Toy Quarterly - yay!) + LOMO Cameras too!



Name 5 feelings that your customers will feel when they enter your store.
Comfortable, Welcome, Relaxed, Inspired, Happy


Visit Blackbird Corner at
70 Darby Street, Cooks Hill, Newcastle
(cnr Queen & Darby Streets Next to Cooks Hill Books)
Phone: 02 4929 4350

Open Tues 12-4, Weds - Fri 11-5, Sat 10-3, Sun 11-3 (closed Mondays)

For more directions visit their website

Daylesford handmade gem - Lark

Tell us a little bit about your store?
Lark's new shop is tucked away in a laneway in pretty Daylesford, Victoria, and opens every day except Wednesday from 10.30-4.00. Dayleford is just over an hour from Melbourne.

Lark is well-known for its own range of hand-knitted baby toys and vintage accessories. The new shop extends this to include goods from around the globe for all ages, including jewellery, homewares, stationery and t-shirts. Expect to find beautiful art prints by London's Belle & Boo, Japanese zakka and books, picnic sets from the ethical Danish label Rice, handmade children's clothing, craft kits, zines and a host of handcrafted products from Melbourne designers including Beci Orpin, Victoria Mason, Betty Jo, Little Shop Of and Twiglet. Very friendly service, free showbags, and advice dispensed on what to do around Daylesford for visitors!

When/Why did you open your store?
We felt that Daylesford was much in need of a handmade/crafty store, plus we were also excited by the idea of meeting our customers in person as well as 'virtually' so when a huge old factory came up for lease in town we took it on. As well as the shop, Lark now has it own office, studio and warehouse all under one roof.

What labels designers do you stock in your store?
See above! We also sell the work of crafters from around Central Victoria. When I first moved to Daylesford three years ago I noticed a real lack of outlets for local crafters to sell their work. My friend Kate and I started up the Daylesford Makers Market, which has been really popular, and hopefully the Lark shop will provide a further opportunity for talented local makers to sell their work.

Why do you love handmade so much?
I love handmade because it is so personal, expressive and unique. Buying handmade usually also means that you are supporting small businesses, local makers or fairtrade groups, rather than lining the pockets of large corporations.

Name five feelings that your customers will feel when they enter your store.
Welcome, excited, nostalgic, charmed, surprised.



Visit Lark at
4a Duke Street, Daylesford (behind the MS Shop) (03) 5348 1853
Open 10.30-4.00 - Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun (closed Wednesdays)

For more directions visit their website