Urban Dweller

Right next door to the Brotherhood of St Lawrence’s vast shop on Brunswick Road, a new place has just opened up in what used to be a fish and chip café. But I discovered that it is more than just a shop; it has the air of a gallery, with its beautifully laid out sets of retro kitchenware, tableware, furniture, books and pictures. And its most interesting feature is the owner.

Tass has a story about each item in his shop. Indeed, many items have a link to his family, either having been owned previously by a family member or himself. Like the floor rug/runner from Limnos  which came out to Australia as part of his mother’s dowry or the 1950s medicine cabinet which his father salvaged from a place of employment, or indeed the cobbler’s set which had been his father’s profession when he arrived in Australia, before he went on to other jobs. The beautiful Danish lounge suite had belonged to some friends who emigrated to Australia from England in the 1950s, with all their furniture. Tass has an eye for retro and is not worried about telling his customers that the Coburg market is a great place to find such stuff. 

 

But if you don’t have time to hunt around at a market, just come down to 111 Brunswick Road and chat to Tass, it will be just as much fun.