In my travels of scrounging through antique shops, op shops and markets I find so many hidden gems, and all in regional Victoria, in small country towns off the beaten track where somebody just needs to give them the PR they deserve. I am hoping to do a few shop feature posts on ye ol' blog to highlight these businesses and (more often than not) the rural women behind them. Because being a farmers wife is not all scones and cups of tea!
When we lived at Ythanbrae we would quite often travel through the popular tourist town of Healesville in the Yarra Ranges. I would always see this shop on the beautifully quaint avenue that is the main street, but I never stopped to have a look. It wasn't until we moved away that I poked my nose in the shop on a trip back to Yea to see friends recently. Isn't that always the way - you never appreciate what's in your own backyard? What I found was a beauty of a shop, Morris Brown, chock full of all things 'Emma' as Mr M puts it.
Inside the doors of Morris Brown I found all sorts of things to 'oooh' and 'aaah' over. Things like giant zinc letters (the ampersand would make a great wedding prop), old oak buffet hutches, chicken wire cloches, vintage typewriters, crisp stationery, floral linen scarves, musky candles and fragrances and a little room out the back full of kids vintage toys.
The store offers a variety of both new and vintage pieces, and you can tell the product selection has been quite deliberate and meticulous. Only quality made, and often ethical, products are stocked and the ladies behind Morris Brown are obviously masters at styling, visual merchandising and overall branding. They seemed to have really grabbed hold of the whole rustic farmhouse trend in design right now and are running away with it. Which I love (along with that linen tape, the industrial lighting and the muted grey union jack doormat).
A whole wall of the store was devoted to my favourite activity, gardening, which seems to be a common theme in design and retail at the moment, there is a lot of earthy, organic and botanical things floating about. I particularly loved the zinc pots, barbed wire numbers and letters as well as the old wool bale stencils to have as props in a farmhouse. The nickel work lamp I was lusting after to do my embroidery at night in the lounge room by the fire...
You can visit Morris Brown's website or find them at 264 Maroondah Highway, Healesville. They also have another shop in Heathmont at 192 Cantebury Road.
Images by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella
The store offers a variety of both new and vintage pieces, and you can tell the product selection has been quite deliberate and meticulous. Only quality made, and often ethical, products are stocked and the ladies behind Morris Brown are obviously masters at styling, visual merchandising and overall branding. They seemed to have really grabbed hold of the whole rustic farmhouse trend in design right now and are running away with it. Which I love (along with that linen tape, the industrial lighting and the muted grey union jack doormat).
A whole wall of the store was devoted to my favourite activity, gardening, which seems to be a common theme in design and retail at the moment, there is a lot of earthy, organic and botanical things floating about. I particularly loved the zinc pots, barbed wire numbers and letters as well as the old wool bale stencils to have as props in a farmhouse. The nickel work lamp I was lusting after to do my embroidery at night in the lounge room by the fire...
You can visit Morris Brown's website or find them at 264 Maroondah Highway, Healesville. They also have another shop in Heathmont at 192 Cantebury Road.
Images by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella
8 comments:
Hi Emma, what a great find. And lovely post. Would love to see you feature more shops like this! I'm in melbourne next week, for a few days. Is this store far out of the city?? xxjess
fab photos.
a trip to yea you say..... i wonder ifi you would know the arthurs of yea?
@Jess - Healesville is just under an hour from Melbourne, but the Heathmont shop you could definitely get to easily, it's in the eastern suburbs.
@Julie - We lived in Yea for three years, I don't know of the Arthurs though? Or perhaps I have memory loss, I'm not good with names!
@Carla - prices were fairly good, not ridiculously expensive but not cheap enough to make it seem inferior quality, was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of Australian brands and made in Aus things too :)
Ooh, I love the big ampersand! Will definitely have to check out Morris Brown the next time I'm in Healsville!
Ok, so this shop just got Healesville over the line in our 'where to go for the June long weekend' race! I know, we're really adventurous!
Just looking for some accomodation now - any recommendations?
hi again emma,
gwenda arthur? she's a seamstress, lives on high street.
and ashley arthur....has a printing business and also deals in dirt bikes, quads etc.....
julie :)
@Lou - don't really know of any accommodation seeing as though we lived nearby! Healesville is great though, and Yarra Glen is only a fifteen minute drive up the road and holds all my favourite antique shops (the big one you will get lost for hours in) Check out the Mud Factory also, maybe you could hire a cool bike with kiddy seats?
@Julie - yes! Ashley used to do a bit of printing for me :)
small world emma. ahsley is my cousin, and obviously gwenda is my auntie. :)
julie
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