Well, its official, I’m off to Melbourne for Labour Weekend in October – a birthday pressie for me!
So, where should I go?
Being the A type kinda gal that I am I do have a detailed draft itinerary, but have I missed out anything VERY important? Tell me!!!
Melbourne 2008 – Helen & Billie’s big play date
Wednesday
Arrive Melbourne 5.30pm. Taxi to Billie’s in time for dinner 
Thursday – A day trip to Mentone
Carmels Fabrics
11 Como Parade West
Mentone
Southern Opportunity Shop
51 Florence Street
Mentone
Sunbeam Cakes
129 Mentone Parade
Mentone
The Lolly Jar
50 Florence Street
Mentone
Friday – CBD
Buttonmania & Japanese fabric place
R J Harvey and Co sewing supplies
3rd Floor
Nicholas Building
37 Swanston St (cnr Flinders Lane)
Melbourne
Koko Black Bourke St
Job Warehouse fabric emporium
56 Bourke Street
Melbourne
Tram to Brunswick Street – including:
Meet Me At Mikes
63 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
Saturday
Patchwork on Central Park
148 Burke Rd East Malvern Vic 3145
Op shop down the road from Patchwork if open? or spotty.
Sunday
Camberwell Rotary Sunday Market
Shopping Centre Carpark
Station Street
Camberwell
Sundays 6.30am to 12.30pm
Ikea, Richmond?
Monday
Check-in time 7.30am!!!!
YAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go you! I’m envious. Have fun!
Awesome awesome. I adore Melbourne. Am totally envious. All i can reccomend (been over 10 years since i’ve been) is the Black Cat cafe in Fitzroy. I can’t remember names of any actual clothes shops now.
ooh ooh ooh!!!! Weee!!!
Ok CBD Day after you’ve been to the Nicholas building, go down (west) flinders lane to Degraves Lane turn left go down to cup cake shop and the lingerie shop (beautifully next to each other) and admire or consume (either or both). There’s also a paper crafty shop there. But the cupcakes and undies have to be seen.
Then go back up degraves about 10 metres and go down the subway (on the right next to the pancake place) and look at platform gallery and sticky http://www.stickyinstitute.com/ and all the gorgeous handmade ace shops down there. It’s the BEST part of melbourne.
And while you’re at koko black you have to check out the babushka shop ’cause it’s lovely.
Brunswick street, after mikes, you have to do Gertrude street (cross b’wick st). The lovely people at Mikes will tell you the places to see.
I make think of more things..
oh, if you love coffe, go to Journal in Flinders lane, just around the corner rom Degraves lane, THE BEST COFFEE EVER, big call I know…..
Also I’ve been dying to go and see GJ’d fabric in Brunswick. Excellent fabric I’ve heard.
another thing to add to the list… me & Marty found a cute little place that sells toffee covered fruit on a stick! Strawberry toffee shish-kebab was devine!
Oh oh oh! Thanks gals!! Excited!!
an asterix to Rachel’s comment…
*Australians don’t know how to make coffee but Journal is indeed getting close
xox
heehee
Oooh yay! I love Melbourne. I was just there last month and I found a wonderful paper/stationery shop just up the road from Meet Me At Mikes. It’s called Zetta Florence – 197 Brunswick St. Their stuff is pretty expensive but is loverly to drool over. I ended up buying a retro alphabet stamp set that is fab.
In the same suburb of Fitzroy there are a few other shops selling indie/handmade stuff on Gertrude St – one of them is called Cottage Industry.
Also, a bit further out than patchwork on central park is Amitie in the suburb of Bentleigh – great quilting fabric shop.
For more ideas, there is a cool blog called craft city melbourne that you can read through and find reviews of lots of crafty gems to visit.
Yay!! Thanks for all the great tips everyone!
Great!
Yes, you must go to:
Kimono House and Button Mania – both at level 2, Nicholas Building, 37 Swanston St. Kimono House sells gorgeous japanese fabrics. They have a website. That whole building is fantastic – full of artists studios. Every few months tehre is an open studio night, where some artists open up and you can poke about their studios and talk to them.
Amitie – also has a website.
For random op shopping whilst in Melbourne, check out
melb-opshopping. blogspot.com, they have a google map with all the opshops on it.
On Saturdays there is an artists market at Rose Street, off Brunswick street in fitzroy. 11-5pm. Small but good
http://www.rosestmarket.com.au/
There is a market on Sunday along the foreshore in St Kilda.
Get to Camberwell Market EARLY in the morning. The stalls are set up really early – before 6am. The dealers prowl around very early and get the good stuff. It’s big, and yo’ull still see lots of nice things, but the dealers know the tricks. There may still be a lady there who sells knitting needles cheap, so bring a list of what you don’t already have. There are nice shops along Burke Road in Camberwell, just next to the market. upper middle class gift, clothes and kitchenware shops, but still nice. Not much good food in Camberwell though. Nice donuts at the market!
There is a nice italian paper shop (much smaller than Zetta Florence on Brunswick St) called Il Papiro, in Degraves Street, off Flinders Street.
There are interesting shops in most of the laneways in Melbourne. Here’s a tourist site on them. There’s a graffiti/street art laneway worth seeing.
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=269&pg=3106
http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=9408
Also National Design Centre in Melbourne
http://www.nationaldesigncentre.com/
Hope you enjoy your stay in our wonderful city!
Jenny
I am so excited for you! You will be leaving in a couple of days now. I have been eating up what others are saying because i am going for a week in a couple of weeks! I would love to hear how you went and where the best places to go are. I have my boyfriend in tow who is quite happy for me to interest myself in the fabric, craft side while he finds a game of cricket somewhere… so any ideas on day care for the men would also be really good
He found it very amusing when i said i wanted to go to Ikea to look at what all the fuss is about…
Oh thanks!! I’m leaving in a few hours actually so I’m so excited!! Yay!!!!