207 Murray Street
Carillon City
Murray St Level
Perth 6000 Western Australia
Ph: 08 9321 0110
Website
Facebook
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Sat: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sun: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Dusk is an Australian franchise selling candles, melts, aromatic essential oils and burners, room perfumers, and anything related to the world of candles and aromatherapy, like oil burners, vaporisers, ethanol fireplaces, and mood reeds. They also have a few gift items, silicone flowers and glass vases. Their candle products are produced in their factory in Western Australia.
This Dusk shop is very small, but packed to the rafters. They always have colourful catchy displays at the entrance, and the inner shop is, despite being crowded, aesthetically pleasant, well organised and the products are beautifully displayed.
I especially love their essential oils blends, which are fragrant but without being overpowering, and cheaper than other brands. I also like some of their individual candle holders, or packs of three, which can be truly cute, pretty and sometimes even artistic, and are usually well priced. Although they have tons of things, I find the style of their oil burners a bit limited.
The girls at the shop
are lovely every time I have visited, and attend to you with
great diligence, affability and friendliness. They leave you browse around, if that is what you want. They are very
knowledgeable about what they sell and about the world of candles in general. They
always give customers two free leaflets: "Aromatherapy. A guide to use,
care and safety", and "Your guide to use, care and product safety".
Pricing of most products is mid range,
not cheap but not expensive either. The only thing I found pricey were
the normal tea candles, which can be found at a fraction of the price at
your local IGA.
Dusk Carillon is perfect for a quick visit for your refills during your lunch break if you happen to work in the CBD, and one of those places where you can find a nice gift for a female friend or relative for not much money.
MIND - The aisle space is very reduced, so mind your arms and handbags or you break something!
Shop 4, Astor Arcade
665 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley WA 6050
(08) 9371 6566
Website
Facebook
Hours:
Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm
Tayha Designs is a tiny rocket pocket of a jewellery, selling only Western Australian jewels (designed and made in WA by Western Australian designers). It is located at the bottom end of the Astor Arcade, in Mount Lawley. I have passed thousands times by this shop, always sticking my nose to their shop window and telling myself that next time I am going to come in. And here I am to comment on my experience.
Tayha sells solid silver and pearl designs made by the in-house jeweller Taryn Compagnoni, and by other local artists: Tamara Dixon, Amanda Hasenkam, Elizabeth Hesler, Kate McGregor. Roland Laval, Irvine Hay and Gillian Cordiner. The styles are varied, from the edgy, cool, creative, high design, or classic.
The do not only sell jewellery. They offer much more:
1/ They repair and clean your jewellery.
2/ They will melt your old stuff if you don't like it and turn it into whatever you want: earrings, necklace, ring. Anything.
3/ They will make come true any design that pops up in your head, wedding rings included.
4/ They will reproduce any drawing, mostly simple, you happen to like and turn it into a pendant.
5/ The shop has a workshop inside, where the in-house jeweller works, so they can adjust anything you buy on the spot.
Prices go from moderate to very expensive. Still, you can find unique earrings for 60-70 dollars. They rarely make sales or discounts, which is a pity and a bit inexcusable.
The quality of the silver, pearls and of the design is very good. The earrings I bought from them have caught the attention of many people already and they ask me if I bought them in Europe. No, in WA!
Customer service is excellent, by both the shop attendant and the young lady who happens to be the jeweller.
If you are the lazy kind, you can shop through their online shop, but as it always happens in these cases, what they offer online and in the shop is never the same or look the same.
The place looks posh from the outside, and a bit intimidating for your wallet, but the ladies inside will show and let you try anything you want, even if you tell them you are not going to buy anything. That is cool.
559 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 6161 7179
Website
Facebook
Hours:
Wed-Sat 10:30 - 17:00
Sun 11:00 - 16:00
Kartique is a chic gift shop selling jewellery, decoration and gift items, and a small selection of vintage furniture. The name of the shop and their shop window convey well what you will find inside: arty ethnic real vintage pieces, and a few antiques. This is not an antiques shop per se, although some of the pieces sold are. They have a focus on ethnicity, affordable vintage, and unique pieces hand-crafted by foreign craftsmen or local designers. There is harmony between the ambience of the shop and the items they sell - all very organic and zen.
Half of the shop is devoted to silver and stones jewellery, with a small selection of mate gold, and the inner part of the shop occupied by furniture and decoration items. They have super-cute mugs and tea cups, cheap and wonderfully colourful Indian Jewellery cases, colourful cushions and items of furniture that I would certainly buy if I had a house of my own and a a bit of money to spare.
The prices are less expensive than you could think before entering. Most of the unique antique jewellery pieces are around 100-150 bucks, which isn't cheap, but compared to average mass produced jewellery sold in Perth, it is. Of course, we like it beautiful, good and affordable, and there are many things that fit the bill at Kartique, with silver an stone earrings as cheap as 50-60 bucks. The furniture is not cheap, you can expect that, but many of the home-wares and decoration items are reasonably priced. For example, the Hindu jewellery wooden cases are 20 bucks, and a huge house-shapped one was 50. Of course, if you, like me, like the truly special items, then you can only sigh and enjoy the view.
The older lady attending the shop is very welcoming, serviceable, and very classy and nice to customers. The way I like it!
I do not like finding products unpriced in any shop. You ask for the price and get the price, but I never know if you are getting the real price or what the sellers think is what you personally should pay. I know they have a lot of stuff at Kartique, but pricing everything in a shop is a must - to me.
Kartique's website is nice, but has just a few items on display and for purchase, and some of them don't even mention the price. I wonder why people bother to create online shopping sites and then put so little effort in making it appealing and fully functional, so we have everything in the shop available online, too. On the other hand, Kartique has wonderful stuff, so why displaying the boring pieces plus the super-expensive instead of the whole range of wonderful mid priced? It truly escapes my understanding.
Kartique is a
great place for gifts, and to add a bit of ethnic classy flavour to
your space no matter you are twenty something or sixty something. They do lay-bys.
Morning Glory Perth
Shop 39 Carillon City
680 Hay Street
Perth WA 6000
Phone: 9226 0555
http://www.facebook.com/morninggloryperth
Cuteness elevated to the square, multiplied by two - that is Morning Glory. A Korean franchise gift shop with hyper-cute stationary, toys & plush bears, hair accessories, cartoons miniatures, Vans shoes, school bags, Asian music CDs and posters, among many other things.
Most of their stuff is cartoon or video-game related (Totoro, Pokemon, Mario Bros, Domo, and Hello Kitty, among others). In fact, Morning Glory was one of the first places to give Hello Kitty a throne in Perth before she rose to International stardom.
The ambience of the shop is very child-like, colourful and fun. The music playing is always Asian, Korean I guess, and it really helps the visitor to transport oneself to a cool place in Korea or Japan, and gives it a stamp of authenticity.
The service is friendly if you ask the attendants about anything. Otherwise, they let you wander around without bothering you. However, do so with care, because:
+ if you break something, you pay it. The aisles are narrow, so please ballet your body around, especially if you have a Totoro kind of figure, or are carrying a big bag.
+ Hello Kitty Ninja will behead you if your enter the shop with food and/or drinks.
+ Domo is watching your movements with his spy camera - show him your teeth.
+ Pokemon will fulminate you if you remove the cellophane wrapping from the CDs.
The prices are high, although some of the little things are affordable, and their Vans shoes are average price I would say. To give an example. Those teeny-weeny string accessories you attach to your mobile, with a bell and a cartoon character, may cost you 3-5 bucks in Japan, but you pay here at least 10$, unless they are on sale. The really cheap ones are always ugly, those that I never like. I am saying this because I bought quite a few of them in Japan four years ago at a trifle of the price I had bought them here before my trip.
Morning Glory brings out the child in anybody and it is pleasure to wander around. I cannot pass by without sticking my nose to their shop-window and, if I have the time, browsing around and even buying a little something.
Morning Glory is perfect for children gifts and for adults who want to feed their inner child.
872 Hay Street
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9321 3784
http://www.oxfamshop.org.au/old_retail/81886
Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:00 - 17:30
Fri 9:00 - 19:00
Sat 9:30 - 17:00
Sun 13:00 - 17:00
Oxfam (called Intermón Oxfam in some countries) and its shops have been selling ethnic items before ethnic items were a mainstream fashion or ethnic a cool adjective.
Oxfam Shop in Perth city is small, but also charming and colourful, and has a good selection of world gifts at decent prices. I have always fancied most of the things they have on display, and all of them are affordable and within a wide range of prices. You will find home decoration items, stationary, kitchenware, jewellery, scarves, handbags, toys, games, musical instruments, packaged fair-trade coffee, tea, and spices, among many other things.
The Oxfam Shop is not only a shopping heaven for people who love ethnic items and fair-trade produce, but also a conscious conscience exercise, as you will immediately remind yourself that, when we shop, we usually forget to ask ourselves questions as important as: Where does this come from? How is it produced? Do the makers get a fair price for it? Is this authentic? Does my purchase help the makers and their communities to make a decent living out without being exploited or slaved by middlemen?
The staff have always been welcoming and friendly. It couldn't be otherwise! Drop by to buy - You have the perfect excuse.
665 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9272 6867
Website
Facebook
Hours:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Sun 11:00 - 16:00
Mariposa is one of my favourite words in Spanish and indeed one of those shops that honours their beautiful name. They are one of the few perfumerys, a real one, in Australia, and have a huge range of male and female perfumes from exclusive world perfumiers, Creed, L'Artisan, and Amuage included. I could expend my whole
salary buying the many fanciful good-quality divine-smell soaps,
creams, candles, sprays, perfumes and make-up items they have. Everything is chic and exclusive. They don't sell
mass-produced corporate-owned fashion brands, but perfumes and perfume-related products that have a piece of history in the History of Perfume,
or that have been making perfumes in a very hand-crafty sort of way,
or are very innovative in the products they use. Mariposa is, indeed, a niche perfumery.
The ambience of the shop is very clean and modern, with the wood shelves full of bottles of perfume for you to test, and their beautiful goods and packaging really shining. The shop is a bit small, but it is easy to browse around.
Mariposa stands out not only for the products they sell, but also for their customer service. Mariposa's shop attendants are really wonderful. They will spend their time with you, generously, if you show interest in any of the perfumes, even if you say you aren't going to buy anything at the moment. They know their gild, and are passionate about what they sell, and about providing you with a great experience as a shopper. All the girls are approachable, chatty and very knowledgeable. Truly, they deserve the salary they get. They are that sort of shop attendants who can actually hold a conversation on perfume, instead of the usual lorikeets selling designer perfumes at Myers or David Jones. When you leave the shop, you leave feeling like a Royal, convinced that this is one of those places that truly understands what good service is and how to win customers.
Mariposa has two main downsides. The first one is their simplistic website, with barely any information about the shop, brands they cater for, or even an online-shop or sample program, as other high-end perfumeries have overseas. This should be Mariposa's next step. Facebook, is a bit, how to put it?, too "popular" for such an exclusive shop.
The second downside is the fact that they rarely have samples. Or at least this has been my experience in the past. This is, actually, a big downside for a proper perfumery. You win people with samples, so you make sure that they the big perfume houses send you a big bunch of those.
MIND
The products they sell are fantastic, high quality and very exclusive. Therefore, the prices have to match that. Still, you know that you pay the right price for the product, and that the prices are not inflated by the corporate brand behind the designer. These are nor corporate brands products, thank Gosh. Still, you can buy a box of adorable French Anisette drops or a posh Marseilles hand-wash or soap, and I am sure you can afford that. Sometimes you
have to forget about the world and indulge yourself, because life it is
too short, and you are a chic girl after all. Be grateful for being
able to afford things like these, and enjoy your whimsical purchase at
Mariposa.
On the other hand, they hold special perfume events and personalised attention from invited perfumiers. The last one was a hit, held on 8 and and an encore on 10 May 2013, with the presence of of Libertine's mastermind in the shop!
Perth Cultural Centre
47 James St
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9492 6766
http://www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/
Hours:
Mon, Wed-Sun 10:00 - 17:00
The Art Gallery shop has some fantastic things that you want to have because they would be perfect in your ideal life, in your ideal posh house, and on your present gorgeous self.
The shop offers a great and innovative selection of Western Australian and International designers items. You can find an unique selection of Western Australian fashion jewels and clothing, a good selection of art books, art catalogues from current or past exhibitions, cards, decoration and house-ware, some seasonal calendars, fine-prints, and fabulous glass items.
Although most items are pricey or expensive, the shop has good discounts and sales during the year, so take advantage of those to get your precious treasured item. If you buy something expensive at least you know that it is trendy, artistic, unique and original. In other places you could be paying the same for posh items that are mass produced or not original at all. Their prints are quite economic, and their cards average-priced, so they will give you the excuse to buy something or to browse the rest of the shop at ease.
The staff are easy-going, and won't bother you if they see you just browsing around. They are quite attentive and friendly if you decide to ask them for help or buy something.
You are free to browse around but, please, don't touch! Ouch!
Astor Arcade shop 3
665 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9271 8338
http://www.waremtlawley.com.au
Hours:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:30
Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Sun 11:00 - 16:00
Ware has been one of my favourite shops for gifts and fancy shopping for years, as it has a great selection of quirky, funky, cute and vintage-inspired items: gift-cards, cards, wrapping papers, children toys, play-games, decoration items, kitchenware, "writtingware", plus a small selection of women and children apparel, jewellery and other fashion items, handbags, and so on. So many cute things talking to you directly, with a cheerful buy me, buy me, buy me! It is very easy not to ignore the call and stop yourself from buying a little something.
Ware, though, it is not what used to be. They have less artsy innovative pieces they used to. In fact, Ware used to be the "it" shop to find items that nobody else had, with an awesome range of high-design and world-class illustrators items. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, and, at present, their items are more mainstream than ever, and not exclusive at all. To be completely fair, their bag selection has always been ugly and unstylish, and somewhat diminishes the rest of the shop, which is quite quirky and fun.
The staff are always very helpful, friendly and easy-going, and they will let you browse around without being disturbed.
The prices vary from the cheap little thing to the expensive item, pricey in general, so you better restrain yourself, and limit your visits for personal or seasonal gifts, or just to buy gift cards, if you can!
