15 April 2010

Sydney's Surry Hills

It was actually a nasty second week in April weather-wise, but Sydney was still such a lovely city to visit.

So much more laid-back than pretty much all of Asia, it was a welcome relief to my stressed soul. And while work occupied my days, I was able to catch up with a couple of mates for dinner and enjoy some luscious, modern Ozzie fusion food while the rain came down. With work over, I headed over to Surry Hills for some retail therapy!

Located to the south-east of the CBD*, the inner-city suburb is a mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial areas. However, as it remains Sydney's main centre for fashion wholesale, it also attracts a number of boutiques that sell unique homeware.

My favourite shops were Planet Commonwealth (who gave me the map/address sheet below to help me navigate around the area), Koskela and Shelf/Life.

click here to open a larger versionclick here to open a larger version
One of the gorgeous goodies I picked up was a Tara Badcock purse with a metallic green leather backing and an embroidered Red Necked Stint on the silk cover.

Like it? If yes, drool over more of her work on her blog and flickr photostream.

I also bought a cool pair of linen teatowels by Me and Amber.

But my cutest purchase (which I'm gifting) was a rabbit vase by Perch.

Not on the map, but definitely worth a visit, is Object on Bourke Street, the next street up Albion Street from Crown Street.

Bon Voyage!

Travel Tip: When applying for a visa for Australia, simply log on to the Government website to apply for an electronic visa. Their AU$20 free will be much cheaper than any you'll pay your travel agent.

* central business district

2 comments:

Mlle La Revolution des Cache-Pots said...

Hello hello and thanks for your comments on my blog post...AND thank you for purchasing the Red Necked Stint purse from Planet Commonwealth too!

The cushions for Tiger & Peacock are exclusive designs made just for this shop and I won't be putting anything similar on my Etsy site...however I'm sure Aimee & Mark at T&P will be able to sell via email if you feel like contacting them directly (contact info on their website)?

I do take private orders from customers via email too, though as I'm 7 months pregnant and trying to get through a bunch or orders and projects before baby comes in late June, I'm not able to take on too many more commissions for cushions, etc until September.

Let me know if I can ever make you something specific? Are you based in Hong Kong? I'd love a stockist there in future, and if you ever have any ideas or suggestions for retailers I can approach there, please let me know?!

Thanks again and I'm so glad you like the purse,
Best regards from afar,
Tara Badcock

jess - shelf / life said...

glad you liked the bunny! your other purchases look lovely as well - good work ;)