Vintage Etcetera Gift Store

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Upbeat music, dramatic lighting, perky sales staff, bright colours, interactive displays and inviting scents are tools in every retailer's arsenal, wielded in an attempt to make potential purchasers feel like they're stepping into another world.

Sometimes it works, but mostly it doesn't, because on some level, we're already alert to such tricks before we step through the doors. And in an era of chain stores, every new outlet (no matter how loud the music, or how friendly the staff) can feel a little like the last one you just visited.

Which is why Vintage Etcetera is such a refreshing surprise.

Step off the footpath located alongside Kenmore's busy Moggill Road roundabout and you really are transported to somewhere ... magical and mysterious are the words that spring to mind.

A visit here is a little like stepping into Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium or perhaps the Needful Things store in Stephen King's novel of the same name. (And in a note to the proprietors: I mean this in the nicest possible way.)



I can't tell you what's for sale at Vintage Etcetera because it changes all the time. But I can tell you about some of the things I've seen on my numerous retail therapy sessions there.

Ready? Try ceramic busts, antique rocking horses, feathered birds in glass domes, globes, posters, cushions, doorstops, model helium balloons, jewellery, old-fashioned luggage trunks, handmade cards and hand cut crystal decanters.

I've seen vintage cake stands, a stegasaurus skull model, horse head towel ring, shabby chic furniture, old railway clocks, ottomans, a paper butterfly wreath, decorative sheets of paper perfect for decoupage, rustic bird cages, coffee sets and retro stamps.

Vintage Etcetera doesn't have the dustiness and fustiness that some antiques stores seem to cultivate - it has a freshness and a ripeness and a newness that is totally unexpected but absolutely works.



You won't walk out of here with any bargains - some customers do claim a certain amount of sticker shock.

But, then again, Vintage Etcetera is not the sort of place where you can fossick through loads of unpromising junk in the hope of stumbling across a priceless Ming vase to resell at a profit.

Each piece here is handpicked by the owners for no other reason than it delights them.

That makes each piece, in its own way, a precious jewel.

So if there's a vacant spot in your home that is calling out for just the right vase, chair, picture or embellishment, there's no better place to start the search..

#kenmore
#gifts
#art
#antiques
#second_hand
#vintage_retro
#western_suburbs
%wnbrisbane