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[image via the nevil shute foundation]

today’s second city guide is courtesy of d*s reader and sydney local, harriet fesq. harriet created a wonderful guide to eating, shopping and enjoying sydney australia, complete with a guide to great online shops and links to other helpful sydney guides on the web. harriet has also paid special attention to shops that showcase australian design so if you see any larger international stores missing, that’s why. i hope you’ll enjoy her guide as much as i did- and as always, if you have any suggestions or favorite shops we missed, please feel free to add them in the comment section below. thanks, harriet!

CLICK HERE for the full sydney guide…

Melbourne may be hailed as the shopping capital of Australia (with good reason) but Sydney’s infectious design style is truly world-class. It’s casual-luxe: think outdoors as indoors, organic forms, the green/blues of the harbor and lots and lots of sandals. Needless to say, we don’t know what to do with ourselves in Winter.

Some caveats: I’ve tried to favor shops and destinations that showcase Australian design, and have only touched very lightly on art galleries, record and book shops. I’ve mentioned only one or two places to eat/drink for each region, which was excruciating as there is so much unbelievably good food in Sydney.

Some good Sydney online guides are:

-www.twothousand.com.au
-www.thedesignfiles.net
-www.urbanwalkabout.com.au

If I had to pick only 5 stores to visit? Dinosaur Designs, Lee Mathews, The Country Trader, Fairfax & Roberts and Aesop.

CITY CENTRE

The 3 best city shopping hubs surround The Strand Arcade (on Pitt Street, between King and Market Streets), Martin Place and The Galeries Victoria (500 George St), all within walking distance of one another.

Once you’ve perused, walk across the Botanic Gardens (via the gorgeous Boy Charlton public pool) to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to get a great overview of Australian art in a beautiful setting.

If peckish, have lunch or a coffee at Pendolino, shop 100, Strand Arcade. Or head to the amazing Spice Temple for dinner, 10 Bligh St Sydney.

home/object:

Funkis – Scandanavian chic. Shop 19, Strand Arcade.

Dinosaur Designs – truly unique and exuberant Australian jewlery and object design. Shop 77, Strand Arcade.

King’s Comics – Revisit your youth and discover some Aussie comics. 310 Pitt St.

Kinokuniya – Japanese book emporium with an astounding array of design books and stationery. Level 2, The Galeries Victoria.

Shun Fai Modern – a Chinatown special, full of red velvet, gold tassels and waving cats. 427 Sussex St.

fashion/jewelry:

Love + Hatred – jewlery based on art historical forms and patterns. A favourite of mine. Shop 59, Strand Arcade.

Akira Isogawa – possibly the most respected Australian designer, completely trendless & always intriguing. Shop 129, Strand Arcade.

The Graduate Store – Boutique run by 6 recent fashion design graduates. Shop 103, Strand Arcade.

Vintage Clothing Shop – the best of quality vintage in Sydney. St James Arcade, 80 Castlereagh St.

Incu – great boutique of cult Australian and imported labels. Shop RG/23-34, The Galeries Victoria.

Fairfax & Roberts – the Australian Tiffany’s, minus the mass production. For drooling only. Corner of Martin Place and Castlereagh St.

Robbie Ingham – a place to wistfully gaze at the latest from the likes of Paul Smith. Shop 08A, MLC Centre, Martin Place.

Belinda – not for the faint of heart; the bees’ knees of imported fashion. Shop 3, MLC Centre, Martin Place.

EAST

The Eastern suburbs arguably dominate design in Sydney. Head to Woollahra and Double Bay for grand, South Kensington style, Paddington for sweet fashion boutiques, Darlinghurst for something grittier, Potts Point for elegance & coffee and Surry Hills for the interior design mecca of Sydney. Round it off with the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk and find the handful of design gems by the sea.

And while you’re there…

Beach – Green’s for breakfast, 140 Glenayr St, Bondi and Sean’s Panorama for dinner, 270 Campbell Pde, Bondi

Darlinghurst – A Tavola for dinner (my favourite), 348 Victoria St.

Paddington – Love Supreme for superb pizza, 180a Oxford St.

Potts Point – Zinc for everything. 77 Macleay St.

Surry Hills – Bourke St Bakery, 633 Bourke St. Or Spice I am, 90 Wentworth Ave.

Woollahra – Bill’s for brunch, 118 Queen St.

home/object:

Beach suburbs:

All Hand Made Gallery – great range of ceramics and affordable art. 252 Bronte Rd Waverley.

224 – retro furniture and collectibles. 224 Bondi Rd, Bondi.

Tea Petal – one of a kind studio/boutique/florist stocking exquisite ceramics and flowers. 110 Curlewis St.

Top 3 by Design – the largest dedicated design product store in Sydney. Shop 5001, Westfield Bondi Junction.

Papaya – A Sydney brand of nature-inspired homewares. Shop 5015, Westfield Bondi Junction.

Darlinghurst:

Outre Gallery – objects and published art that, in their own words, revolve around ‘low brow, pop surrealism, street, tiki, modern folk…’ 13A Burton St.

Kenneth Neale Twentieth Century Modern – design classics from last century. Unit 3, 138 Darlinghurst Rd.

Rococo Flowers – Luscious and inventive floral arrangements. 303a Liverpool St.

Palmer Projects – emerging art/event space, for irreverant artworks and objects. 2/238 Palmer St.

Double Bay

My Island Home – fun, Pacific-style interiors. 5 Transvaal Ave, Double Bay.

Papier D’Amour – glamorous stationery and leathergoods store. 8 Cross St, Double Bay.

Ondene – luxe global interiors. 12 Trasvaal Ave, Double Bay.

Les Olivades – Southern French textiles and soft furnishings. 2 Transvaal Ave.

Paddington:

Kaliman Gallery – cutting-edge contemporary Australian art. 56 Sutherland St.

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery – the most prestigious contemporary art gallery in Australia. 8 Soudan Lne.

Sullivan + Strumpf – exellent exhibitions of emerging artists. 44 Gurner St.

Paper Couture – one of our few good stationery shops. 284 South Dowling St.

Dinosaur Designs – Their flagship store. So good you can go again. 339 Oxford St.

Ariel Books – best for coffee table books, Mexican decorative accoutrements and awesome gift-wrapping. 42 Oxford St.

Potts Point:

Macleay on Manning – modern gifts & homewares from around the world. 85 Macleay St.

Arida – antique pieces from Asia and Africa are placed amongst Lanvin and Stella McCartney apparel. 61 Macleay St.

Becker Minty – stylish, opulent lifestyle store. Shop 7, Ikon Building, 81 Macleay St.

Blueprint – shelves and shelves of contemporary design products. 3/46a Macleay St.

Il Papiro – the most beautiful paper shop, straight out of Florence. 87a Macleay St.

Grandiflora – more floral installation art than floristry, owner Saskia Havekes is Sydney’s premier florist. 1/12 Macleay St.

Surry Hills:

Object Gallery – museum and shop dedicated to all things design.

First Draft – exhibition space for emerging artists and curators. 116-118 Chalmers St.

Chalk Horse – dynamic contemporary art shows. 94 Cooper St.

Cloth – hand-made contemporay Australian textiles. 35 Buckingham St.

Published Art Bookshop – art, architecture and design publications. Shop 2, 23-33 Mary Street.

Ici et La – sweet French beachside style. Great striped fabrics & deckchairs. 7 Nickson St.

Chee Soon & Fitzgerald – quintessential Sydney textile boutique. 387 Crown St.

Circa c. 20 – amazing haven for twentieth century glass and ceramics. 78a Campbell St.

Penny Arcade – warehouse space of ecclectic vintage furniture and objects. 15 Foster St.

Spence and Lyda – luxe emporium of major international design houses such as Missoni. 16 Foster St.

Koskela – Australian furniture manufacturers with an inspiring showroom. Level 1, Imperial Slacks Building, 91 Campbell St.

Edit – truly gorgeous Australian interiors by 2 of our most successful stylists, Sharyn Storrier-Lyneham and Belinda Seper. 151 Foveaux St.

DavidmetNicole – British design meets Sydney style. The most quirkily charming store in Sydney. 382 Cleveland St.

Brett Whiteley Studio – the former studio, now museum, of Australian twentieth century artist Brett Whiteley. 2 Raper St.

Woollahra:

Moss River – the lovliest Australian bed linen. 72 Queen St.

Robert Burton – well chosen international and Australian homewares collection. 42-44 Queen St.

Orson & Blake – a Sydney interior design staple with fashion upstairs. 83-85 Queen St.

Michael Greene Antiques – the approachable option for antiques in Queen St, and a great source of decorative objects. 108 Queen St.

RG Madden – a dedicated design general store, from Eames to Newson. 82 Queen St.

Howell and Howell – respected French antique dealer. 84 Queen St.

Parterre Garden – Seriously chic garden shop. Pretend you’re in Louis XVI’s France! 33 Ocean St.

Piggott’s Store – Cath Kidston, loads of gingham and nostalgia. 53 Ocean St.

Robyn Cosgrove Rugs – Beautifully selected antique and modern kilims & carpets. 168 Queen St.

fashion/jewelry:

Beach suburbs:

Frock Exchange – A must visit. A great range of recycled/vintage designer fashion. 221 Clovelly Rd, Clovelly.

Darlinghurst:

Our Spot – coolest menswear shop around. 1/220 Liverpool St.

Alfie’s Friend Rolfe – good range of Australian fashion for men and women. 221 Darlinghurst Rd.

Manon et Gwenaelle – beautiful children’s boutique. Shop 2, 246 Palmer St.

Capital L – a range of Australian fashion designers. 333 South Dowling St.

Assin – designer goods by the likes of Junya Watanabe. 12 Verona St.

Paddington:

Corner Shop – the sweetest fashion store in Sydney. 43 William St.

Ginger & Smart – luxury Australian label for fashion and accessories. 27 William St.

Poepke – a favourite; stocking the likes of Dries van Noten. 47 William St.

Gorman – eco designer Lisa Gorman creates fresh, fun, organic womenswear. 30 Oxford St.

Pablo Fanque – gallery and retail space for emerging jewelry designers. 1 Oxford St.

Bianca Spender – elegant womenswear by a young Sydney designer. 9 Oxford St.

Zimmermann – justifiably famous Australian swimwear. 2 – 16 Glenmore Rd.

Potts Point:

Bloodorange – beautifully designed boutique of highly edited Australian and international fashion. 35 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay.

Woollahra:

Anne Schofield – nothing beats Anne Schofield for antique jewelry. 36 Queen St.

Celeste – exquisite, hand-made jewelry. 48 Queen St.

Other:

Aesop – worth visiting for the store design alone (each Aesop store is designed by local designers and is completely unique) but their botanical skincare also happens to be divine. 72a Oxford St Paddington.

WEST

Traditionally more of a food destination, the inner Western suburbs of Sydney, notably Annandale, Balmain, Glebe, Petersham, Newtown and Stanmore, do have small design pockets amongst them that are worth seeking out.

Being a Balmain local, I would catch the ferry to Balmain East and walk the length of Darling St, stopping for a pastry at Adriano Zumbo, 296 Darling St, & coffee at The Little Marionette, 1a Booth St.

And the best coffee in Sydney happens to be in Glebe at Campos Coffee, 193 Missenden Rd.

home/object:

Glebe/Newtown

Salvage 42 – a sweet, tiny shop of industrial antiques and recycled fashion. 42 Ross St, Glebe.

Broadway Betty – hang out with the university crowd for cheap vintage finds. 259 Broadway, Ultimo/Glebe.

Pentimento – emporium of books, stationery and gifts. 249 King St, Newtown.

Yoshi Jones – kimono-chic homewares and accessories. 134 King St, Newtown.

Afghan Interiors – Afghani and Central Asian products. 451 King St, Newtown.

Envision 54 – retro furniture, including vintage teak. 473 King St, Newtown.

Laura Kincade – elegant interiors and an extensive array of armchair designs. 4 Bridge Rd, Glebe.

Ruby Star Traders – Ecclectic, colourful interiors. 10 Bridge Rd, Glebe.

Florilegium – dedicated shop for plant & gardening books. 145 St Johns Rd, Glebe.

Orient House – famous Asian interiors showroom. 45 Bridge Rd, Glebe.

Whitecliffe Imports – a Sydney institution for bespoke carpets and rugs.

Balmain

Pondicherry – appealing, vibrant furniture and homewares. 211 Darling St, Balmain.

Lola et Moi – A piece of Paris; fanciful homewares and accessories. 495 Darling St.

Quintessential duckeggBLUE – uber stylish homewares and industrial antiques. 497 Darling St.

Vivalino – Classic linen & babywear. 489 Darling St.

Annandale/Summer Hill/Petersham

Quiltsmith – my favorite fabric & quilting store. 75 Nelson St, Annandale.

Scoop – vintage and hand-printed wallpapers. 45 Junction Rd, Summer Hill.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles – vintage and antique toys and books. 276a Johnston St, Annandale.

Terrific Scientific– the best kid’s shop in Sydney. 51 Booth St, Annandale.

fashion/jewelry:

Balmain

Hunt Leather – a beautiful old store and the place to purchase a handbag. 215 Darling St.

Punch Gallery – a Balmain institution, stocking a treasure trove of jewelry and art. 209 Darling St, Balmain.

duckeggBLUE – a lovely boutique, stocking only the best of Australian fashion. 246 Darling St.

Glebe/Newtown/Camperdown

Deus Ex Machina – the most interesting retail space in Sydney. A custom-motorcycle workshop meets uber cool clothing shop meets great café. 98 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown.

All Buttons Great and Small – The button destination. 419a King St, Newtown.

Pigeon Ground – vinyl and clothing and worth the excursion. 102 Salisbury Rd, Camperdown.

Newspaper taxi – vintage and handmade treasures. 247 Australia St, Newtown.

Other:

Herbie’s Spices – one of a kind in the world! A must see for anyone who loves spices. 745 Darling St, Balmain.

T2 – another example of great retail design, this time revolving around a tea emporium. 173 King St, Newtown.

NORTH

I find the Northern Beaches to be the best shopping North of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, particularly Newport and Avalon.

Make the day trip up to Palm and Whale Beach, and have lunch at Swelter, 1012 Barrenjoey Rd, Palm Beach.

home/object:

Kikki K – an innovative Swedish/Australian stationery and storage chain. Shop L215a, Chatswood Chase, 345 Victoria Ave, Chatswood.

No Chintz – long-standing favorite for fabrics. 509 Willoughby Rd, Willoughby.

Pulp Creative Paper – great stationery shop. 185 Pittwater Rd, Manly.

Mark Tuckey – classic Australian, solid timber furniture. 303 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport.

Tilly – if you are looking for gorgous Australiana interiors (minus the kitsch), head here for vintage tea towel cushions or Aus flag pillowcases. 4/349 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport.

Rust – some great decorative vintage finds here. 39 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon.

fashion/jewelry:

Lee Mathews – my favourite Aussie designer: the essence of Sydney style. 5/349 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport.

Bow Wow – Palm Beach-chic interiors and fashion. 1093 Barrenjoey Rd, Palm Beach.

SOUTH/SOUTH-EAST

Since 2000, the South-East has been steadily creeping up to steal the crown (from Surry Hills) as the interior design & art hub of Sydney. Danks St started the craze with the 2 Danks St art gallery complex (my place of work for 3 years). Still a semi-industrial region, it proves a perfect playground for showrooms and warehouses.

There is great coffee at Allpress, 58 Epsom Rd, Rosebery, and the Depot Café at 2 Danks St, Waterloo is a Sydney brunch institution.

home/object:

Country Trader – if you had to pick one antique store in Sydney, go here. A sublime collection.

2 Danks St – a complex of great art galleries and a café in a former kodak processing plant.

Gallery Barry Keldoulis – one of our best contemporary art galleries. 285 Young St, Waterloo.

PYD – PYD is an interior design complex, housing Kim Snow Furniture and the wonderfully-named Mother of Pearl and Sons. Corner of Phillip and Young Streets, Waterloo.

Anibou – European/Australian furniture wholesalers. 726 Bourke St, Redfern.

Great Dane Furniture – the name says it all. 613 Elizabeth St, Redfern.

Space Furniture – The international furniture design department store. 84 O’Riordan St, Alexandria.

Signature Prints – A classic Australian company, printing the iconic designs of Florence Broadhurst. Unit 2, 3 Hayes Rd, Rosebery.

Coco Republic – large Hampton-chic furniture manufacturers. 34 O’Riordan St, Alexandria.

Porter’s Paints – the pioneers of paint, responsible for many an earthy, subtle hue in Sydney. 895 Bourke St, Waterloo.

ONLINE

www.rittenhouse.com.au – great example of Sydney fashion & textile design

www.modamuse.com.au – online department store for Australian design

www.dasmonk.com for great handprinted t-shirts.

www.heaveninearth.com.au – garden style

www.castleandthings.com.au – sweet bespoke linen

www.thirddrawerdown.com – esoteric brand of limited edition art tea-towels

www.poppiesforgrace.com - lovely handmade stationery

www.annaandboy.com – my favourite swimwear label

www.linenandmoore.com.au – beautiful linen

city, guides

Yay for Sydney! This guide makes me miss home so much. I currently reside in Houston. While Houston has its perks there is no place like home. Thanks to Harriet and Grace for posting this guide. I’m taking a trip back to Sydney in May so I’ll be sure to check out some of these places.

Kylie

great resources! the Cloth store in Surry Hills is so delightful. you must go to the paddington market and shop til your hearts content! Supre is also a great aussie clothing store (much like forever 21 but way more euro). don’t forget to grab some delicious yogurt and fruit at David Jones and sit in the sun at Hyde Park!

Another great resource – the Sydney Design Guide. That beautiful little book includes guides, maps and walking tours for the city’s best architecture, object design, fashion, visual arts and restaurants/hotels – it was totally indispensable for my trip. I found mine at the Sydney Opera House shop.
(There’s a Melbourne version too!)

An excellent taste of Sydney – I’ve lived here my entire life (almost 30) and still haven’t gotten round to everything ;-) I’d just like to add to the East list the Bondi Markets which are held every Sunday at the public school by the beach. The markets showcase an amazing array of handmade goods, vintage gear and unique bric-a-brac. For all the foodies out there, another must-do are the monthly Growers Markets at Pyrmont (first Saturday of the month), for organic produce and artisan foods.

Thanks Josephine for adding the markets. I didn’t include markets at all (I had to start drawing lines in the sand as Sydney is so huge and has so much to see!) but you’re so right – Bondi markets are so much fun. As are Kirribilli for recycled fashion (get there early and watch 19 year olds fight over a missoni cardigan), Surry Hills, Hope St and Orange Grove in Lilyfield for a organic growers market with a great village feel.

Lovely guide! I’m a Sydney local and there’s many of my favourite places on that list, as well as lots of places I’ve yet to discover. Off I go on a mission around Sydney! Love that you’ve included fabric stores, I’ve recently discovered the joys of sewing but find great fabric stores hard to come by. Thankyou!

a great list, but another nomination for markets would be the Rozelle/Balmain markets which are great for vintage homewares and jewellery and accessories.
and nearby is a really great second hand shop called Mint Condition which has beautiful dresses.

Glebe markets are good too, for handmade and secondhand clothes.

Hi Harriet (and Anne and Grace!). Great post! Very exhaustive!

Thanks so much also for the link! Greatly appreciated… :) As a Melbourne girl I am no Sydney expert… but my best recommendations for Sydney are in my Surry Hills Shopping Guide and Illustrated Map here -

http://www.thedesignfiles.net/2008/10/surry-hills-shopping-guide.html

(Might be worth changing your link to my site so it lands on this guide, in keeping with the Sydney-centric focus.)

Thanks again! Lucy x

This is a pretty great list but I don’t see Tessuti Fabrics on it. Those of you that love whipping your own clothes together are going to love this place. They have five stores now and mostly sell fashion fabrics and designer ends. They have a huge range from Australian designer’s as well as from Europe. The stores are a great place to shop because you can find just about everything you need to do your project including an awesome collection of buttons. They add new fabrics daily and you will often find fabrics that have been used by some of the designer’s on this list. I have a nice good chunk of red Shibori that Akira used one year … absolutely beautiful!
Thankfully for the rest of us that live far far away, they have an online store! Their fabrics are always of excellent quality and they a super friendly to do business with!

Tessuti fabrics: http://www.tessuti.com.au/
The online store: http://www.tessuti-shop.com/

Don’t forget Glebe Markets too! Every Saturday, Glebe Point Rd in the school, can’t miss them. My favourite. Thanks d*s for the Sydney guide! Even as a local design devotee, I found some helpful reminders! I would also like to mention Bird Textiles, on Cleveland St in Surry Hills. Gorgeous sustainable design, produced in a Byron Bay solar-powered factory of all things! Clothing, fabrics etc…. You can order through their website too – http://www.birdtextile.com. My favourite xmas present from my husband is a big bolster cushion for yoga, covered in their beautiful fabric.

Great post on Sydney! Lost of great stuff is happening here at the moment, especially as its summer! Its also really inspiring to see the design scene thriving here.

Another cool website to check out is http://studio98.mokumtextiles.com which is the blog of the design team at Mokum who you featured a while back for their Dauphine Textile collection.

A treasure trove of handprinted and exclusive fabric.See the girls at work and be inspired by original design,colour,and fabbo fabrics!Ask about silkscreen printing and sewing workshops….it’s sooooo wonderful!

Hey, I’m commenting super late, but I just wanted to say how cool it is to see Australia getting a bit of screen time! Hoorah! Even though I live half way across the country from Sydney, it’s nice to see it up there :)

another late post but just wanted to say I was in Sydney this time last year and I LOVE dinosaur designs.! amazing shop .

Also love the Paddington St market on Saturdays – and the one in Glebe the same day is pretty funky too.

One name really caught my eye in this list – Country Trader. It IS a fabulous collection, but it’s way more fun to try find the most ridiculously expensive item. And trust me, there are plenty to chose from. My best find so far has been an $80,000+ bookcase. Seriously.

NEWTOWN UPDATE::
Australia street tucked just behind King street in Central Newtown has the following Shopping:
1/ Hullbullu : Funky Australian Made Baby and Childrens Fashion, 243 Australia street.
2/ Newspaper Taxi : All things From a Bygone Era + cards, soaps and curios 247 Australia street.
3/ BlackStar Patisserie, All things Pastry and Coffee. The locals are swarming this place.
4/ Stax of Wax: Candles Handmade
5/ Court HouseHotel: Best beer Garden in Newtown

this is a great website. Im so glad I found it.. I went to some of the Newtown recomendations and have an unbelievable one to add – Made 590 – 590 King Street Newtown. I went in to look and bought 3 dresses and have worn them all I love it

Don’t forget prints charming! They make the most delightful hand screen printed fabric. I went there on the weekend and I could not beleive how lovely their stuff is!! You can buy fabric by the meter, or you can pick up kits to make your own quilts, flag bunting, mobiles etc. http://www.printscharming.com.au/

Also Sandie Bizys Millenery on Parramatta Rd in Annandale is to die for. She makes custom-made hats, is a retro stylist and sells vintage dresses and jewellrey, including Bridal wear.

Amazing write up on sydney. Lee matthews and her little sister store Tilly in Newport are two of my favourite stores.

FYI
Pulp Creative Paper has moved to 294 Sydney Road Balgowlah.
http://www.pulplife.com.au

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