Two newly opened shops in Leura village have created a “vintage” precinct, with pre-loved clothes in Parker Lane Studio and with every imaginable collectable in The Leura Emporium just a few steps away.
In Parker Lane Studio, located in a converted basement under Cafe Madeleine, partners Allegra Benmayor and Hayley Kemp are selling quality vintage clothes.
The pair are passionate about the slow fashion movement, highlighting the importance of buying ethical, quality and recycled garments as opposed to the treatment of clothing as a disposable commodity.
They are “obsessive foragers” who scour warehouses and op shops from the central west to up and down the NSW coast, seeking out clothing which is either vintage or of high quality.
Then they restore, clean and iron the garments.
Or, as Ms Kemp puts it: “Mend it, clean it, wash it, fix it.”
Their belief is that high quality clothing should be affordable and accessible to everyone without costing their pockets or the environment.
They gravitate towards natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, leather and wool.
Parker Lane has been open four months and, in 2019, will have new trading hours: 10am-5pm Monday-Friday and 11am-5pm on weekends.
Even newer in the neighbourhood is The Leura Emporium – Vintage Collectables, run by Mark Mader who used to own Curio Collectables at the bottom of Katoomba Street.
This time, he is inhabiting an old gym, which used to be six squash courts.
The high ceilings and spacious layout provide the ideal set-up for Mr Mader’s enormous collection, sourced from auctions, deceased estates, warehouses – anywhere and everywhere.
In amongst the treasures, there’s the naked discus thrower statue from the Sydney Olympics, Remington typewriters, pristine copies of the Australian Women’s Weekly from the 1950s and 60s, a Singer glove sewing machine, boxes of old Nike running shoes, kitsch ashtrays, 1950s snail salt and pepper shakers, enormous sideboards, elaborate lounge suites, a full-size American motorcycle police officer statue and smaller Star Wars figures.
And that’s a very, very small selection of the collection.
Mr Mader has had his vintage gear in storage, waiting to find the right location to re-open a shop. But even the old squash courts might prove too small for the 90 pantechs it took to bring it all to Leura.
The Leura Emporium – accessed down the lane beside Cafe Madeleine and across from Parker Lane Studio – is open seven days 10am-5pm.
