Apparently Melbourne has gone cray cray for clay clay. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not complaining. There’s not much we love more than a carefully crafted vessel with a beautiful glaze. And if Melbourne isn’t opening up gorgeous, light-filled, leafy retail spaces filled with these beautiful objects, how else are we going to feed our obsession of replacing every cheapy mug in our cupboard with a work of art?
Our favourite new Haven of Pots is Guild of Objects in the humble suburb of North Melbourne. It’s an exhibition, workshop and retail space for artisan ceramics, jewellery, textiles and plants. They also run regular craft-based workshops and ceramics classes for when you want to get all tactile and messy with your hands.
Guild of Objects is run by three powerful, crafty ladies; Brooke Thorn, Chela Edmunds and Tao Oudomvilay. They were struck with the idea to open a store after a few successful open studio days in their shared space in North Melbourne. The result is an airy, light-filled shopfront that shows their own work and others they admire too, bringing together the melting pot of talent that bubbles beneath Melbourne’s grids and fostering a community of like-minded people.
The shelves do not disappoint. You can find ceramics by Tescy King, Jesilla Rogers, Alison Frith; clothing by Primozea, Inside/Outside, S U N D A Y; jewels by Seb Brown; lights and plants by Smalltown and some beautiful textiles by Charlotte Campbell. We’ve also seen some sneaky paper goods from Melbourne illustrators Minne Leunig and Ashley Ronning. Too good!
Guild of Objects’ bricks and mortar (or rather wood and plants) store is open 10-5pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 690 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne. Conveniently, they're also right next door to cute sweets cafe Beatrix. We think a ceramics and cake date make a fine excursion for a Saturday morning, wouldn't you agree?
Also be sure to visit Guild of Objects online, and follow the store on Instagram.
Photos by Annette Obrien for The Design Files
