Two of the Best Boutique Shops in Brisbane

I've been a little excessive lately with my spending. A new book - Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is awesome and massive. Man it's a hell of a ride, I'll have to tell you about it soon. A new tote bag from the the Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibit at the Brisbane Museum when I went to their sexy "After Dark" session. The bag is calico and covered in hieroglyphs! So geek/chic, right!? Right, guys? Also, a new pencil doesn't sound like much - but Palominos are something altogether above the general level of pencils and go together just too beautifully with my Moleskines. 

So my point is I really like things and I'm (maybe) a category 3 hoarder, but it's okay because all of the things I hoard are either beautiful or super awesome. Totally valid excuse. Not that I even need an excuse, I suppose. I digress. I want to talk to you about two of my favourite shops in Brisbane for when you really just want to buy something great: Absolutely Fabulous and Handmade High Street.

Absolutely Fabulous is a beautiful boutique in Woolloongabba's antiques district, and they sell a combination of beautiful new stock and carefully selected (from the surrounding purveyors of fine furniture, jewellery and household miscellany) vintage stock. Check their blog for updates about new stock and temptations. 

I bought this candle today, and I'm smelling it right now as I type this, and it's out of this world all kinds of crazy good scent. It's made by Voluspa (check out their decadent website) and it's a combination of sandalwood, bamboo, and musk - and it kind of smells like what I imagine a really sexy person smells like. You know exactly what I mean. They had another one which mixed goji berry, mango, and orange together - and that one just smelt like relaxed happiness. I don't know how they can solidify and bottle such sensations, but they do, and it's damn good. I've never spent $22 on a candle before, and I feel like I should feel a bit silly about doing so, but I just don't. If you could just smell it, you too would understand. 


Handmade High Street is on Ipswich Rd in Annerley, within the little cluster of op-shops and antique stores that have just exploded in popularity lately. It's not your average shop though, it has it's own unique code of supporting local and Australian creators exclusively, and doesn't charge commission on selling their work. It's a super interesting business model that makes me proud to be part of Brisbane's creative community, and if you're interested in that kind of thing you should definitely have a look at their website and get in touch with them. 

There are some seriously incredible artists stocked in this shop - these are a few that stood out to me and if you have the time then I strongly recommend having a quick peek at their websites and/or etsy pages:

• Georgeson Jones does some seriously fucking amazing resin rings in the shape of skulls and they're only $20!
• Patti Pennisi's necklaces are a bit hit-and-miss, but check out the neon drop earrings and the resin disk rings for a damn fine colour pop. 
• Monster Planet Design does prints of sic-fi characters in a kind of pop/street art style which is just plain cool. It's what cool is all about. Lucy Lawless as Xena 2D rendered in blue, pink, and yellow? YES PLEASE!!! Oh - and they're actually affordable too, so perfect for kids like me who need cool things that aren't going to send me to the gutter. 
• Gill Pyke's work was exhibited in the Lust for Life exhibition I was in a few months ago, and you can buy her crazy/strange/incredible (but this time wearable) creations which are like badass origami. 
• Lastly, Sheina Thomas is the mastermind behind Crypt Creations and the creator of my fantastic new green bone-shaped hair clips. These pretty babies were just $8, and she has a bunch of other kooky tongue-in-cheek stuff over at her site, including pink glitter versions of these babies

So there you go... just another two reasons to love this city!