Spacecraft · New Store + Giveaway!

Spacecraft's newly expanded Gertrude st Store, showcasing textiles, bedlinen, clothing, accessories and homewares.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

Spacecraft's newly expanded Gertrude st Store.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

Clara Gladstone from Spacecraft demonstrating print techniques in store.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

The team behind Spacecraft's shiny new showroom! From left - Marina Breit, Clara Gladstone, with Spacecraft co-founders Donna O'Brien and Stewart Russell.  Absent from this photo is Geralyn Patrick - Spacecraft's long serving store manager!   Photo - Eve Wilson.

Don't you love when one of your oldest favourite shops has a big fancy makeover!?  It's like re-discovering them all over again. Last week we popped in to visit the lovely team at Spacecraft, who you probably know, have been champions of Melbourne's indie design community for a VERY LONG TIME.  (I actually interviewed Stewart way back in 2008 - excuse the photos and pre-Wordpress formatting!).  Spacecraft have had a busy few months expanding their Gertrude store to incorporate the shopfront next door.  Their showroom is now double the size, and it looks fabulous!  Lots more room for the team to showcase their artwork and textiles alongside other homewares and furniture by local makers including Mark Tuckey and Greg Hatton. There's also a lovely edit of clothing and accessories, including a stunning range of locally made knitwear. The extra space also gives the Spacecraft team the opportunity to really connect the store to their wider practice.  Spacecraft founder Stewart Russell loves talks and demonstrations, so the team have designed this new space with an allocation for seating to accommodate these kind of events.  There's also a print table for in store screenprinting demonstrations! We asked Spacecraft's Donna O'Brien a few questions about their vision for the new showroom -

Tell us about the new showroom - how will it differ from your previous shop on Gertrude st?

The extra space gives us the opportunity to show our artwork in context with furniture and styling elements. Stewart had a vision for the new space, and Clara at the studio was looking for a new challenge - she's an adventurer in every way, and architecture / interiors is one of her many areas of interest. So she's been the driving force behind the design and project management of the new space. We love talks and demonstrations, so with the new space we've been able to design seating for artists and designers talks. We'll print bags and posters in store to help explain the technical processes of screen printing and the thought processes, the theory and the research behind the work. We're also going to start wholesaling this year (how come that's taken so long!), so we felt a larger store would help show a vision for our work in situ. We will offer fabrics by the metre, and showcase furniture we've reupholstered. We also have Mark Tuckey, Phillip Graham and Greg Hatton lined up to show furniture pieces in the space. We've also been chatting with Brigitta and Jamie about a hole in the wall for coffee orders from Enoteca next door!  Coffee often comes through from them while people are contemplating artwork... and wine from time to time!

How did the location next door to your existing store come up?

Last year our big project was to move our studio to Fitzroy into a new space we share with John Wardle. Moving closer to the store got Stewart much more involved in the retail side of things, and he started thinking about a larger store on Gertrude St, and the opportunities to interact with the studio. We just knew if we had a larger store it would lead to new work and new ideas. So when our landlord said he had a vision for the two spaces becoming one, we were really pleased. We always loved the position of the store, in the evening it's so beautifully social, surrounded by the Builders Arms, Enoteca and Lladro. We're really pleased we're not moving.

Aside from creating their fab new showroom, the Spacecraft team have also been hard at work over the past new months working on a brand new website, which launched just last week!  Do check it out for a fantastic insight into this inspiring local design company, and the amazing collaborations and commissions they work on behind the scenes. To celebrate the launch of their new website and showroom, Spacecraft have offered a generous giveaway for one lucky TDF reader!   One winner will receive a set of three new Artplay Prints on timber - a collaboration between Stewart and Power to Make.  These timber frames are screenprinted by Stewart Russell in one of three different designs - 'Masterplan Melbourne', 'Rosella' or 'Kelly Gum' (pictured below - the winner can choose any combination of these designs). Spacecraft 225 Gertrude Street Fitzroy, 3056

Spacecraft giveaway - a set of 3 Artplay Prints in a design of the winner's choice.  Large print - 'Masterplan Melbourne', 45.5 x 37cm (valued at $175), medium print - 'Rosella', 37 x 30cm ($135), small print  'Kelly Gum',  21.5 x 17.5cm ($85).   Photo - Eve Wilson.

Artwork,  linen, cushions and furniture on display in Spacecraft's new Fitzroy showroom.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

Homewares and accessories on display in Spacecraft's new Fitzroy showroom.  Photo - Eve Wilson.