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Bromley & Co · The Block Arcade

Leasing a premises in Melbourne’s historic retail precinct, The Block Arcade, isn’t an opportunity that comes around every day.

So, when this opportunity presented itself to artist and collector David Bromley and his partner Yuge Bromley earlier this year, they took a leap of faith (as they often do!) and propelled their business, Bromley & Co. into new territory. The result is a beautiful new gallery and showroom in one of Melbourne’s most iconic locations.

Written
by
Lucy Feagins

The new Bromley & Co gallery and showroom  in Melbourne’s iconic The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Bromley & Co in The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Details from Bromley & Co in The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

The new Bromley & Co gallery and showroom in  The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

The new Bromley & Co gallery and showroom  in The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Details from Bromley & Co in The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Details from Bromley & Co in The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Details from Bromley & Co in The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Bromley & Co in Melbourne’s iconic The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

Writer
Lucy Feagins
12th of October 2015

The Block Arcade, built in 1892, is one of Australia’s oldest and most iconic retail precincts. Located in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD between Collins street and Elizabeth st, the arcade is heritage listed, and has been beautifully restored and maintained over the years. Like many of the older buildings which typify the ‘top end’ of Collins street, this grand arcade presents a glimpse of what Melbourne looked like back in Victorian times.

SO, when the opportunity to take on a premises here presented itself to David and Yuge Bromley earlier this year, it was just too incredible to pass up! Despite already having a busy gallery and retail showroom in Windsor, and another in Daylesford (not to mention countless other projects always on the go!) the pair seized the opportunity to open a third location for their business, Bromley & Co. in this historic location.

What’s amazing about Yuge and David is their ability to jump into projects, often quite intuitively, and no matter how challenging or how tight the deadlines, they just make magic happen! In the end, though they had been in talks to some time to secure this new premises, they found themselves with only a week and a half to install and transform the space before their opening. Not surprisingly, they pulled it off, relishing the opportunity to work on a smaller and more intimate scale than they’re used to!

Bromley & Co. in The Block Arcade comprises a ground floor gallery which David describes as ‘a little concentrated nook of everything Bromley & Co’ – this includes artwork and sculpture both by Bromley himself and other notable artists, jewellery, ceramics, soft furnishings and more. Above the gallery, there are two light-filled rooms on the first floor that form an ‘atelier’ of sorts – a space where rare or larger scale artworks can be viewed within a more private setting.

Having been open just over a week, Yuge and David say they’re already loving the energy and buzz that comes from being right in the heart of town. ‘We absolutely love being in the Melbourne CBD’ says Yuge. ‘There is such a constant flow of all different people that come through the Arcade, and to have a space amongst such incredible architecture is very exciting. The Block Arcade certainly opens us to another facet of Melbourne that is very different from that at our Windsor and Daylesford locations, but very much complimentary to the vision we are building, to create accessible art and remarkable interiors imbued with emotion and soul’.

Bromley & Co
Shop 14
280 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC

Bromley & Co in Melbourne’s iconic The Block Arcade. Photo – Annette O’Brien for The Design Files.

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