Rundell & Rundell

Rundell and Rundell - a unique retail store in Piper street, Kyneton.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.

One of Glen's handcrafted timber stools (left) and vintage silverware (right)  at Rundell and Rundell.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.

Glen and Lisa Rundell, craftspeople and owners of Rundell and Rundell.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.

After a week of inspiring stories brought to you from  the North coast of NSW, today we're back a little closer to home, with a gorgeous little retail story from Kyneton, in Victoria's Spa Country. Rundell & Rundell is a unique retail store, set in one of Kyneton's original Goldrush buildings, and opened in December last year by husband and wife team Glen & Lisa Rundell, both passionate craftspeople.  Glen is a chair maker and woodworker who makes traditionally crafted Windsor chairs - a skill he acquired after travelling to the United States and studying under renowned American chair maker Curtis Buchanan, in Jonesborough, Tennessee!  Lisa is self taught in leatherwork, and creates handcrafted leather bags.  She stitches each bag using individually selected hides, lining fabrics ranging from Japanese linen to vintage Liberty fabric, waxed linen thread and traditional copper rivets. Rundell & Rundell provides the perfect outlet to showcase Glen beautifully crafted chairs, and Lisa’s leather bags and satchels, but it's also a space for other traditional crafters and artists to exhibit and sell work.  Glen and Lisa are committed to stocking only product which has been traditionally crafted, and the result is an incredible collection of work from makers in fields as diverse as leadlighting to slating, bronze casting to boatbuilding - and everything in between! 'We stock work by a doctor of bell making, a master armourer, Australia’s only hedge layer, a spoon carver, a leadlighter, a canoe maker; a roof slater, a ropemaker, a sixth generation cooper and bucket maker who also happens to be the last Sussex trug-maker in the country, a leatherworker, a knife and toolmaker, a whip maker, a cobbler and bespoke boot maker' says Lisa!  This incredible list of talent reads like a book of trades from 200 years ago! Lisa and Glen are, in fact, so passionate about traditional crafts, that they have gone one step further in their support of these age old skills.  Lost Trades Australia is an initiative they have started, which seeks to preserve and celebrate the art of skilled manual work and traditional trades which are dying out at a rapid rate.  Glen and Lisa Rundell set up Lost Trades Australia with the aim of  bringing together people that still have these skills, to reignite their significance.  'We hope that by uniting traditional crafters, that we can inspire the next generation to embrace these skills and develop an interest or even a career a traditional trade' says Lisa. Aside from running their beautiful little shop and associated projects, Glen also teaches chairmaking in his Kyneton workshop.  Keep your eyes on his great little blog for more details! Big thanks to Danielle White, a freelance writer and blogger for the tip off about Rundell & Rundell!  What a find! Danielle has an excellent blog covering all kinds of creative news from in and around Kyneton  / The Macedon Ranges - well worth a visit!  Thanks also to Kim Selby for the photos!

Lisa at work creating one of her handcrafted leather bags.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.

Lisa at work creating one of her handcrafted leather bags.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.

Leatherwork details.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.

Details from Glen's timber workshop.  Photo by Kim Selby, styling by Danielle White.