Melbourne-based textile designer Tara Whalley has curated the Shop Gal pop-up with 13 of her creative pals. The talented crew first connected through their side-by-side stalls at the Big Design Market a couple of years ago. For Tara, bringing everyone back together again, for an engaging real-world shopping experience, has been an absolute dream! ‘As an independent designer creating clothing, I have felt the demand to create a space for customers to try on clothing and have a beautiful experience,’ she beams.
Located on Victoria Street (near Queen Vic Market), Shop Gal is open until Sunday, with a new drop of limited-edition designs in-store from tomorrow. There’s something for everyone (hunting for a Mother’s Day gift?) and many of the local makers are available to chat you through their creations. We discovered that most pieces are handmade by the designers themselves or manufactured in small batches by local teams, and that the vast majority employ sustainably-sourced natural fabrics, from merino wool to silk and linen.
To coincide with this foray into bricks-and-mortar, Tara has also launched her new Curious Cat collection, pictured here on another TDF fave, Tantri Mustika! Made in Melbourne, the cheeky range stars Tara’s original neighborhood cat Minty and is available in sizes XS-4XLovely. ‘What is so special about Shop Gal is that we aren’t only creating original work locally, but we are also catering to the need for clothing to have inclusive size ranges,’ Tara highlights.
She’s thrilled to have Mimi Holvast, a Byron-Bay-based designer at the forefront of sustainable design, showing pieces, as well as Mamoru’s vegan hand-poured resin jewellery, featuring preserving flowers from her mother’s garden. Shop Gal also stocks threads from likes of Chief Studio, Farn, Squint, Togetherness, Wolf and Mishka, jewellery and accessories from Aacute, Kate Dansey, Stephanie Elicia, plus designs and illustrations from Carolyn White Studio, and ceramics by La Petite Fabrique.
‘As most of the designers have textile design backgrounds, you can find exciting and gorgeous fabrics you won’t find anywhere else in the world,’ adds Tara. ‘They’ve dreamt up the patterns themselves, so there is a real feeling of freshness and excitement as you enter the space.’
Shop Gal
Open until May 5th
103 Victoria Street Melbourne
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm
Prosecco + Peruse Shopping Night
Friday, May 3rd, 5:30pm-8:30pm, RSVP here.
