Nook Vintage

I love Nook! Every time I wander past this little gem I have to take a peek inside to see what new industrial treasures they have… Then I proceed to curse myself for pretending I might actually purchase a fifty-​five kilo railway lamppost, feel bad for wasting the shop girl’s time and proceed to buy a $ 35 tea towel. Well played Nook!

Things to do once I win the Tattslotto:
1. Pay off my credit card
2. Maybe throw some money at my parents
3. Head to Nook Vintage and redecorate my house
I say this because I doubt I will ever have the money to buy anything from here. But hey, isn’t that the same as every other vintage furniture store in Melbourne?
This is a very small shop that stocks some very exciting stuff — wooden chairs, vintage cabinets, oversized pigeonhole shelves and old school luggage trunks galore.
A great place to head if you are looking for a bit of inspiration or if you just love a good window shop! But if you are lucky enough to be able to afford anything from Nook Vintage I don’t think we can be friends. Sorry.

The first thing I spied upon entering Nook Vintage was a decidedly bourgeois middle-​aged couple looking wild eyed and wondering aloud where the nearest cash machine was. Nook Vintage, with its incredible range of vintage, retro and reclaimed furniture and clothing, tends to have this effect on people.
A tiny little nook of a shop on Fitzroy’s Johnston Street, it’s definitely worth having a look around this tiny vintage store’s crannies. Doing a fine line in vintage reclaimed industrial wooden benches and tables, old Melbourne signage, great sixties clothing and modern locally made cards, bunting and the like, Nook Vintage may be small — and its range commensurately abbreviated — but what it does it does well.
Prices are much lower than Fitzroy’s other vintage shops — we’re talking $ 200 odd for a beautiful big wooden bench — and the stock is so well chosen that nary a rummage is needed. Nook’s staff may be a little bit too cool for school and esoteric indie music may loudly abound, but Nook Vintage is still one of my firm vintage favourites.

I am deeply in lust with almost everything in this shop. Unlike Industria on Gertrude Street, the furniture in Nook feels really warm and homely. It’s possibly because it’s a smaller space and there is a lot of wood and primary colours. Whatever the reason, it’s a totally gorgeous shop.
The owners have clearly got a bit of a fetish for medical chic with everything from ointment bottles to a vintage first aid cabinet — very cute. There’s also vintage clothes and accessories, and heaps of Brittannia owing to the English owners.
The prices are pretty reasonable, and when I expressed an interest in an adorable industrial stool the lovely lady (who’s name I can’t remember despite chatting to for a good half an hour) offered to knock off $ 50 so clearly there’s room to bargain. It’s still not as cheap as some eBay vintage stores or flea markets, but given it’s pre-​curated and in such a central location it’s good value. Besides, on my past few trips to Camberwell Market I’ve found the prices obscene and stall holders unwilling to barter.