Sunday, February 04, 2007

Shop of the week: The Bower

Pre-loved, unloved, discarded, broken or just plain unfashionable stuff finds its way to The Bower. It's a reuse and repair cooperative - that means they collect, fix up and re-sell things. They concentrate on household, building and office goods. It's brilliant going there. I've bought most of the blinds for my house there over the years, and various bits and pieces including a beautiful white cotton bedspread. Yesterday there were a few amazing pieces including this vintage Cyclops pram in pristine condition


and this 35mm film editing table, next to a hospital bed (just visible on the left).


They sell bikes, computers, kitchen sinks, baths & basins (often green or pink from the 1950s), car parts, wet suits, building materials and filing cabinets. If you live near Marrickville, dropping in occasionally is really worth it. You might also keep The Bower in mind for when you want to get rid of stuff - they take donations and will even collect from your house. They also deliver, and hire things out, for film shoots for example.

On a Sunday, you could combine a trip to The Bower with a rummage around Reverse Garbage, a visit to the peaceful Addison Rd Gallery, and a lunch of Chinese dumplings or Turkish gozreme from the Addison Rd Markets. They're all in the same complex (an ex military base!) and there's heaps of parking under the big old gum trees.

My favourite spot at The Bower? The wall of pink drawers, holding deadlocks, springs, cupboard hatches & locks, drill bits, handles, washers, bearings, etc.

5 comments:

lucy tartan said...

funnily enough I am in want of a green sink.

Kerryn Goldsworthy said...

I love their name. I wonder if they got it from Our Mutual Friend.

Meredith Jones said...

Could be, although I always thought it was from the Bowerbird, which builds elaborate towers out of found objects: "No two bowers are the same, and the collection of objects reflects the personal taste of each bird and its capability to procure unusual and rare items (going as far as stealing them from neighboring bowers)" (wikipedia, Bowerbird).

tigtog said...

Ooh, I haven't been to the Bower in ages. I go to Reverse Garbage at least once a term, but I haven't dropped by the other. Thanks for the reminder.

BwcaBrownie said...

I do hope there is not a sad story behind that snowy clean baby pram.
In country Victoria, at Castlemaine, there is a wonderful and similar business called The Renovators Barn.
Lucy Tartan would definitely find a green sink there in the sink section, lined up with all the pink ones and mauve ones, just waiting.