11 secondhand, salvaged and upcycled stores in Melbourne

This post is part of my Christmas in July 2015 series. You can find more posts by clicking here.

As I noted, my theme this year for our Christmas is upcycled, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to invite Lara Knight to write a guest post for the blog and share some amazing places in Melbourne that specialise in upcycled, vintage or salvaged goods. 

Lara runs the online directory Junk Map an online directory of Australian businesses that offer quality used, recycled or upcycled goods for your home. The directory is amazing and will help you find:

  • Recycled materials for renovation and building projects (eg. recycled timber, bricks)
  • Salvaged architectural features (eg. heritage windows, lights, fireplaces)
  • Funky upcycled furniture and artworks
  • Secondhand furniture and homewares
  • Talented craftspeople who accept custom-made work

Lara also sends out a fabulous monthly newsletter letting you know all about her new finds across the country. You can sign up to the newsletter here. (If you are not in Melbourne still check out Junk Map, while it started in Victoria, its listing base is growing all the time.)

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We know Melbourne is a diverse city but, until I started this project, I had no idea how much stuff lurked in out-of-the-way corners. Collections were hidden all over the city and there wasn’t an easy way to find them.

I built The Junk Map to bring recycled businesses into one quick-search directory, and added plenty of pics so homemakers and professionals could scout on the run. Here are a few of my current favourites.

VINTAGE

Lost Ark Antiques and Collectables, Williamstown

1 Lost-Ark
Some vintage stores tempt you every time you visit. Lost Ark is one of those for me and I’ve dragged home more than I intended several times. James and Michael have an eagle eye for upcycling potential and unusual collectables and sell ‘as found’, restored or custom made pieces. You’ll find rustic or industrial tables and workbenches, toys, tools, vintage hardware, and a small warehouse piled high with intriguing stuff.
Click here for full review.

Quazi Design, Spotswood

2 Quazi-Design
Set in a rugged old gunpowder factory in Spotswood, this 20th century/industrial furniture store is more design destination than junk jumble. Run by passionate collectors, Shane and Gerri Paton, Quazi specialises in eclectic styling, mint condition designer vintage, and locally-made bespoke furniture. An inspiration pit-stop for design lovers.
Click here for full review. 

Halsey Road Recyclers, Airport West

3 Halsey-Road-Recyclers
A large warehouse just off the Tullamarine Freeway specialising in Australian, rural and industrial vintage. Todd Wren and his wife Ann have run antique shops and a demolition business for many years and Halsey Road is a quiet junk oasis in a busy industrial area. A wide selection of chairs, furniture, workbenches, storage, collectables and rustic props.
Click here for full review.

Nook Vintage Warehouse, North Fitzroy

4 Nook-Vintage
Nook Vintage has small stores in Fitzroy and St Kilda but my favourite is their storage warehouse tucked behind the Clifton Hill shopping strip. The shed is open to the public on weekends and stocks larger items like workbenches and industrial shelving and a changing array of chairs and decorator items.
Click here for full review.

Waverley Antique Bazaar, Glen Waverley

This vast collection is so well hidden even locals don’t know it’s there. It’s set behind other buildings in an industrial estate on Aristoc Road with only a small sign to point the way. But once you’ve found the door you’ll need several hours, or several visits, to see everything. Individual stalls are neatly laid out, and wares vary from industrial vintage and country rustic, to shabby chic, 20th century modern, retro, collectable, antique and kitsch. There is so much lovingly-curated junk here I doubt you’ll leave empty handed.
Click here for full review. 

UPCYCLED

Old Soul, St Andrews

6 Old-Soul-Furniture
Statement industrial furniture. Troy Tamblyn is a plumber turned upcycler who collates time-worn materials like zinc, copper, rusty iron, recycled timber, vintage plumbing, and salvaged industrial finds into knockout furniture and commercial decor. Old Soul pieces are beautifully finished without losing the genuine character and authenticity of aged surfaces.
Click here for full review. 

Tread Sculptures, Bend of Islands

7 Tread-Sculptures
Creative rust. Another edge-of-town designer with an impressive ability to reinvent scrap metal. Tim Read uses all kinds of metal junk to fashion sculptural garden art, light bollards, firepits, screens, gates and mailboxes. The Tread Sculptures studio and sculpture garden are open by appointment, and they hold public open days several times a year.
Click here for full review. 

Yard Furniture, Preston

8 Yard-Furniture
Designer recycled timber furniture. Peter McManus was a carpenter/joiner for 25 years and a trade teacher for 6 years before opening his own studio. Yard Furniture has moved into a brand new showroom and has plans for DIY classes and art shows alongside their beautifully finished homewares.
Click here for full review.

Rubble Designs, Northcote

9 Rubble-Designs
Contemporary upcycled. You’ll find a range of bright furniture and upcycled homewares in the new Northcote store. Feature stock changes regularly as Trent experiments with found materials but Rubble also creates smaller decorator items and upcycled gifts.
Click here for full review.

SALVAGE

Hughes Renovators Paradise, Huntingdale

10 Hughes-Renovators-Paradise
Melbourne’s largest salvage yard. Hughes is a 21st century recycler with a neatly segmented warehouse and online listings with measurements and prices so you can search from home. You’ll find large stocks of recycled timber, hundreds of period features, doors, windows, lighting, plumbing and hardware.
Click here for full review. 

GHG Home and Building Recycling, Preston

11 GHG-Recycling
Friendly local yard. GHG just moved to larger undercover premises so I’m expecting some additions to their basic building materials inventory as they settle in. Usually has well-organised racks of recycled timber, roof tiles, doors, windows, plumbing and odds and ends.
Click here for full review.

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Lara KnightLara Knight is a former graphic designer with a passion for rustic furniture, recycled timber and creativity. She started The Junk Map in 2013 to make it easier for Australians to find quality secondhand, salvaged and upcycled goods. You can sign up to The Junk Map newsletter here.

Do you have a favourite local haunt?