Berry is a lovely little town in the Southern Highlands of NSW, a tourist destination and one that is jam packed with gorgeous gift, clothing and homewares shops and cafes. No matter what time of the year you visit, there is a constant flow of tourists and bikers enjoying the scenic routes, a great coffee and fun shopping.
We know most of the shops in Berry well but there are a few that are new to us and one of those was chocolate house, Pompadour's. Unlike many other shops in Berry, Pompadour's is not cluttered and over-populated by product but is simple, elegant and well-styled, making it a lovely calm haven for having a sweet treat and a coffee.
We went into a few other new-to-us shops but what struck me was that their exterior didn't match their interior. While some of them looked attractive on the outside, inside, they just seemed to stock absolutely everything, not continuing their theme or 'look'. In addition, the ones that were well-styled inside as well were often outrageously expensive. Would you pay $150 for a bone china teacup and saucer or nearly $200 for a woman's top? I certainly wouldn't.
Comparing the prices and the different styling of the shops, it got me thinking about my own little Etsy shop which has been offline since I did a couple of market days in early December. I'll be taking a closer look at how all my makings hang together in terms of colours and fabrics etc before it goes up again.
Lots of things to mull over in the weeks to come as we get to the end of the holidays and back to school.
And here's something else that tickled my fancy in Berry outside my fave homewares store Haven & Space.
I firmly believe that the outside of a store helps me decide whether or not to go in. Window displays and such. If the name doesn't tell me anything about what's going to be inside, than what I'm seeing from the outside better. I prefer a cluttered store front than a well organized one, though. I've noticed that the more cluttered looking stores have better prices!! I don't know if that's just a "me" thing or if that's something that actually happens, but it has been my experience.
ReplyDeletexoxo, Jess
I agree! If they can't grab you at first sight, there's no point in going in. Normally I love lots of bargains jammed in to a shop, but recently I've been feeling as though there's such a thing as having too much product! And perhaps it's just Australia but the stores I like (apart from op shops) are flipping expensive! There's one exception though - Haven & Space in Berry have a cluttered store but fantastic prices too!
DeleteThere is such a thing as too much, have been finding that in my local vintage shop lately. And it tends to be a lot of little things cluttered together. Very difficult to focus. But it can be pretty all the same.
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