Perth's worst kept mid century modern secret - The Picker Concept
One of my absolute favourite events on the design calendar here in Perth has to be the warehouse open run by The Picker Concept.
With the notion of repurposing really finding it’s feet in modern society, be it carefully curated via vintage sources, scouring painfully through local thrift shops or hitting marketplace in support of a circular & affordable economy, a business like Gabby’s is literally a must follow for the avid collector.
I have known Gab now nearly as long as Spreading Roomers has been #gettingbehinddesign and even in light of the options above, I’ve realised one important thing - well actually two. 1. I really do love vintage, and 2. It’s nearly all from Gab. Prolly because I suck at FB marketplace and seem to attract oddest of connections, and whenever I go to local markets, House Nerd got their first and she’s a greedy, greedy, design blogger who doesn’t share. There I said it.
To date, I have in my possession, a vintage decanter that I bought for my sommelier / scotch loving partner Derek [ who just quietly is quite possibly the fussiest man on the actual planet & extremely pain-in-the-arsy to buy for ], a rattan / bamboo room divider [ effing divine ], some vintage cane coat-hangers, a vintage / industrial stool [ moonlights as a ‘plant’ stand - hahahahahah, that was even funny to type. Let’s call it a ‘stand-stand’ instead ] plus numerous vases & ceramics.
An addiction? Yes, but it’s also because I have a relationship with Gab that I keep going back. I know what goes into sourcing these goodies and how many frequent flyer miles she would have racked up if flight were involved; my rattan divider literally put on the back of a ute 2 hours away from Perth the day before last years event. DEDICATION TO THE CAUSE.
“When you think of The Picker Concept, think ‘quick’ otherwise you will feel like I do every time I see this olive green sofa - totally gutted that someone else’s ass gets to call shot gun.”
These two items listed on Gabby’s instagram got swooped up & SOLD in record time - total proof that the Perth massive are nuts over mid-century modern, heirloom, original, vintage, circular economy driven pieces, and have significant taste when it comes to curating their homes as individuals. The only problem is…supply & demand. Set your damn alarms folks. The Picker Concept warehouse open is this Sunday, 9 August, 9am SHARP!
THE LOWDOWN:
Each time I go, I also have my mini-collector in tow. partly because he’s a picker at heart himself but Also - he’s been in for the baked goods. Gab usually puts sweet tooth in Sunday morning and he has a firm memory of it - I haven’t had the heart to tell him yet that COVID means no cakes. Seconded only to the fat man’s arrival at Christmas and our seemingly lax rules around morning mince pies, Bossi is at the door ready to stuff his face hole and satisfy his hoarding all in one fell swoop. Maybe I’ll wait till we get there to break his pastry bubble. Besides, there’s usually homemade play dough and kids corner TO KEEP THEM CONTENT FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES. Killer planning for the win - so it’s totally child friendly. Ahhhh, this is the way to shop.
Now - before I give you Gab’s top 5 picks from this year’s event, I also wanted to gift you these shopping guides. Literally hours went into conceiving these and Gab is as thorough with her research skills as she is with her eye for the prize. Below are quite possibly two of the best ‘GUIDES’ I’ve ever seen so it seems that the value of loving local just went up a coupla degrees. Boom!
THE RESOURCES:
Gab is the ultimate giver and champion of all things pre-loved, vintage, circular economy focused and has pulled together a couple of absolutely stellar lists of where you can go to get your vintage fix.
So what can you expect at this year’s event? For starters, Gab & I pulled together our 5 top picks that we both feel will be gone in seconds. Last year people lined up, got the good sh*t, took a biscuit, buggered off. Frankly, I was lucky to nab my room divider but the vintage decanter I got a few weeks later (sourced personally by Gab) as the one I wanted got ‘stolen’ [ bought with a smile as she waved me goodbye ] by someone else. Yet another service offered to help people experience the ‘treasure chest’ of purchasing vintage who can’t call DIBS. It’s not year 5 anymore. Meanwhile:
Midcentury sideboard
Vintage pendant light (how’s the wood grain - GAH, I want!)
Caroma Midcentury stool (very actually being used a a plant stand)
Large white ceramic deco vase
White stone vase with grey vein
Now, in all honesty, if all of this wasn’t enough to get your vintage wheels greased here’s another…and that’s the chance to win 10 extra entries into The Picker Concept $100 GIVEWAWAY.
You know, post COVID everyone has had to reconcile what’s really important, and make sure they are still connecting with one another. I wanted to get on board this GIVEAWAY as a reminder; a reminder that a ‘giveaway’ means the world to a small business owner. It’s not something they do easily. It’s not part of some huge marketing budget. It’s ‘please support my small business’ - and that folks is what we’re all here to do. SHOP. LOCAL. PERTH. and get our original design fix at the same time.
Here’s how:
Head to this POST to enter the original giveaway.
Comment below on this blog if you are a Spreading Roomers SUBSCRIBER as it gives you 10 additional entries.
If you’re NOT, maybe it’s time to sort that out. You never what I’ll have up my sleeve next.
On that note I sincerely hope to see some of you there. If you see me looking my Sunday morning best, please make sure you come and say hello. My eyes my glaze over momentarily, but that’s only because I’m scoping you out and making sure you don’t make a beeline for the my coveted rewards!
Deb xx
