My favourite fossicking place on the planet is going! Proprietor Eli has been running Coastal Trader on the Geelong Rd at Portarlington and it has been the haunt of artists, hipsters and home decorators for many years and a mainstay of business on the Bellarine peninsula. Its rambling junkyard was full of promise and potential but is now sadly all cleaned up. The main shop area is a dimly lit shed and used to be chock full of nostalgic treasures of mid 20th century design but is reduced to about 25% of its former stock. The treasures in there have always had that special something that appeals to me –the mark of craftsmanship,beauty, good design and possibility for reuse or resurrection. I don’t recall ever seeing plastic stuff, though I could be mistaken. The recycled clothing was lush and beautiful and I am sure I saw some of it on some ABC programs. Every other item evoked some sort of emotional response including the special aroma of shed dust and linseed oil that just reassured you that you were in your grandpa’s shed where good things were taken care of.
Now stocks are depleting rapidly in a count down to eviction in June. There are still some beautiful items to be found and I really don’t know what can ever replace this treasure trove if new premises cannot be found. Sigh!
Do you have any treasure haunts?
It was a great photo shoot site for my grafitti stuff.
