By Aine Dowling

Last year we visited Trove when they were at Gold Creek and one of our comments was that if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t find it … Well, it seems Trove thought that too because now they’ve relocated right into the city centre and are upstairs in Garema Place. The space is also about twice as big as they had in Gold Creek, and they’ve expanded their profile to include two well-known Canberra fashion designers—Sovata, and Dissonance.

Hats and headpieces by Sovata

Trove is a collective (or cooperative) of fashion, jewellery and accessories, aromatherapy candles, kids clothes and toys, homewares, and art. If you’re looking for something special, or a wee bit different, you’ll definitely find it a Trove!

Polished wood and aromatherapy by Wood and Wax

The collective is currently made up of around 16 designers and artists each of whom take turns to ‘man’ the shop for a day and when we visited it was Michael from Wood and Wax. “It’s great to have a bigger space,” said Michael, “and it also means we can look for more designers and artists to join the collective. When we were at Gold Creek we only had about eight members, but now we’re able to expand to around 25 or so, and we’re definitely interested in seeing applications from more local artists and designers.”

Soft furnishings from Blue Radish

The quality of the arts and crafts at Trove is exceptional. From the beautifully polished woodwork from Wood and Wax, through the jewellery and accessories, gorgeous homewares from Blue Radish, and the stunning glass art from Elena’s Canvas.

Stunning painted glass by Elena’s Canvas

“Our only criteria for membership is that it must be locally designed and made,” says Michael, “and members have to commit to working in the shop for a day (about once every three or four weeks), and join for a minimum of three months. But, joining the collective means the rent is shared, so the more members—the cheaper the rent! Plus, there is no commission on sales, so the designer gets 100 per cent of the sale.”

Fashion by Dissonance

Next time you’re in the city take a trip to Trove.

Interested designers, artists, and crafters can apply for Trove membership via their website.

Photos by LFW.