Five Boroughs, Brunswick East

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Five Boroughs, Brunswick East

The Melbourne design store passionately championing craft, locality and heritage...

Founded in 2007 by designers Stephanie Fleming and partner Kyle De Kuijer, Melbourne’s Five Boroughs is very much the quintessential labour of love. Hand-crafted from graphic design to build, it’s a blood, sweat and tears kind of place. The deeds may have changed hands a few years back, but the passion pumped into it by the young design duo has far from waned – new owners Justine Law and Alasdair MacKinnon sharing equal ardour for design and craft of a local, authentic, handmade bent.

One of the hands behind “souvenir shop with a difference” Melbournalia, MacKinnon was also a key cog in the rejuvenation of a 40-odd year old local family knitting business, turning an ailing business into brand Otto & Spike. Crafting beautiful design products just steps away from the Brunswick East store, their story epitomises the ethos behind Law and MacKinnon’s Five Boroughs – the lion’s share of product hailing from a Melbourne postcode – and emphasises the pair’s commitment to locality and championing of native design talent. Where products and designers aren’t sourced from Melbourne and its surrounds, heritage, craft and passion persevere: Duluth Pack bags may have made their way across the Pacific, but have been hand-crafted in the same Minnesota factory since 1911. On hand with a story behind each product, Alasdair is every bit the child in his own sweet shop – and who wouldn’t have a sweet tooth for the artisan-crafted delights he and Justine curate? T’rrific.

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