We?ve long been wanting to interview the team behind the amazing mini empire that is Store / Corner Store, and it?s finally happened! Meet Kevin and Caroline, two of the owners of the gorgeous homewares, gift and furniture shops ? or for want of a better word, ?lifestyle shops?. Interviewing these two is really like talking to retail royalty! Kevin and Caroline have had a number of clothing, homewares and shoe stores over the years, and at one stage probably made up a large part of the market of trendy Perth stores. Now they?re threatening to do it all over again with the beautiful Store and Corner Store concepts popping up all over town, and really, we couldn?t be more delighted!
We love a family business! Who is behind Corner Store?
So do we! There?s Kevin and Caroline, Annie and Adam (Caroline?s brother) and all our wonderful staff.
Do you think family and business mix well?
We have to say yes, the other two might read this! But truthfully it?s great. We have our moments but when you are bound together by more important things in life it makes business a breeze.
What are each of your strengths in the business?
Caroline and Annie do the buying, merchandising and the general running of the day to day shop floor stuff. Kevin does the accounts, wages etc and works creatively with Kylie, whilst Adam is ?logistics?, organising furniture deliveries, manufacturing as well as head barista. Having said that the lines are often blurred as there is much crossover.
Inside Store, one of their Fremantle shops.
My early teens were spent browsing the second hand threads in Lush, when my niece was born I gushed over the baby toys in Store, and presently I?m swooning over the furniture in your showrooms, daydreaming about filling my house with the pieces. You?ve been a force of style in my life for the best part of 2 decades! Can you tell us a bit about the history of your retail stores and what permutations of stores you?ve been through?
Oh my! That does make us feel old! But it has been a progression in our lives too.
Lush started in 1992 as a market stall in the cultural centre when Caroline made clothes and sold them. We mixed in vintage clothes and opened our first shop on Cantonment Street Fremantle in ?94. Lush turned to Lick in ?96. After many trips to Europe gathering vintage clothing and ephemera we noticed a move to ?lifestyle? shops where all needs were met. We thought we?d have a go and with Annie and Adam set up Store in ?99 on Market Street just after the arrival of our first borns which tied in nicely with our stock mix too.
The Lush market stall at the Perth Cultural Centre back in 1993.
Lick moved in next to Store in 2001, which was a busy year as we opened up Wanderlust Footwear on Cantonment St with our friend Sarah Wallwork. We had quite a nice little triangle going on there for a while. Store Claremont opened in 2005 on St Quentin Ave, followed by Mount Lawley in 2008 which also saw the birth of Corner Store on Stirling Highway Claremont and the death of Store on St Quentin at the hands of a Hawaiian/Multiplex wrecking ball.
Last year it seemed like all we did was renovate. The original Store moved next door into the lovely old Lick shop and after months of throwing white paint around, Corner Store on South Terrace opened in October? I feel like a lie down now!
The different stores through the years ? Lick Clothing in 1996 (top); Store in 1999 (middle); and Wanderlust in 2001 (bottom).
How do you keep it so fresh over the years?
Tupperware!
What is the best thing about your job?
It?s not a job!
Take us through a typical day of your work:
The days vary but generally we start very early to get ahead before we get caught up in normal family life: preparing breakfasts, lunches and school runs. Once that?s done we then do our rounds of the shops, dropping off stock, making deliveries to customers, catch up with our staff and just general grown up business stuff. We then have a period after school pick ups where we work from home but we don?t really have that Work/Home separation as it?s so much a part of our lives!
What have been the hardest hurdles to face over the years in the retail biz?
I remember once the CD player broke and I had to sing to every customer that came in, people can be so cruel? That was a tough day.
Which local creatives do you admire?
Kylie Thevenau, our brilliant designer and ?family? member who embodies our style and ethos so well. And you two too!
The current Corner Store with beautiful window displays by Kylie, their in house designer.
Any tips for those hoping to open a shop of their own?
Don?t!
Well, don?t spend too much on the fit-out ? white paint covers a multitude of sins. So many businesses have folded after investing so much money on the shell ? it?s all about what you are selling. It?s a bit like divorcing after an elaborate wedding. Keep it simple.
Their latest venture opened last year ? a white and bright Corner Store on South Terrace, Fremantle.
Plenty more pics over here.
What do you love about Perth?
Home and family.
What does Perth need?
The baby boomers to move aside and let the X?ers and Y?s have a go.
Most frequented coffee spot?
Cimablino in Cottesloe as well as Adam?s brew in our South Terrace showroom.
Best live music venue?
If I still went out I think I?d really like The Bird on William Street.
Favourite beach?
Echo Beach (far away in time).
Rottnest or Margaret River?
Rottnest, I love those big rabbits. Kevin & Caroline.
Thank you!!
If you?re looking to pretty up your place then be sure to check out the Store and Corner Store shops. Store (their gift/homewares shop) is located at 25 Market Street Fremantle, and 649F Alexander Building, Beaufort Street in Mount Lawley. Corner Store (their furniture/homewares showrooms) are located at 147 South Terrace Fremantle, and 201-205 Stirling Highway (Corner of Loch Street) Claremont. Otherwise for a bit of online shopping, blog reading, or just generally drooling over a lot of super pretty things head over to cornerstore.net.au.
Source: http://weloveperth.net.au/the-creatives-kevin-and-caroline-of-corner-store/
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