Holy Kitsch | Sydney
SYDNEY, TREASURE TROVE — By Hide & Seek team on 14/02/2012 10:25 am
Bowerbird chic
The first thing I see when I approach Holy Kitsch’s new Newtown store is a framed print that reads ‘I Love the Shit Out of You’. Surrounding it is a melting Dali clock (that actually works), two pink flamingos, a vintage wooden Pinocchio and fairy lights galore. I say to myself: ‘I think I’m gonna like it here.’
And indeed I do. But be warned: entering this store could potentially induce an LSD flashback, because the interior feels more than a little like Frida Kahlo on acid.
Holy Kitsch’s eccentric collection of ephemera encompasses everything from retro bunny bookends, Strong Man bottle openers and an original Seidel & Naumann vintage typewriter I’d maim someone to own. But the emphasis is heavy on the colour and chaos of Mexican wares; specifically Día de los Muertos memorabilia.
Co-owners Noni Daniels and Phillip Masters are long-term kitsch aficionados who joined forces in order to expand their market stalls into a store. Their initial offering – a tiny surreal chocolate box of kitsch treats in Surry Hills – has been successful enough to enable them to open this second, larger, store. (You can also order many of their wares off the website.)
It’s a great place for unique gifts. In one trip I spot the perfect birthday presents for, respectively, a friend who fancies tacky religious iconography and a pirate-lover with a penchant for cunning literary puns. Maybe your friends aren’t as weird as mine, but in any case, who couldn’t use a Día de los Muertos diorama featuring a band of skeletons? I mean, really?
4 Enmore Rd, Newtown
(02) 8065 4541
www.holykitsch.com.au
Open Mon–Wed & Fri 11am–6pm, Thurs 11am–7pm, Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pm
321 Crown St, Surry Hills
(02) 8068 2437
Open Mon–Wed & Fri 11am–6.30pm, Thurs 11am–7.30pm, Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–5pm
