A GIFTS and artisanal crafts store has opened up in a former wedding chapel in Gordon.<\/p>\n
Run by Alicia Gordon, The Chapel Store began trading in October of 2018 and mostly stocks products created by local and Australian makers and designers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to supporting original design, beautiful products and quality craftsmanship,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The chapel also includes a dedicated space for creative workshops and Mrs Gordon said the building has \u201clived a pretty full life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was moved here by the previous owners from Croydon where it was a wedding chapel.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently it was delivered on the back of a truck on a really wet and wild day,\u201d she said. \u201cThe property is on quite a slope and the onlookers thought it was going to slide down the hill!\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Mrs Gordon and her husband Mark bought the chapel in mid-2017, it had been renovated by the previous owners and was a shop for a couple of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe moved in just over a year ago from Altona looking for a bit of a change and more space,\u201d she said. \u201cWe got married in our chapel back in March before opening the shop in October.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chapel Store is mostly Mrs Gordon\u2019s domain, but her husband and their two-and-ahalf-year-old daughter, Odessa sometimes meet and greet customers, too.<\/p>\n
With a background in textile design, Mrs Gordon is loving the fact that the money spent in her shop is going back to small businesses, \u201cLittle guys like ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the completion of her degree, Mrs Gordon worked for Melbourne based designer, Emily Green, making jewellery for three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a lot of markets with her and met a lot of incredible artists who were making amazing things, so it\u2019s been great to rekindle some of these relationships by stocking them in my store,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It has always been important to Mrs Gordon to support ethical producers of handmade products locally and more broadly within Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find so much pleasure in the small imperfections and details in something that has been made by a human hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s excited to keep telling her customers the stories of her shop\u2019s wares and of her chapel.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy best sellers are local products. Luckily there\u2019s so many creative people in Gordon,\u201d Mrs Gordon said.<\/p>\n