BOWER REUSE AND REPAIR CENTRE COOPERATIVE

This innovative retail store could be just the place to find a few conversation-starter pieces to liven up your home interior. Part of a community centre, the not-for-profit Bower Cooperative promotes the reuse and reconditioning of pre-loved goods. The Cooperative collects furniture, bric-a-brac, hardware, building materials and homewares from donations and council pick-ups, and then repairs or even remanufactures them to sell at the retail store. All proceeds go back into the community. The products vary greatly and change every week. When we dropped in, there were Federation doors for $65, salvaged fireplaces from $60 and a 1920s wardrobe for $80. But then there’s the unique creations remade by the Bower’s artists out of bits and pieces of furniture, or found objects such as an industrial-looking lamp made from a water pump motor. It really is an eclectic little shop filled with interesting homewares that tell a story — and are reasonably priced as well.