This cute store is one of those places that does furniture, home wares and then bits and pieces of…read morebooks, accessories, handbags etc. I got sucked in by their amazing window display and then wandered around "oohing and ahhing" for quite some time before walking out with a very cool Australian artisan made necklace. The staff are super friendly and helpful and were very keen to give me the low down on where to check out in Bendigo (seeing I'm not a local). Excellent service and as a Melbournite, I was very tempted by their great range of lamps and tables... if only I had a bigger car! A must to check out if you're in the area.

The salesperson was 10/10. She could provide lessons in how to interact with customers. Absolutely…read morefirst class. Delivery was timely and efficient by a very nice man. Product is very good quality. Overall an outstanding experience.

A part of me was somewhat surprised that I couldn't find a second hand bookshop in Bendigo, but…read morethat was before I found this place. It's located in a old building, and it certainly does have a pretty decent range. In fact the interior of the place is absolutely gorgeous, especially if you happen to be one of those people, like me, who likes to wander around such places, and explore what books that lie here, forgotten. Yeah, this place certainly did have quite a lot of charm, and is one that I'd have no problems returning to in a hurry.

We've visited this wonderful bookshop twice while travelling in Victoria and bought a good number…read moreof excellent books. Downstairs there are cabinets with special interest books at the front (first editions, unusual, signed) and a decent selection of art books. Further in is a large amount of literature and fiction and nice hardback editions. Upstairs is a large range of different categories of books including poetry and non-fiction. Prices are reasonable. (Sadly, we learnt this time that the owner is in ill health and the building has been sold. There are discounts now being applied to encourage you to buy up big as they are selling their entire stock.)

Baby Bunting is one of those gigantic 1-stop-shops for all your baby needs. Pretty much anything…read moreyou could possibly think of for a babe, plus a few things you'd never think of, you'll find here. But I can tell you, as a first time mum-to-be it is SUPER overwhelming. I think it's best to go there with intent to purchase a specific item or have a list. Don't just jump in the deep end because you will drown in prams, nappies and anxiety. This store is super new and staff are obviously mostly new to the game and well which is a little disappointing. When you're faced with, like, 40-something different prams and the staff member helping you can't give you much information and doesn't know how to operate them it's really, really disheartening. This is the sort of place you need to feel empowered and at ease when a staff member assists you. This is the second time I've been to the store and the second time I've left without making a purchase because it's just all too much. I'm hoping I can go back in a month or so and be offered a wealth of knowledge from staff members who have really put in the hard yards and studied their products.

I went shopping at Baby Bunting this morning with my daughters and two pregnant granddaughters…read more Nothing was too much for the staff and we found them to be extremely knowledgable about the products. While we were at the checkout my granddaughter fainted. The staff were amazing. They were very calm and caring. They sat with her and made sure she was comfortable until the ambulance arrived. Even though my granddaughter had to stay on the floor in front of the counter there were no annoyed looks, heavy sighs etc, just genuine caring. This was followed up by a phone call this afternoon to make sure my granddaughter was ok. Amazing staff. Congratulations to you all. I hope the owners see this post and give you all a great big Christmas bonus. :)

Let's take a quick trip back in time to 15 years ago... We were at the tail end of an 8 week…read morecamping holiday (our last big pre child excursion) around central Australia. The heatwave conditions in the red centre had convinced me that the wearing of a hat was a very sensible thing to do in order to avoid third degree sunburn. Over the course of the trip I had managed to demolish 2 or 3 cheap hats. On our homeward stretch we passed through Bendigo and happened to find a hat shop that sold genuine Akubra hats so as a spur of the moment thing I chucked the shattered remains of yet another cheap hat in the bin and wandered in. I wandered out shortly afterwards with a brand new Akubra perched proudly on my brow wondering whether it was a good investment. Fast forward 15 years to today. I am still wearing the same Akubra I bought at the Bendigo hat shop 15 years ago. What's more, I am back in Bendigo and standing in front of the very same Bendigo hat shop which is not only still in business but run by the same lady who served me 15 years ago. My old hat has been worn pretty much every day for 15 years and spent at least 12 of them looking pretty good but over the last few it has started to look a bit shabby (in answer to the "was that a good investment question" , the answer is a big yes) so it's time for a new one. The Bendigo hat Shop has a huge range. Not just the Akubra but straw hats, fedoras, trendy flat caps, fascinators and pretty much anything else you can perch on your head. The service is fantastic - the lady who has run the shop for the last few decades knows pretty much everything there is to know about hats and can pretty much pick your head size, and the styles that will suit you best, the moment you walk in the door. Even better she is a trained milliner (hat maker) and can adjust, pad or otherwise tweak your new hat to fit perfectly. I walked out with a nice new Akubra. My old one is now retired to gardening duty and will server me well for another 10 years at least. My wife walked out with two hats - a wide brimmed straw number (that she looks fantastic in) and a marvellous red cloche hat (that looks amazing on her) for winter. Even my son got in on the hat action with a new Fedora (he looks like a spotty youth in his but that's not the fault of the hat).