The first time I saw the sign for this store I was a little confused to say the least. I…read moreautomatically thought that Bimbo was a tacky fashion store and did not bother to browse for a number of years. However, one bright and sunny day I was drawn to a window display and decided to venture in. Bimbo is not full of short skirts and handbags. In fact, it is a really funky and quirky gift and homewares store. Whether it is your friend's birthday, your birthday or if you need to get a monkey magic pillow for your couch; Bimbo has something for you. The store is full of interesting items that will suit almost anyone. They have a great collection of novelty books, designer jewellery, clocks, watches, and toys; the list goes on... Bimbo has actually been one of Adelaide's long-standing unique gift stores for over 10 years. So you know that they have quality items. I have found the funniest gifts in this store for my friends; like a book called "Let's draw a c**k on it" and "How to speak to a zombie". Brilliant! I should not forget to mention that homeware items are super cool, like clocks made from records, funky vintage styled clocks, cool picture frames and flask essential oil burners. So, if you are stuck for a birthday or chrissie present, this is the ultimate gift destination in CBD.

Bimbo is one of my favourite places for a browse and a giggle. They sell a bizarre collection of…read morequirky jewelry, home decorations, funny gifts and books, and gorgeous bags. You'll always find something interesting in here. A great place to find gifts, they have a selection of men's watches and jewelry that is attractive yet different. If you're looking for original cuff-links, this is where you'll find them. There are little old-style books of pick-up and come-on lines and diaries with "My Sex Life" written loudly on the front. Their range of bags is fantastic. They come in all sizes and designs, and nothing in here is plain. If you're looking for something simple and elegant, Bimbo is not your shop. For silly stuffed toys, retro clocks, fantastic woven earrings, and a whole ton of creativity, you can't go past Bimbo.

Like stepping into a well furnished artist's studio, Magazine Gallery is both the perfect gallery…read morespace but also (less well known) tea-house off of Clubhouse Lane. With flavours of tea like "Chocolate Marmalade" and some other unusual combinations this places is very well versed in making the perfect brew. I felt a tad ignorant as I received about 5 different contraptions and an egg timer when I sat down for my tea and had no idea if I was expected to solve a maths problem or brew my tea. Eventually I worked out the ingenuity that the special breed of Magazine Gallerite hold. The egg timer was for allowing the tea to brew the perfect time. The mini cup was not for tea, no, it was to hold the tea colander and the larger cup was (you'd never guess it) for the tea. The cakes and sweet treats here look devine (in particular their lemon tart - the bitter the better). I also keep walking past signs promoting their "Roast Beef," many a day as I walk down Hindley. Not sure how this Roast Beef is served because they don't seem to have much of a kitchen but curious at least to find out the savoury menu items on offer. The place has a beautiful communal table for communing and you can browse the artists works who are exhibiting in the gallery at the time while waiting for your tea. The only reason this place looses a star so far is that they do filtered coffee. Arguably I haven't tried their filtered coffee, and I should, but it is what keeps me from going back here every day compared to Coffee Branch and the like which, although has less seating than Magazine, makes damn fine coffee.

Magazine Gallery is run on a shoe-string by local finger-in-every-pie-man Joshua Fanning. Fanning…read moreis also involved in a bunch of other projects including running local magazine 'Collect', advocating for street art in Adelaide and marketing at nearby Mercury Cinema. Collect is run out of the back offices of this gallery - which is decked out with track lighting and wooden floors. While you are likely to see a mix of different shows in a year-long program, the focus here is on excellent illustration, design and craftsmanship done by creative people of many persuasions. Openings here are packed out and not because there is free booze - Little Creatures beer is five dollars a pop and proceeds go towards keeping the place running. If you are interested in buying art for your home, this is an excellent place to snag something at a very reasonable price. Popular artists who have shown here include Ruby Chew, Lisa King, and Kate Gagliardi. Magazine also hosts the occasional film screening, magazine launch or pop-up store. You'll recognise the exterior by the red iron grating and the up-to-date murals done by local street artists and illustrators. The daytime hours here change quite often, so it's best to keep up to date with opening and events on their facebook page, which can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/magazine.store.gallery.

I had passed by this store many times over the years and it wasn't until today that I ventured in…read more I expected to find Olivia Newton John gunning around on some pink or gold roller skates.....she was mad hot hey?! Anywho.....no roller skating nymphos unfortunately, however there was some pretty funky stuff. I am not really one for new-age gear, spirituality and odd smelling burny things, but there is usually some funky art, furniture, pottery and even the odd hackey sack to hold my interest. Bingo....exactly what I found! There is all of that other zen garb also, but there is enough funky stuff to keep those with short attention spans, like myself going for a good 10 or 15 minutes! I particularly liked the selection of stupidly loud Hawaiian shirts....my girlfriend didn't let me buy one. Looks like I need to launch a Ninja Mission....Shhhhhhhh.

Xanadu is sooooo Semaphore…read more And I mean this in the most complimentary way possible. Every self-respecting beach bum should have a ready supply of essentials like incense, candles, hacky sacks, trippy artwork, hammocks, tie dye, cheesecloth robes, tarot cards, Buddha statues and gypsy fabrics. Xanadu is the place to get it all (and more). Despite being firmly geared towards the new-age hippy, it's actually a lovely shop for a browse - big and spacious, there are some great imported furniture pieces and accessories scattered about. There's a global, ethnic-inspired flavour to a lot of the products on offer as well: it's kind of like Bauhaus, only not at all design-conscious and a little bit daggy - but endearingly so. Something for the hippy in us all.

For those of you who raided the art room in high school and totally convinced yourself you were…read moregoing to make use of that 2L bottle of red paint and 500 pipe cleaners "some day", this place is the adult, and legal, version of that pantry of pastels, paints and pop sticks. Whether you are looking for 5mm foam boards for creating architectural models, 5kg of glitter or a rainbow of cardboards, paints and paper brighter than a unicorn fart then Premier Art Supplies is your go to. The staff are super helpful, have almost everything in stock and are incredibly well priced for the quality of materials. I have bought spray paint, brushes and puff paints (like you couldn't resist either) here and will always return for the "hard to find" materials at reasonable price. Just remember though, this time you have to pay for all the stuff you have convinced yourself you "totally need" for that art project at home.

This place is awesome. If you've ever taught a primary school class, these sorts of places are…read moreevery bit as essential to you as breweries are to pissheads. This place in particular, Premier Art Supplies is really well stocked. I do find that I need to make a list of stuff that I am buying before I go, because I find it far too tempting to grab far too many impulse buys and then wonder why my fridge is empty and why I can't fit everything into my classroom supplies cupboard. The staff are lovely and helpful. One thing that I find is that I often don't know the names of some of the things I'm looking for so they need to decode my really very crappy descriptions from time to time. They're very patient, and did I mention helpful?

Anthony the part owner of The Map Shop will tell you he has been involved in this shop for as many…read moreas twenty years, and the shop has been around for plenty more than that! It is the second largest map shop in the world, and that's a pretty big deal when you think about it. The biggest map shop is in London and it's called Stanford's, but Adelaide boasts the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and it's not because it is physically a large shop, it is because they have maps that are literally from all over the place including hard to find maps of walking trails in New Zealand for example that you can't really find anywhere except in New Zealand. I always get taken off the beaten track talking with Anthony because he is so well travelled. In the last year or so he has travelled to something like thirty five countries, and no, it's not as a tax write off because he part owns a map shop, it's because he really loves to travel. If it was going to be a tax write off he would have to work five hours every day at negotiating maps and doing map business on his holiday. What Anthony loves to do is take photographs. Ask him and he may show you some of the most recent he has taken on his last holiday. They are stunning! Okay, so this is about the Map Shop, not the wide and wonderful travels of Anthony; imagine a place where you would need a map to get around. Blue Mountains in New South Wales? Easy, go to the Australian section, you'll find a few there. A walking trail in New Zealand? I've already told you about those ones... How about Mozambique or Zimbabwe? Yep sure, in the Africa section... It's not going to be easy to find a place where they don't stock a map for negotiating travel around it. There are street directories for the Australian States and Territories, world globes and possibly something you wouldn't have expected - a range of magnifying glasses, because some of these places are just a speck on the landscape, so you need a magnifying glass to see them on a map! They stock Lonely planet Guides and lots of those phrase books that you can use when you are trying to communicate with natives that do not speak English. They're also pretty savvy when it comes to Global Positioning Systems and can train you up on such complex matters if you are heading off on a real adventure. They have some short courses you can do in an afternoon and they keep the numbers of students per course pretty low so you get good one on one interaction and support from the tutor. Actually if you are intending on heading off into the great unknown, you must stop by here and get some clues as to what to expect so it is a great adventure and not the last one you ever go on; comprehend? Really interesting shop to look through. If you are about to go travelling it is worth popping in and seeking out Anthony, he's worth his weight in gold when it comes to anecdotes, and if he's not busy he will happily give you some insight that you would never find on any map anywhere!

I first went here when I moved to Adelaide and became a Property Manager - the guys in here were…read moreextremely helpful with getting me the right map and Info I needed for work! They were brilliant to answer all my questions and get me sorted! The shop itself is jam packed full of all sorts of maps and goodies! Seriously - I could spend hours and $$$ in here look at all the stuff they have!!! Only pain in the rear, which is no fault of the shops own is the parking - finding a park and not having to pay is a issue....

Great selection all old door handles and household furniture a life size elephant amazingread more

To visit this shop on a day when Today Tonight was filming in store says it all really…read more When I think salvage I think pre-used, worn, second hand and dirt cheap. Not overpriced, super sized and wogtastic. From plaster archways to gold lamps, iron outdoor gates through to claw foot bath tubs you can find some McMansion suitable furnishings here for more than you'd buy them in a De Lights or Bunnings. And then of course this gigantic "salvage yard" houses their most prized possessions - the 8 life size Elvis', robotic dinosaur collections and Blues Brothers car hanging from the roof. Hang on...what? I honestly don't know how many financial transactions this place actually achieves but I would suspect the foot traffic of gawkers would outweigh sales 20 to 1. Unless of course you too have a spare $600-2000 to spend adding that finishing touch of a moving T-Rex into your lounge room with its 10m high ceiling, archway and marble floors. But who doesn't I guess?

A brand new clothes shop on Semaphore with some really nice stuff. Not really vintage nor second…read morehand or trashy but NEW, there is also jewellery, framed pictures and prints, sandals, wall decor, hand bags, a few unusual finds you wouldn't expect to find in a such a shop, etc. On face value there is a definite vintage inspired flavor I've noticed and the eclectic mix appears to work. Unfortunately the shop was closed when I discovered it but I am definitely going back when it's open, but despite it being closed from what I've gleaned it looks like my bank balance will suffer but hey...it's nearly Xmas! I have warned my other half not to buy me clothes and he has learnt over time I mean it, bless him - his heart is in the right place though. I believe a shop that works has been thoroughly researched and will survive for several years, much like reading the first few pages of a book you know if it's worth continuing to finish..same with a shop if it appeals to the public it's on a winner. I love their taste and choice in interior design / colour scheme. The square panel at the back which serves as a room divider at the back, is covered in a baroque style wallpaper, most probably from the same collection as the dragon fly one I've seen in a few shops. Looking up at the ceiling there is an awesome black light fitting and I want it in my house! Along with three silver cone shaped lights across the counter area, this too serves as a type of divider. For a change room there is a half circle shower type arrangement which from the front appears to work, this will be tested next week by me! When the shop was for lease and I just happened to be there when it was open for inspection and with my curious nature, I had to have a squiz. There I saw out the back a lovely and inviting narrow little pebbled garden...in time I predict it will have outdoor furniture of the french, shabby chic wire style. No website but they are on Facebook, of course I've clicked LIKE as there are only 24 LIKERS so far, as mentioned it's brand new to Semaphore. "I want to go to there"... and so will you! I'm a 'devotee'.

A cosy new boutique on Semaphore Road, in keeping with the 'newest 'it' street theme. They have…read moresome very pretty kimono type tops and some floaty cardies that I oohed over. The shoes were so so for me and I'm not a big fan of beads so the bead necklaces didn't interest me. Then I spotted a shelf with a jewellery range on it that was little wacky and possibly the cutest things ever. One broach was a flamingo, one a giant deer, another a blackbird, and they had chunky necklaces with the same wacky creatures on them: they were huge and adorable and I want to adorn myself with them. The range are around thirty bucks each and absolutely worth coming in to buy. Lastly, the two staff working there were every friendly and they sounded super passionate about fashion and their new store too.

What an amazing find, Vinnies Parkside, Glen Osmond SA, this is far from your usual OpShop. On…read moreentering your eyes will light up, looks like a modern apartment store, with helpful staff wanting to assist you. There is such an assortment to look at. From men's and ladies, designer clothing, big range of smart footwear, lots of fashion accessories, kitchen ware, China, glass wear, books and the range just goes on. Every thing is well displayed, in a very presentable fashion, many items are new, yet the prices are extremely affordable. If you have never been to this Op Shop in my opinion it is well worth a visit.

This is a beautiful op shop. It's full of beautiful clothes, shoes, furniture, homewares, and joy…read more Prices are more than fair and the staff are lovely. Honestly, it feels like shopping in a boutique. I walked away the other day with two formal dresses (long and elegant) for under $40! I love being able to support great charity work and find great bargains. Will be one of my new regular op shops I think.