I may not be religious but I do worship at the alter of a good charity or 'op' shop as…read moreAustralasians ostensibly have it; and the archaically named Brotherhood of St Laurence Church Shoppe on Northcote's High Street is a ruddy good - and altruistic - example. A rather spacious affair nestled behind the church on High Street, the Brotherhood of St Laurence Church Shoppe sells a range of womens and mens clothes and accessories along with books, furniture, toys, games and ephemera. I've spotted the occasional authentic Art Deco bevelled mirror here for a measly $25 and been gifted a pair of ski pants - ?! - by my hopeful beau who in a display of almost naive hopefullness would very much like me to join him for a stint of snowboarding. Delusion aside, the Brotherhood of St Laurence Church Shoppe is the ultimate guilt free shopping experience with all monies raised going towards the Brotherhood's very admirable vision of a poverty-free Australia. At least the ski-pants weren't bought entirely in vain...

Praise Jesus can I get a Hallelujah?!? If fashion is your religion then welcome to your new…read morealtar. This little Op "Shoppe" is set back from the street in an old hall behind a church. It still retains an op shop charm that is lacking in new corporate cleansed charity shops. The stock is fairly random, a long wall rack of vintage (old) womens dresses, bric a brac, books, mens wear and a designer/ "retro" rack provide enough stock to sift through. The same stock can sit in there for a while but the good stuff goes quick, savvy locals patron this joint weekly to dig up the gems.

Look, I hate these places enormously. They've killed off plenty of local small businesses over the…read moreyears, and every time a new one opens, the only thing I can think of is the nightmare that some poor bugger of a small businessman or woman going broke overnight. That said, these places are here to stay, and there's not much to be done about it once they've opened. And as far as these monstrosities go, this one isn't too bad. Parking is pretty easy, (although generally for only four hours - that's plenty of time to get in, get what you need and get out), there's a couple of supermarkets and pretty much everything you'll ever need. There are lots of really good restaurants within a stone's throw if you're hungry, but the food court has a couple of decent places too.

Centro The Glen is a small shopping center packed full of the most popular brands you would hope to…read morefind in one place. Sure the centers small and the areas not 'that' well known, but The Glen hits mostly all the right notes when it comes to store variety. Brands include, sportsgirls, witchery, country road, cotton on, athletes foot, bed bath n table, mimco, oroton, rebel and many other well-known brands. There is also a David Jones and Target if you prefer being in a department store. The Glen is a long 2 level building that offers ample parking and dining options. Besides their 2 food courts, just a few hundred meters down the road from the center is the Kingsway Strip which is a goldmine of cafes and restaurants. The Glen also offers a coles/woolworths/Thomas dux, as well as a center butcher, deli, fishmonger and Asian grocer.

The thing to understand about the Gasworks is that it's a community space, not a professional one…read more You might have to pay to see whatever it is you're seeing there, but it'll amount to nothing more than a gratuity. On the other hand, what you're seeing there could range anywhere from amazing to awful to any place inbetween. The audience will often consist of friends and family of the exhibiting artists or performers. As long as you come here with this understanding, the Gasworks is a lovely venue. There's ample on-site parking, It's wheelchair accessible and the gallery space is nice and large. More than that, though, the decor is perfect for the type of show that you're likely to see. It's clean and comfortable, but not so fancy that you feel silly with a glass of fanta and a cheese cube on a toothpick.

I love the Gaswork Arts Park Farmers Market which is on every 3rd Saturday of the month. It's…read moregreat talking to the farmers about their produce, having some brekkie and enjoying the whole community atmosphere.

I adore this shop…read more In the heart of South Melbourne, this cute little shop features an awesome range of clothes, accessories and homewares. They also feature a wide range of Elk Accessories - I pop in there regularly to have a look at the latest range and ooh and ahh over the latest hipster pieces and pick up a couple of new ones. I have 45 now. Must stop. Recommend you pay this place a visit if you're in the hood and need to pick up a present - for you or someone else.

One of my favourite stores for buying gifts. There's quirky nick nacks, Australian body products,…read morefunky leather bags and pretty homewares to brighten up your house. The staff are always really pleasant and happy to gift wrap your purchases - a big win in my book.

Happy Trade most definitely has happy staff and their attitude is catching. Expect to be greeted…read morewith a friendly smile and asked if you need any help. If not, browsing around this store is a pleasant experience and I found it quite relaxing. They have a great range of cards and gifts for all occasions. There were some nice photo frames and I some cute teddy bears as well. The shop is clean and neat and decorated well. It has painted walls - sounds like an odd comment but in Croydon this is quite commendable - and it has a pleasant scent. The staff helped a few people choose out age appropriate gifts while I was there and the other patrons left really happy. I had a funny conversation about the weather and like the others I left in a great mood after the 'happy trade' experience.

Y Not? I can give you one fairly good reason... the PRICE!…read more The owners of this store must think women of Broady town are so starved for style that they'll pay anything for quality apparel. Either that or they just think we're all uneducated in what fashion costs. Granted, the clothes here are beautiful and the best quality you'll find in the shopping centre, but it's not Chanel, darling. Elegant, sophisticated sexy is the best way to describe the range of dresses, skirts, pants and tops. I'm particularly loving the styles of dresses they have in at the moment, just perfect for the races! If you venture into the city or out to Highpoint, you're bound to find similar styles of the same quality for a bit cheaper; but if you're in the mood for a splurge, you might get the guilt's but you won't be disappointed in the look.

Stress free experience. Moving towns is never an easy job. I sent Move on an online quote request…read morevia their website which was responded too very quickly and followed up with a phone call. Booking was easy and simple. The removalists (i booked 2 people) were great at keeping me informed, friendly and professional. I felt at ease right away. No hidden costs, nothing was broken or damaged and a good price. I would definately use this service again

AVOID! Complete scam - Move On Removals significantly drove up both the cost and stress associated…read morewith our move. We tried to address our concerns privately and directly and the post-move customer service was rude, unapologetic and did not at all stand behind the "100% satisfaction guarantee" posted on the website. First off, the original estimate was either not made in good faith or the result of incompetence. They visited our apartment to make a quote based on a review of the job scope. The quote was ~$1,500 - and the final invoice was more than double this amount. We made the decision to use this company instead of other options on the basis of the original quote, and I consider it unacceptable that they would use potentially deceptive business practices in an effort to receive business. Furthermore, we had pre-arranged with our storage facility to select between two sizes of storage unit based on the movers' judgement of the capacity requirement. Not only did the movers misjudge, but they also didn't move our belongings into the larger storage unit so now we are paying double our expected monthly rate in storage fees. And as an additional burden, we had left specific instructions for the movers that were not followed. However, they never told us upfront that these would be possible, nor after the fact that they had not been done. They also left a considerable amount of rubbish behind - again without informing us. This caused us to incur considerable additional costs from our real estate agent. Very disappointing as all of this could have been avoided through proper communication. There are A LOT of other removalist companies out there - please think twice before making the same mistake that we did.

Most Melbournians will be familiar with the iconic Franco Cozzo ads of the 1980 in which the man…read morehimself informed the wider Melbourne area that his stores are located "in Brunswick and a-Footiscray". A proud Italian-Australian, Franco Cozzo is a self-spruiking powerhouse pusher of garish European furniture. If you like beds with mirrors mounted on the headboard with whipped cream-esque flourishes across the frame in any colour from mahogany through to pearl, then Franco Cozzo will most certainly be your bag. For everyone who prefers a more basic bed model, the beds can be amusing. Although they do sell other furniture, the Brunswick store window display seems to focus on the beds. When it comes to the actually goods, it's really a matter of taste, but Franco Cozzo is notable for it being a Melbourne retail institution. Maybe it's best to wait for one of his famous "grand sale, grand sale[s]".