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For some Corky Saint Clair is a hidden treasure that you stumble accross by accident, but for most in the know Corky is a stalwart Melbourne Boutique headed up by the talented owner and designer, Chris Bril, who kindly allowed us to interview him today.
MSF: So Chris, you recently celebrated 5 years of Corky Saint Clair, did you do anything special to mark the occasion?
Chris: We had a party at the shop where I launched a new jewellery range called Corky Sweet Hearts, and then we all went to the local bar Hells Kitchen and drank more alcohol than humans have ever drank before.
MSF: When you began did you think you would still be here 5 years later? It's a pretty good achievement don't you think?
Chris: Yeah I'm surprised that I am still doing this, a lot of businesses fail. I'm surprised I'm still down in the arcade, but I'm pleased I'm still going and I think I have clarified what I want to do with the shop and my label.
MSF: What sets your store apart from other stores?
Chris: I think what surprises most people is that I make most of the stuff myself. I've got a bit of a workshop going in the shop so people always can work out that we make the most of the stuff.
MSF: So you do design and make your own stuff?
Chris: I have my own label Corky, I specialise in jewellery and I make stuff out of silver and stainless steal and this year I started working with porcelain which I really enjoy. I guess jewellery is my passion but then equally as important is my screen printing. I come from a screen printing background so I find it really easy to generate work.
MSF: What other brands do you stock apart from your own?
Chris: Nearly everything here is Corky. But I've got Elk as well, and Have You Met Miss Jones which is a range of porcelain from Sydney. I've also got Venucci, Mingus, Mortimer and Luke and lastly Gasu.
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MSF: In the 5 years that you have been here what changes have you seen in your customers tastes?
Chris: Well indie jewellery became huge about 2 or 3 years ago and before that everyone had their own t-shirt label. Now everyone has their own jewellery label and everyone who was doing t-shirts now does jewellery as well. Pirate stuff went out of fashion completely. No one buys skulls or skeletons anymore. When I started everything was Pirates, Pirates, Pirates, Ninjas. Pirate this Pirate that. Pirate just means loser now.
MSF: Why did you start your shop?
Chris: Because I didn't want to work in an office. I was making stuff anyway and the person I was seeing said to me “you were at art school for 10 years why don't you make some money out of it?”. When you sell stuff at other shops you only get half of it, but if you sell it yourself you get all of it. If you have your own shop you can talk to the people who buy your stuff. It's good from an understanding your market point of view, you can ask them directly what they like, what they don't like. If they don't buy something you can ask them why and they'll tell you.
MSF: Tell me something funny?
Chris: I was in Wallpaper magazine's Melbourne guide and I didn't know and this lady told me and I was really excited cos she was like really well dressed. She cut it out and showed me and I was like "oh my god" and got a bit emotional. It was in the guide to Melbourne and it said my shop was excellent!
MSF: Any changes in the subway?
Chris: Well yeah I lost half of my shop when the roof collapsed due to road works above, which have now finished. At least I still have this half.
MSF: Can our readers get a discount if they mention this article?
Chris: Yeah they can have a 10% discount on clothing.
Corky Saint Clair is located in the Degraves Street Subway.You can also buy online at Corky Saint Clair.com
Shop 3 Degraves Street Subway, Melbourne, 3000.
 
Kerry Athanasiadis - Wednesday, 08 October 2008 12:52
Awesome article! I love Corky... I have heaps of jewellery from there :) |
heartofpearl - Monday, 20 October 2008 01:14
Hayley this article was fantastic! I actually never knew about it so will be checking it out soon! |
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