CAMP HILL ANTIQUES

Do not mess with the classics, they say, yet that was exactly the proposition that Sarah Jane Walsh posed when she closed the doors of the beloved Woolloongabba Antiques Centre in July of last year. Fast forward to now, where the former has been reincarnated as the Camp Hill Antique Centre and Tart Cafe.The old cinema, saved from the developers, has become an antiques and vintage mecca, hosting 65 dealers of everything vintage, from estate jewellery, to mid century furniture, with pieces sourced from Europe, the United States, and from every nook and cranny of Australia.

The effect is disarming, making a comfortable immersion into the past to find something truly unique to take home, and with more than 1000 square metres of showroom, antique lovers are sure to find something. Co-owner Sarah says it took two years to plan the total refit of the former 1950s Planet Cinema in Camp Hill, crafting the Tart Cafe as the mid-shop-stop at the heart of the centre. Designed around the old cinema candy bar, the space features a patron theatre saints mural, and old school film stars Jayne Mansfield and Sophia Loren, who also have feature cakes in the display cabinet.

The cafe, which is fully licenced, also boasts a full breakfast and lunch menu as well as tapas and cake options. The Antique Centre also hosts regular in-store weekend workshops in macrame, art, 50s pin up beauty classes, and craft, where one can learn techniques that go into creating new work or restoring old pieces. With off-street parking and air-conditioning the centre has the modern creature comforts to add to the old world charm. So out of the ashes of the Woolloongabba Antique Centre, the new Camp Hill Antique Centre has been born. People who liked this article also liked Aspirational Residences