This is a great spot to find unique gifts for yourself or others. The store is full of small cubes that individual artists rent out to display their wares. So the place is packed with unique, hand-made items. There was a fair amount of jewelry on display when I was browsing(perhaps because it fits so well in those little cubes…) Many of the items are quite affordable, making it even better for gift shopping. Although it seems like everyone who visits here succumbs to shopping for themselves instead — myself included! If you have something specific in mind that you’re searching for, this probably isn’t the best stop. But casual browsing could lead to an inspired gift idea for someone special. Plus you get to feel good about supporting local artists. I recommend popping in here for a visit the next time you’re on a Smith St.
Sam m.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Melbourne, Australia
What a bloody great idea! I first stumbled across something pretty similar to this down Prahran way a few years back and was enamoured with the concept. As it turns out, the Incube8r woman won some kind of business model award for this place because the concepts are so sound and the place just took off. It’s the sort of thing you expect in Tokyo where space is at the biggest premium. But rather than people sleeping in drawers here, people show their art and craft wares in various sized boxes and booths. You get so much crammed in to the space that shopping becomes this little exploration mission and you can spend hours rifling through clever people’s creations. The prices are reasonable also(for both goods and space), so it’s a must-go for birthday/Christmas shopping if you’re a bit in the dark for ideas. There are so many variants in terms of style and aesthetic here, you really can’t go far wrong.
Kate D.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Melbourne, Australia
Well, well, well. Look who’s here to take all my money. The premise is pretty simple: the gallery rent out boxes for designers to sell their wares. And when they do, the designers get to keep 100% of the profits because the gallery doesn’t take any commissions. With over 90 designers in store, you’re probably going to find something that fits in with your style. Personally, I think there’s some killer jewellery here(I’m looking at you, Caroline Jones…); ‘Knock you out of the park’ good. Buying presents is nice and all, but think about how nice this stuff would look on yourself. Thinking? Good, now go support some local artists and designers. After you’ve done that you can think about other people. The great thing about this store is that currently Wendy June is there, meaning you can buy a great monster card for whoever it is that you’re passing the treasure on to. In.cube8r Gallery is a great concept where both you and the designers win in the end.
Mark H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Melbourne, Australia
I was looking for a birthday present for C and I was thinking of getting her a piece of locally made jewelery. I like to support local jewelers and a get a really unique piece rather than mass-produced jewelery. And so I stopped at Incube8r Gallery because I knew that they specialize in the work of local jewelers, designers and crafts people. Incube8r Gallery is meant to be a bit of a business incubator for local designers, hence the name of the gallery. There are all these little cabinets and other display areas where each designer features their work and I’m looking at each of them trying to find something that would suit C’s style. No, good but not C’s style, oh! I like those cuff-links, not for C but for me. And it kept on happening, lots of good jewelery but nothing that was just right for C. and so many items that I really liked. I had to keep on reminding myself that I was shopping for C’s birthday present and not for me. It was totally unexpected and in the end I couldn’t resisted and bought myself a badge. It wasn’t expensive so I can still afford to buy something C really nice for birthday.