Chapter 2, part 2 - Newtown and its vintage touch (#vintage #vinnies #thelentilasanything)

Good evening, Everybody!

"With the sunshine in my pocket" or maybe "with the moonshine", I'm writing (as promised) my second chapter on Newtown and its vintage loving soul.

Newtown's vintage clothing and retro furniture scene began when vintage was still called second hand and most people were just thinking of second hand as a way to save money.

Now it is not like that anymore. Vintage is urban, posh and alternative and that's Newtown as well.

Newtown suburb

This lively suburb is located to the south-west of Sydney and easy to reach by bus.

A good place to start your 'retro' journey is to head down to South King Street. A large street full of old stuff everywhere, weird things and ... dust... heaps of dust 😊

Among all the various show windows, there is a chain called "Vinnies" which you will meet almost everywhere in Sydney and I guess all around Australia as well.

I would like to talk briefly about what is behind this chain.

One of the paricular shops on South King Street

It was found by the Vincent de Paul Society, a lay Catholic organisation that works to shape a more just society and tries to offer a "hand up" to people in need.


You can donate your old clothes (but still in good conditions) or buy at these shops knowing that you are helping someone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Me in "Flashdance-mood" @ Vinnies

One of the vintage shops in Newtown

I bought several good things there and sometimes I had even great fun in trying different styles through times. If you have theme parties or special events you can really find what suits you at a very good deal.

"When you give up your dreams, you die." 

Another interesting stop there is at the Lentil as anything. From outside it looks like a regular bar but it will save your belly if you do not have money.

It's a unique not for profit community organisation, at whose core is "the pay as you feel" philsophy, where customers give what they feel the food is worth.


So basically you can eat as much as you want even for 1 $, though this organisation is made to help the community.

So if you feel like supporting them and you can, please pay 50 $/dish LoL.

It's all for today. I wish you a lovely night and follow your dreams!



How to get there: from Central station --> buses 423 // 308, metro T3 direction Bankstown Line

Chapter 2, part 1 - Newtown (#Gawaa #SteertArt)

---- First draft, 15th May '15 ----


Today we are in another verly lively suburb of Sydney, Newtown.

ARTISTIC

VINTAGE

RECYCLING

GRAFFITI

URBAN

STREET

ART

MULTICULTURAL

VIBE

UNKNOWN

INSTALLATIONS

ALTERNATIVE

These are just few of the words that pop into my mind while thinking of Newtown.

Actually, I discovered this area quite at the end of my stay in Sydney (it was in May), accidently from a bus. It was so full of lights, people, sounds, traffic and I had simply realized...

I didn't know all that :) 

I went back a week after to explore the place and take some notes for my journal. So here I am :)

"ThAnk YoU tO the South WeSt GoBi deSEerT wINd aNd itS bLuE Sky, My BiRThPlaCe", #Gawaa

Newtown - Sydney, #toomanythingstodonotenoughtime, Gawaa

This poster, "too many things to do, not enough time", belongs to the so-called Goddard Street Gallery, which is a sort of open-air art gallery.

It has been realized by a Mongolian ARTIST, Gawaa, who moved to Brisbane and then to Sydney a while ago.

His work is mainly based on experience as a Mongolian living in Western Society and he creates that by RECYCLING materials he gets from the STREETS.

This is not the only artist active in the area and unfortunately I was not able to collect info for all the GRAFFITI I saw there, but I've recently found a very interesting page on facebook which gives a clearer picture of the suburb.


"Good shoes take you good places"

Just a few steps later on the main street I met a "shoes pole". It's a massive INSTALLATION completely covered by shoes, which for me was really impressive.

UNKNOWN artist, at least to me. If any of you knows something more about it, just please let me know. I'd really appreciate that.

Newtown will surprise you from every point of view. It's a mix of everything ALTERNATIVE you can imagine. It's the home and hangout of a huge population of students, artists, musicians, backpackers, local and foreign, giving the area a MULTICULTURAL taste.

I'll come back soon with another chapter, aware of the fact it will not be enough for NEWTOWN :)

Good VIBES to all of you :)
VaL

Newtown - Sydney, Goddard Street Gallery

Newtown - Sydney

Newtown - Sydney