Death of the hardware store
As the harmless nondescript strips of suburban Melbourne are systematically bulldozed by developers, a few local shops cling to each other like possums in the equally sparse remnant vegetation.
Next to the sublime Melbourne Vintage Audio shop (I wrote about yesterday) sits this slither of a hardware store dug in like an echidna, bristling with spiky wares to ward off anyone in a sharp suit. In the soft underbelly no doubt there is an ancient shopkeeper and an able assistant who can find a 31/2″ screw in a flash (no we don’t sell metric fittings in here my dear they would say ever so slightly patronisingly).
When we lived in St Kilda there was such a little hardware shop just off Acland St – a great refuge for newlyweds unsure of the etiquette of dealing with the early disasters of home making. Nothing like a wander about an array of power…
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Old School Garden 
I couldn’t bring myself to hit ‘like’ because it pains me to see the small hardware store, the local bookstore, or so many of the other family owned stores forced out by the big box stores. Shopping at one of these smaller stores was an adventure. The big box stores only require a list to get in and out. We’ve truly lost a part of our community when we lose them.