The Darley Store

The Darley Store wasn’t always bricks and mortar. But when two pop-ups went gangbusters, the four entrepreneurial friends behind them decided to solidify the concept.

Jewellery designer Linda Tahija and clothing designers Carlie Ballard, Holly Bouveng and Linda Smyth ran their first event in the lead up to Christmas 2012. It was named The Darley Collective, after the street it was held on. A second pop-up followed, before the store arrived in August 2014 with Tahija, Ballard and Bouveng at the helm.

The trio’s brands – Linda Tahija Jewellery, Carlie Ballard by Ballard, and Bouveng’s SoFo – form the bulk of the stock, alongside Smyth’s Bon Label, Cocolux candles and Sollis costume jewellery. The store celebrates Australian labels and aims to make the consumer experience transparent and enjoyable.

That’s aided by the space itself, which looks out onto a pedestrian street in downtown Manly. The space revolves around a charcoal wall and a rotation of Australian designer products. Racks of clothes line the walls while the smaller products – jewellery, homewares and arts – take up the centre. It’s minimalist: pegs hold hangers and shelves up on white walls, along which the store’s creative products sit.