Thursday, April 14, 2011

Darlinghurst: Retailers: Royalty Prussia Cafe

My friend Ruby Molteno has been urging me to blog about the Royalty Prussia shop on William Street for some time now. Ruby is strangely fascinated by the Royalty Prussia and I must admit it does hold a peculiar - and very small - space in my heart. I suppose it has something to do with its mysterious provenance and unashamed campness. 
Just how Royalty Prussia came to find a home last year among the traffic and street prostitution on William Street - and why it is not located in its spiritual heartland amongst the wealthy of Double Bay - is the first mystery. The second mystery is who runs the shop. The third mystery is who shops there.


Unashamed campness? Simply walk on by its large floor to ceiling windows and you will understand. Royalty Prussia is like a 24-hour, seven day a week party of gilt-dipped, feather-decked over the top campness. The love child of Liberace and Liza Minnelli. A place where Michael Jackson could drop $20 million on a royal-style carriage for Bubbles the chimp - if he was still alive and lived in Sydney. 
But - and I am ashamed to say - I don't really know the true cost of that carriage, which once took pride of place in Royalty Prussia's crowded, eternally lit window. 


And I must admit, that I have never been inside Royalty Prussia, because just passing by its windows was overwhelming enough. 
But that could all be about to change. 


As my spy in the Darlinghurst flatlands, Ruby has been well positioned to observe the recent movements of tradesmen and tradeswomen at Royalty Prussia and this - as well as the signs plastered on the windows - indicate Royalty Prussia is soon to open The Royalty Prussia Cafe. 


And when this happens, Ruby and I will be first at the bar ordering cappuccinos, which will hopefully come served in an ostentatious teacup and saucer befitting the Royalty Prussia aesthetic. 


Royalty Prussia opened on the ground floor of the historic 1926 Chard Building, at 171 William Street, in May last year. It is owned by Isreali-born Galita Yoshia, who as this Sydney Morning Herald article suggests (third item down), is rather fond of retaining the mysterious origins of Royalty Prussia.
Royalty Prussia has not just one, but two websites: one with a .com address, the other with a .com.au address. The two sites are identical and advertise Royalty Prussia's specialty of building and manufacturing exterior and interior designs for ''Luxury Homes, Palaces, Hotels, Yachts and Jets''. 


According to the website Royalty Prussia specialises in ''European-Aristocratic designs with the purpose of reliving the splendour of old times''.
''Our design is influenced by the lives and palatial surroundings of European royalty,'' the website says.
''Our work in art and architecture holds historical value, which today signifies prosperity and affluence.''
Which doesn't explain why they set up shop on the grungy William Street strip. 
And rather than using their website to promote their Darlinghurst showroom - their only showroom as far as I can tell - they instead decorate each web page with that old perfume-advertisement marketing trick:

''Paris. London. Moscow. Monte Carlo. New York. Dubai.''

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to that cappuccino.

*
Royalty Prussia
171 William Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
02 9357 5335

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ohmygod! I love that place but yes I have never been in! I just like walking by it!

Anonymous said...

oh my good it is amazing in there i have gotten few things in there they are lovely people and great service. a must see

Anonymous said...

omg i have bought few things from there shop i was very well looked after and i am planning to do all my house with them extremly nice polite people and price is top top top just go in you will be surprise

Dr Rose said...

That is very true as amazing as it looks on the out side when you are in there you will not believe your eyes all the real art pieces are inside i was so lucky to see the birds dining table they have in there it took 4 years to hand carve if i remember correctly at my age of 61 i have seen allot of amazing stuff but never like this it is truly on of Sydney most amazing shops,i have been at Royalty Prussia 3 times now i live in Mosman and every time i am in the shop they are new things arriving it is always changing from things that are sold truly amazing you never know what treasure they will reveal next. what ever i have purchased from there i received a day later at my home , the last time i was there i took a friend she got a few things for her new home in Dover Heights by the time we had lunch down the Road we got a call that it has arrived at her place and they are at the front gate,very professional people its great to see these days. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE CAFE!!!!!!

Mrs Smith Point Pipper said...

Can't wait for the cafe it should be amazing,
that shop has got great stuff in there great prices also.
Lovely staff working there.
A must see.

David said...

Great shop absolutely breath taking.

Mell said...

amazing amazing amazing was there last week, delivery is today yeahhhhhhhhh

clair said...

Sydney most amazing furniture shop.

Anonymous said...

I thought you would have an entry on Royal Prussia - and sure enough!

I'm still wondering, and my family in Potts Point are still wondering, just what that shop is doing there. You have only deepened the mystery for us, Violet.

I'm not in Sydney often, but my niece and sister pass the place often and claim never to have seen a soul in there. Apparently, this is not the case.

Thank you for being such a thorough blogger of Razor country.

Rob

Violet Tingle said...

Well, it looks like it's closing down now. Big clearance sale happening.

Anonymous said...

They are not closing down, just clearing out stock, I was there yesterday, i got great stuff for my place and office.

you haven't being in there you must go,, great people..

Mell.C

Marlana said...

I work near Royalty Prussia and noticed that the cafe is now open and looks amazing (I think today might even be their first day). I remembered this post and thought I'd let you know. :)

Anonymous said...

I suspect 80% of the comments on this page are by a Mr Galita Yoshia - they're all written in the same style.

I have never seen a soul in the shop.

Anonymous said...

I had been there and the things are amazing, I am an visual artist, and is truly a place to visit and get inspiration, I shall go back there again, and check if the coffee shop has open...truly a heavenly place...I agree the items are very expensive for me personally but it is like a Museum to me...truly awesome place :)

Anonymous said...

I went past the shop this week as I had been promising my daughter that we would go in and have a look. To our dismay, the shop appears to have closed down or relocated. We are hoping the latter. Can anyone fill us in please?

Anonymous said...

Stay tuned! We are coming.......