Like most Darlinghurst studio dwellers, I don't have all that much room for sculpture or unnecessary trinkets in my life. Hell, I don't even have space for a lounge. Or a garbage bin, ironing board, coffee table; the list goes on. It's all about necessity. So when I do buy something practical, like a lamp or a coffee cup, I want it to be the most beautiful one available. There's no room for ugliness. So when I stumbled upon Seletti last week, I was in aesthete heaven.
Seletti opened in September last year in a space on Stanley Street, just across the road from Beppi's restaurant. It is owned by the charming Roberto Tagliaferri, who is the only Australian distributor of the Italian homewares brand Seletti. He had been acting as a distribution agent for a while before deciding to open up his own shop last year.
Seletti specialises in quirky and lovingly designed homewares. Everything is practical, but oh so interesting to look at. The shop also sells the Italian-made Abici bicycles, which are old-fashioned in style, come in a range of gelato colours and cost upwards of $1200. I personally want the Granturismo Donna model in cream, which you can see here. But where on earth would I keep it?
I also became rather excited by the $2500 chest of drawers with the coloured polka dots in this picture:
But I can only continue to dream, for I have no room for that either.
What I liked most about the shop is that there are so many things that I have never seen in any other store, such as these large ceramic, oval-shaped boxes (above; which are apparently for storing sex-toys) and these toolbox-style, boom-box painted boxes:
I also liked the fact that Roberto was surprisingly unpretentious and friendly for a trendy homewares shop owner.
When I asked him the rather pretentious question: "Where are these excellent boom-box boxes made?"
He replied with a straight face: ''China.''
While I did leave the shop empty-handed, I intend to return to buy one of these excellent science-beakers, which cost about $60. The large one would make a great jug for serving cocktails in:
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Seletti
50 Stanley Street
East Sydney NSW 2011
1300 730 244
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