As is often the way, I first discovered the gorgeous Perth-based lifestyle store Arrival Hall via Instagram. Their online offering of products from all my favourite Scandinavian brands naturally resonated, but I was also excited by the look of their unique retail space, travels abroad and fresh approach to styling.
Owners Lisa and Clem say it has been been quite an unexpected journey setting up Arrival Hall as they both come from quite different backgrounds. Lisa started off as a pharmacist while Clem has a finance background in the Oil & Gas industry. They spent some time in Melbourne where Lisa studied Fashion Design before moving back to Perth in 2012 for Clem’s work. Inspired by the amazing design and culture they experienced in Melbourne and also on their travels throughout Europe, they began to explore the idea of starting Arrival Hall, a concept store where they could showcase some of their favourite designs from around the world. Thinking it would be a great opportunity to do something in Perth that hadn’t been done before, it's definitely made me a little envious of the locals! I'd love to visit one day but first I thought I'd start by asking the talented couple a few questions....
How would you describe your personal styles and how is this reflected in the products you source?
We love fashion just as much as interiors! Our personal style tends to be fuss-free and relaxed to accommodate our active lifestyle, with our focus placed on the quality of the design and make. This explains well why we have embraced the whole minimalistic approach and philosophy behind Scandinavian design where form follows function.
Arrival Hall HQ is an old converted warehouse in Perth and you live above the store. How do you find this set up and what are your plans for the space?
When we first saw the property for sale back in 2013 we fell in love with the place, its exposed beams, factory windows and high ceilings. We knew it’d be the perfect place for Arrival Hall as it was already zoned for both residential and commercial purposes. We both love the idea of inner city living and the fact that we can operate the store here also allows us to save money not having to rent a separate space. As it’s not exactly common practice to live within a retail space, we definitely had a few friends and family who thought the idea was a little out there!
The store is set up over two levels. The ground floor is where we display the bulk of our home accessories such as kitchen & dining ware, stationery, kids range and decorative objects while the mezzanine part of our showroom features our actual kitchen, dining and lounge area where almost every item you see is available for purchase. We love the idea that the showroom provides our customers with the right context for how to style our products and how well they all go together. We’ve really enjoyed this set up with the only downside being that we have to keep our space spotless every single day!
We’d love to have a bigger space one day but it has to be the right place as we really love where we’re situated right now and feel that the building really brings a lot of character to the store. For the time being we’ll continue to make the most of where we are right now and enjoy the short commute to work each morning.
You have a lot of sought after international/Scandinavian brands on board such as Menu, Muuto, String, ferm Living, Hay and new arrival Bolia. It must be tempting to keep a lot of the products for yourselves and your own home! What are some of your favourites pieces right now?
One of the best perks of having the store as part of our home is that we have the perfect excuse to furnish our place with all the pieces that we love. Some of our favourites include the classic String System, Muuto lighting as well some of the new arrivals like the sofa range from Bolia and the Tojbox by Woud which is perfect for any hallway or bedroom.
You clearly have an eye for sourcing beautiful design products from around the world, but you're also passionate about sending resources out to people and places in need. Tell us about your partnership with Hope to the Nations.
One thing we’ve been conscious of throughout our journey with Arrival Hall is to ensure that what we do each day goes beyond just selling homewares and running a profitable business, but to ensure that we are always people-focused and practice giving back what we receive. On most weekends Clem, who is also a trained barista, makes coffee in store for a gold coin donation and all of the proceeds go towards the running of Emmanuel Community School in Phnom Penh Cambodia, a primary and secondary school that has been set up and is funded through Hope to the Nations. The organisation was set up by Clem’s parents who have been doing charitable work in the city of Phnom Penh for the past 10 years and the school provides education and training to hundreds of kids in poverty stricken neighbourhoods who would otherwise not have the opportunity to receive proper schooling. As we continue to grow we’re always thinking about other ways in which we can make an impact both overseas and in our own city of Perth.
We get to bring our dog Lexie to work every day. She’s the perfect shop dog and loves running up to customers to greet them in exchange for belly rubs.
Your gorgeous Instagram travel pics to places such as New York and Copenhagen set my heart a flutter! How does travel play a part in what you do?
Travel is always going to be a big part of our inspiration as we love seeing what different cities, cultures and people are doing as well as the different trends taking place around the world. It’s part of the reason why we’ve named the store Arrival Hall as it allows us to bring the products that inspire us back to Australia and allow our customers to share in that process.
Thanks so much to Clem and Lisa for taking the time to answer these questions for us! As can be seen on their Instagram feed (@arrival_hall) the couple are passionate about interior styling so be sure to follow along for a daily dose of inspiration.
Shop online and for the store address and opening hours take a look here.
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