2011 "LIVE HISTORY " ON DRUITT

During the week I went into the City to visit the exhibition of my daughter Maz Dixon's Paintings at the GAFFA Gallery on Clarence Street. On my way back to Town Hall Station from that happy experience I was crestfallen when I saw that the historic PHOTIOS BROTHERS Store had closed - and obviously some time ago. It is a great shame that this bit of our commercial history could not have been preserved.Surely everything doesn't have to be shallow glitz and glamour!

Read below the story of our discovery of the PHOTIOS BROTHERS Store in 2011........and weep!

THE 1880's LIVE!

Rain and cold in Sydney town greeted us as we emerged from Town Hall underground Station, and, neath the protection of a vast freebie Commonwealth Bank Golf Umbrella looked for 66 Druitt Street, which runs East - West along the North side of the Town Hall down to Darling Harbour.

The trip had its origins in my efforts to help my wife, an accomplished dressmaker of children's clothing, to locate a supplier of what is called "ric rac braid"( this is braid in a wave like pattern as will be seen in the photos). She had a well-stocked supplier or two in Brisbane, but the North Shore of Sydney has not so readily given up its sources, despite keen searches from Hornsby to Gordon. I found a supplier in the City - relying on the trusty Google - Photios Bros of 66 Druitt Street , Sydney . What a GEM!

Now you see - "Ric Rac"Braid , and the card system - neat!

The trip had its origins in my efforts to help my wife, an accomplished dressmaker of children's clothing, to locate a supplier of what is called "ric rac braid"(this is braid in a wave like pattern as will be seen in the photos). She had a well-stocked supplier or two in Brisbane, but the North Shore of Sydney has not so readily given up its sources, despite keen searches from Hornsby to Gordon. I found a supplier in the City (relying on the trusty Google) Photios Bros of 66 Druitt Street , Sydney . What a GEM!

Whoa! Don't think I've suddenly gone mad for fabrics and the like! But the shop and its antique apparatus is a joy to behold. The large A4 size boards standing on edge at the bottom right hand corner of the first photo contain tiny samples of up to about 20 stock items with their reference numbers. Once the desired item is identified the reference number leads the staff to the appropriate stock box. These shallow boxes can be seen lining the walls and shelves by the hundred, and in addition on the upper level there are the reserve stocks.

AA blaze of colour from the Feather Boas

Boxes and boxes and boxes!

The only concession to modernity - other than electric light and buzzer ( ok and an aluminium ladder!) that I noticed, was the EFTPOS  machine carefully kept out of sight. This store is truly worthy of Heritage Listing as it operates. It brought back many memories of the type of business and business systems, that were flourishing in this part of Sydney (from Kent to York Streets and from Druitt North to King Street, when I was a schoolboy - much of what was still in operation in the late 1940's and early Fifties was not all that different it seems, from what had carried Aussie  commerce through World War I. Different to-day!  Business systems and equipment seem to have a life cycle of about 6 years if they are lucky - often half that time!

Costume Jewellery - your lady could look like Liz Taylor used to  - and for a fraction of the cost!

These are natural feathers - stunningly beautiful - and ( to me at least) surprisingly inexpensive!

Anyway, Photios Bros. is well worth a look, and who knows you might choose to buy some exotic bird feathers for your hat or whatever, some stage jewellery, some chandelier crystal drops, some braid, a feather boa, the sky's the limit - or rather the ancient pressed metal ceiling's the limit - these good folk deserve to be encouraged!

  For another view of the subject, and of these photos ,which I took with my HTC Wildfire S Phone, I am sure you will find my wife will do her usual brilliant posting over at:http://hotfudge8.blogspot.com/