aMANDA & ROBBIE.
It's been a long-held dream for sisters, Amanda Gray and Robbie Carter to create a unique space on the Northern Beaches dedicated to eclectic, vintage and antique pieces. The Powder Works Warehouse in Narrabeen not only sells antiques but gives inspiration to people looking for more unique styling options. The ladies spend their days sourcing one-of-a-kind items for their clients’ homes and have created a true collector’s emporium. It is worth taking a look at this trove of antique delights with its allure of the unknown waiting to be discovered.
OUR SIGNATURE STYLE
Eclectic as we can never box ourselves into one genre. We’ve learnt over the years not to be afraid of mixing things up.
IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE
Working together is literally a dream come true for both of us! In fact, we are routinely mocked by our regulars for wearing the same clothes and finishing each other’s sentences. It’s basically one long coffee catch-up for both of us each day. We buy, sell and curate everything from high-end antiques to rustic old props, and anything in between. Our customers include designers, stylists and Airbnb owners looking for just the right piece, as well as interior lovers wanting to get ideas for their own special space.
We like to think that we have a warm, welcoming vibe and have been embraced by the community. In this regard, we are motivated by our customers and their enthusiasm for discovering us. It’s no exaggeration to say that we enjoy sliding back that door every morning.
WHAT aRE YOUR BACKGROUNDS?
We had long-term careers in the medical and aviation industries, pretty much as far removed as you can get from the creative outlet we now find ourselves in! Robbie spent many years travelling as a QANTAS flight attendant whilst Amanda had a career in medical administration. Seven years ago, Robbie felt the need to change direction and started a small business dealing in antiques and eclectic interiors, which rapidly grew over the years. Three years ago, Amanda was motivated to change paths too, after having to leave her job due to a challenging battle with cancer. After encouragement from Robbie, she specialised in vintage and antique art sales, an interest she has had since her teenage years. We both had spaces at The Antique General Store in Narrabeen, Mitchell Road Antiques and Potts Point Galleries but dreamed of opening a large stand-alone warehouse of our own.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
The pieces themselves give us our inspiration. We are inspired by different eras in history. We love the quirkiness and over-the-top style of the Victorian era. Being born and raised on the beaches we are inevitably drawn to tropical and bohemian interior styles too.
WHAT SETS YOU APART?
We like to think we have a completely different take on the way antiques are displayed and sold. Even though we have been in the antique business for years we don’t pretend to be experts in the field, but think we have a good eye and only select what we love to sell.
“I still have some regrets about the sale of one of my art pieces; a Hilda Townsend portrait of a model called Olive. To this day I still use her as the picture on my website Eclectic Find.”
- Robbie
“Funnily enough my favourite piece is also a painting. It’s hard not to be sentimental or let your emotions take over when dealing with deceased estates and the like. We had an estate buy a few months ago and even though I never met the man, I had a huge respect for him through the pieces he had surrounded himself in. An artist himself, he also had many paintings and sculptures of his work. There was a particular portrait that I loved. We sold it recently and I had a little pang of sadness that a part of him was going.”
- Mandy
WHO INSPIRES YOU?
To be perfectly truthful we have to say our mum is our biggest inspiration. We were bought up in a very bohemian home, naked Norman Lindsay models adorned our walls whilst the incense burned and the Afghan Hound lounged in the background.
WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR PRODUCTS?
This would have to be the most common question we are asked daily by customers. We source in several different ways. The go-to has always been auctions, we follow every auction house closely to keep an eye out for interesting pieces. We also have contacts in France for fabulous French antiques and L.A. for amazing mid-century and Hollywood Regency-style pieces. Our main source of products now though would be from estate sales and people contacting us to sell a particular piece of theirs.
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART?
The hardest part of our job is having to inform someone that the expensive family heirloom is actually not as valuable as they thought. As funny as it sounds, antiques do go in and out of style. Current interior trends do often have a large bearing on what is popular in the antique business. Your grandparents probably spent thousands on a set of antique dark wood balloon-back chairs back in the 1980s but you’d be lucky to get $100 for them currently.
PROUDEST MOMENT?
Our proudest moment occurred last Thursday when we got our newly employed assistant to go and grab the morning coffees. After she left, we literally looked at each other and said “OMG, our assistant has just gone to get our coffees!” It was a very surreal moment.
WHAT’S NEXT?
We have just employed our first employee which will hopefully give us more time to work behind the scenes and come up with new and exciting options for The Powder Works. We have many ideas swirling in our heads as this is just such a fabulous space, think art classes, wine tasting, pop-up spaces and new lines of homewares… so many ideas, we can’t wait to explore them all.
Contact Robbie and Amanda at www.thepowderworks.com.au or @thepowderworks