High on the hilltop: Canberra’s local curators

Posted on 15 October, 2014

Perched a top a hill on an expansive 250 hectare site, surrounded by 48,000 unique trees overlooking Canberra, Lake Burley Griffin and beyond is the National Arboretum’s elegant, light-filled Village Centre.

With endless reasons why you should visit this beautiful attraction, there’s now another to add to your list, a beautifully curated gift store that’s as perfect for locals as it is for visitors. The Curatoreum is brought to you by the proprietors of The Portrait Gallery Store, Mel O’Hanlon and Richard Baz.

Both stores have been rebranded to The Curatoreum but the location and different themes of each give the stores their own identity and offer visitors a range of diverse products.

If you’re anything like me then you love a good, unique gift shop that offers alternative options to the usual things you find in malls and department stores. Well, unique is the perfect way to describe this new addition to Canberra’s retail world.

The products you’ll find in the stores are sourced from designers, artists and makers all over Australia, including the local Canberra region. Each item is hand picked by Mel and Richard who have more than 20 years of knowledge and experience in the arts.

At the Portrait Gallery you’ll find products with an art focus including graphic design, illustration and contemporary design. But the new Arboretum store offers something different, mirroring the botanical theme of its surroundings.

The merchandise reflects the natural environment with beautiful books on trees, nature and vegetable gardening. You’ll find homewares, gardening gifts, stationery and Australian design merchandise on the shelves. There’s also some quirky items like the Terrariums and the woodland carved animals. They’re super cute!

Mel and Richard also have an extensive kids range and pride themselves on stocking educational gifts for children rather than the typical ‘grab and go’ toys. They focus on providing activities for children that can help them to gain a better understanding of the environment.

So how did they come up with the new name, The Curatoreum? Overlooking the breathtaking view of the Arboretum, Mel explains that it was about finding a name that linked the two locations.

“Obviously they are quite different but the common ground that we found was that they are both located in very curated environments.

“Every tree that’s been planted in the Arboretum’s forests has been chosen for a reason; every portrait that’s hanging in the gallery is chosen specifically and every single object in our store has been hand picked by us,” Mel said.

Mel and Richard have a broad range of giftware available for people of all different tastes and budgets, and offer a unique shopping experience to the Canberra community.

“The Arboretum itself is such a spectacular space anybody would enjoy coming up here but I truly believe that we offer something for everybody.”

If you’re looking for that unique and special gift you can visit The Curatoreum at the National Portrait Gallery and the National Arboretum.

The essentials

What: The Curatoreum
Where: National Portrait Gallery and National Arboretum
Web: www.thecuratoreum.com
Phone: NPG (02) 6102 7170 or Arboretum (02) 6251 3371