Author // Shannon Edwards, Place New Farm
Stepping into Wallrocks Antique Furniture Store is like being transported into another world - a beautiful classical world, far away from the busy industrial street in Albion.
Almost a decade ago, Jessica Wallrock took over the family business from her father, Nick Wallrock, who had operated the dreamy antique store over 40 years.
We paid Wallrocks a visit where Jessica took us through some of the most exquisite and unique pieces in store.
We sat down with Jessica, on a beautifully restored 19th century couch, where we spoke about the history of the business and the versatility of each and every antique piece.
“There is a piece here for everyone and every home,” says Jessica.
As an interior decorator, Jessica talked us through the specialty of antique pieces and how they are a magnificent investment for your home.
Tell us about how you come to find the incredible pieces here at Wallrocks
It’s important to note that not all antiques are the same – there’s good quality and poor quality antiques.
We’re lucky enough to go overseas a couple of times a year to source high-end pieces of the best quality.
Because the pieces are so incredibly unique with only one or two ever made, you never know what you’ll come across when you’re hunting for the perfect item – that’s a fun part of the business.
We source our pieces far and wide and search for one-off items that have something special about them.
We travel miles until we find all the best pieces.
Our criteria for buying is that they must have; wonderful design, be made from beautiful materials and correct proportion.
There’s something really exciting and satisfying about finding an ‘unpolished gem’ and recognising its unique qualities, bringing it back to Australia and restoring it back to its form of glory.
It must be special seeing a client fall in love with a piece, can you tell me about that?
What’s really special is when a client comes in on the hunt for something, we show them a piece and at first you can tell they’re not quite sure.
This is because the pieces come in their original condition, as it ensures authenticity, but we can help them see how they can be customised to suit their home and lifestyle.
A lot of people see antiques as fitting into a specific style of home, but the process of restoration and customisation dictates whether the pieces will fit in a modern or classical style interior
We see our pieces go into uber-modern interiors as well as classical and traditional style homes.
It’s really nice for the clients because every piece has a story and a history behind it and by customising the item to suit them they’re adding to the story.
What makes Wallrocks different?
Here at Wallrocks we’re more than just a store to pick up beautiful antique pieces, we can be with our clients throughout the whole process.
A client can come to us looking for a specific style of piece and we can hunt for something that’s just right.
We help them see how the piece can be restored and customised to suit their home interior and lifestyle.
We then help them determine where it best fits into their home.
Through this process we get to know the individual, the unique style of the client and can therefore source pieces to suit them in the future.