Eclectico

Our colourful shop is in a light-filled upstairs location with an outdoor garden terrace enjoying views views across St Kilda and the landmark Luna Park to the sunset. We stock a diverse range of artisanal products including exotic jewellery and accessories, alternative and festival fashion, artifacts and handicrafts, homewares and incense, as well as a large range of new and used vinyl records and music paraphernalia.

Eclectico’s roots go back to 1990 when owner Alan bought a one-way plane ticket to South America and embarked upon a career making, buying and selling handicrafts across the world. From plying his trade on Caribbean beaches, to festivals and markets such as Glastonbury, Womadelaide, Portobello Rd and the Queen Victoria Night Market, Alan is a veteran traveller and fair-trader. Finally setting down roots in Melbourne, Australia, Alan conceived a more permanent base from which to purvey his eclectic and ever-growing collection of wares from around the globe. In 2010 Eclectico sprang into creation!
Since its inception Eclectico has made its home on the iconic Acland Street, St Kilda. St Kilda has been a beachside tourist destination for generations and is Melbourne’s traditional hub for live music and fringe culture attracting local and international tourists, backpackers and van-life travellers from interstate and around the world. Born out of travel, Eclectico celebrates and enjoins the local and global tourist culture, offering an eclectic range of predominantly handmade goods from all corners of the globe.

Alan, today still filled with the spirit of travel, usually travels to the countries of origin to hand select our beautiful artifacts and sources most of our artisanal products directly from our suppliers using ethical, fair-trade and sustainable practises. After three decades of collaboration we count many of our suppliers as friends and have watched their businesses grow symbiotically with Eclectico’s.

With the core of Eclectico’s mission being to provide a diverse offering of quality, creative and bohemian products from across the world, Alan has also shared his love of music with our customers over the years, gradually expanding the music retail side of the business. From selling a few select compact discs instore in the early days, to the curation of our current collection of over 5000 records, Eclectico’s vinyl collection is reflective of Alan’s varied tastes, wide travels and our diverse customers. In the past 12 months we’ve shipped vinyl overseas to customers such as Craig Kallmann, CEO of Atlantic Records and known as one the World’s most important record collectors with more than 1.5 million vinyl records in his collection, and three time Grammy Award winning Brazilian singer-songwriter Nando Reis.

Spanning many of the World’s genres and eras in music including Classic Rock, Reggae, Latin, Soul, Jazz, Indie, Hip-Hop, Blues, Brazilian, Soundtracks and more, Eclectico’s vinyl collection has been carefully selected to satisfy a broad range of tastes. Vinyl collectors can browse the regularly stocked racks for higher-end rarities, new pressings, box sets, singles, 12 inches and some cheaper selections for those who like a bargain. Apart from our impressive array of new and second-hand vinyl, Eclectico stocks turntables, slip-mats and record accessories, music and movie posters and music t-shirts.

Eclectico seeks to create a place of coming together where global culture, art, fashion, music and creativity are celebrated and shared. We hope that all who visit our store, customers and staff alike, and who all bring their own stories, leave feeling happier than before they visited and that they have found something to make their day better, whether that be a piece of clothing or jewellery or just having had a spontaneous chat with a fellow life-traveller or music lover. Eclectico is an equal opportunity enterprise and therefore seeks to encourage and support diversity through its employment practises.