I was stressed out and stuck in a car park with a car that would not start at 6pm on a Saturday…read morenight!! Bill was able to get there in 20 minutes to start fixing my car. Friendly, trustworthy, excellent service and great value for money. Am beyond grateful for helping me out when many other businesses I'd called prior were unable to assist.

Life changing ceramics store... Say what? Guild of Objects is an emporium of handmade homewares and…read morefor an avid tea drinker like myself, finding the right tea mug can change your life. I like to call it a 'hug mug' - it has to be the perfect circumference, texture, colour and height. Not an easy mission. I found an abundance of spirit mugs here! Melbourne is creative and proud of it - and this quaint ceramics shop celebrates local makers by exclusively selling Victorian goods. And good they are! Incredible actually. I fell in love with so many pieces that I bought 10 of them that I am prepared to cart home back to Perth. Turbulence, please be kind to my new ceramic friends. Located in North Melbourne, they also offer beginners workshops and community drop in days. Next door is a sunny cafe called Beatrix that looked to be brimming with delicious homemade cakes. Take one home as a perfect accompaniment for your first cup of tea in your spirit mug discovery.

Run by three amazing hair dressers. Ivan, JP and Kaita cover anything and everything you need, to…read moredo with hair. I have shamelessly followed Ivan from salon to salon for over 15 years and Saint Louie Hair is a great step out to an independent salon run by the guys that work there. For a cut or an amazing colour this is the place to go. Open all week so you can get your hair done when you need or are available. The guys are friendly and all amazingly experienced. The salon is very funky, a cup of coffee or tea and a glass of wine after a long Friday. Come in and let the guys take care of all your hair needs.

Saint Louie is a independent hair salon which experienced hairdressers…read more The interior is absolutely amazing, not like any hair salon in Melbourne. It's slick and modern with concrete floors, titled sink, huge standing mirrors and wooden tables to rest your bag or cup of tea. The aesthetics of this place does help with the whole experience but definitely isn't the reason why I go back here again and again. It is the excellent hair cut, customer service and experience that makes this hair salon unique and amazing to me. It's always peaceful and calm when I'm at Saint Louie because it's a quiet hair salon with the exception of the soft music playing in the background. It is the peaceful ambiance that makes the experience different to other hair salons I've been too. Also, my hairdresser does not rush to get my hair done and always does an amazing job to cut my hair to flatten my face whilst satisfying me for the next several weeks. I always request for Jean-Paul when I book an hair cut appointment. He has an extensive experience with cutting hair locally and internationally. It's quite a personal preference as to who you want to cut your hair. Oh...You won't get that annoying "I recommend you buy this and this for your hair". This place is very pricey for a hair cut but is on par in terms of prices with other high end hair salons in Melbourne. I'm not saying you should pay a lot of money for a hair cut but it definitely worth investing in a hairdresser (not hair salon specifically) who knows your hair, listens to your hair preference and will be honest to whether it will work or not.

I used Kristine's resume service back in 2004 when I lived in Melbourne. Kristine asked me a lot of…read morequestions to understand what I felt I was good at, then presented it in such a way that looked appealing from the potential employers perspective. I have received many many interviews from her resume and have updated it over the years using the techniques I learned from meeting her. The initial resume helped me get my first job in the USA for an IT firm. It has been great since then. The resume got me a job working with the 3D film company that filmed Avatar. It also got me with some contract work, and my current job working with a large corporation. I recently had an interview at Apple, in California, because of the resume that I posted on their jobs site. The interview with 10 insanely bright Apple employees! It went really well, but I don't want to move up there right now, even though it was a great experience going to the mother ship. I am very happy with my job and where I live in Southern California. It's funny because I got the resume in Australia, and it has helped me with all my jobs in the USA. I did not shorten the resume or do anything different than what Krisitine suggested for Australian employers. The small amount of money I invested with Kristine's service is still helping me to this day! Thanks so much Kristine and Resumes Enclosed!

After 3 years of break from traveling, we wanted to find a great tour while we were in Melbourne. I…read morefound his tour on a very popular Japanese tour guide book and decided to join his tour. Mr. John picked us up at our cruise port for 4 person private tour with the main event being a visit to 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. During the ride on the GOR, he continuously informed us of places and history of the area we are passing through. He also showed us some bush craft showing us edible plants, served Japanese barley tea and ANZAC biscuits - delicious! He knew where to pull over for great photo opportunities and stopped at a local favorite eatery ( we enjoyed locally caught fish & chips). We ended up touring about 10 hours and he made it very enjoyable- as if we were traveling with our friend! We will highly recommend Mr. John. He also offers "Penguin Tour" at night but we did not have time to take this one. We will go with him again next time we visit Melbourne! It was definitely the top of our tours we took we had during our 69 day cruise (Hawaii, French Polynesia, and Australia circumnavigation).

I really like this place. When I was on the road a lot, I'd often stop here and grab myself a…read morecouple of apples to have through my long day of driving. The prices are generally about the same as the supermarket located across the carpark, but the quality is much, much better. You know the difference between supermarket bottom-dollar-to-the-producer crap and quality fruit and veg when you see it, and obviously so do these guys. They're a friendly bunch. They're keen on helping their customers. I've seen them carry shopping bags out to customers cars many, many times. I pretend I'm too manly to accept such offers, so I take my groceries myself, but it's demonstrative of a business that values the people that frequent its premises. I totally recommend this place for your fresh fruit and vegetables.

This little fruit shop isn't half bad…read more Walking in, everything is fresh, bright and well set out. I can see right away where I need to go. In particular, the tomatoes scream out for my attention. They are red, plump, and firm. The also taste as good as they look. Much better than a flavorless Woolworths tomato. The shop is pretty small but it houses a surprising amount of variety. Everything from veggies and fruit, to herbs, and even some deli goodies. Top Shelf Fruits have two other locations in Melbourne, neither of which I have been to. If they are as well stocked as their Brentford Square counterpart, it's probably worth a look.

It's location smack-bang on Swanston and Flinders Lane means you have probably walked past this…read morebuilding a million times. Maybe even loitered through the foyer. Jump aboard the lift (attended by a lovely chap with cute family pics adoring his 'office') to explore the other levels and you will uncover all kinds of creative and kooky stores and galleries. I took my Mum here to hunt down a fabric store and she was in seventh heaven. She ended up raiding more than one unique fabric store and walking out shaking her head at the unexpected damage to her credit card. The building is a tad creepy, with many vacant or blocked off rooms that give you the distinct feeling that you're trespassing. All part of the charm really!

The Nicholas Building on the corner of Swanston Walk and Flinders Lane is a living cultural center…read more I'm often going there to see exhibitions at Pigment Gallery, Blindside or Stephen McLaughlan Gallery. Many artists, fashion designers and jewelers have their studios and exhibition spaces in the rooms of the Nicholas Building. The late, eccentric and artist Vali Meyers once had her studio on the 8th floor of the building. It is also the home of Collected Works bookstore, the best bookshop for quality literature in Melbourne and many other interesting shops. It is a wonderful old building, even in it's partially decaying state that is well worth a visit itself. Entering Cathedral Arcade with its set of boutique shops and the wonderful lead light ceiling. I have the choice of taking the stairs or one of two old lifts. One of the lifts has a lift attendant and the lift attendant has decorated the small lift with postcards and pictures. The other lift is also manually operated and you have to open and close the doors yourself. Walking down the stairs I notice the defunct mail chute in the stairwell and the antique elevators speak of another era of city office life. Many of the tiles are falling off, some of the stair rail has gone in places, but the building still has great character.

Review: Serious concerns about transparency and "open box" practices - proceed with caution…read more I am posting this review so other consumers can make an informed decision before purchasing from Centre Com. I attended the Centre Com Nunawading store intending to purchase a new laptop. I was advised by staff that it would be quicker to order the same model online rather than wait in store, so I followed that advice. At the time of purchase, the laptop was presented as a normal product listing. It did not state that it was "open box" or second-hand. After the purchase was completed, the situation changed. My receipt later showed the item as "open box", and the product link was removed entirely rather than remaining live as "sold out" or "no longer available", which is the usual retail practice. That alone raised serious concerns about transparency. When the laptop arrived, it was clearly not new. The internal seal was broken, protective packaging was missing, and there were visible scratches on both the casing and the screen. This is not consistent with what most consumers would reasonably understand as a simple "open box" item. A scratched display indicates prior use or handling beyond inspection. I contacted Centre Com immediately with photos and requested an exchange. Instead of addressing the condition of the product, I was repeatedly told that scratches and visible damage were "consistent with open box". This position was maintained despite the fact that "open box" was not clearly disclosed at the time of purchase. By the time a refund was eventually offered, sales events had ended, leaving me financially worse off. The handling of the matter, the shifting description of the product after purchase, and the refusal to provide a like-for-like replacement have left me with serious concerns about Centre Com's practices. I am now pursuing the matter through formal consumer channels. Advice to other buyers: Do not assume products are new unless it is explicitly stated at checkout. Be cautious with any listing that later changes description or disappears. Get written confirmation of condition before purchasing, or consider alternative retailers. This review reflects my personal experience and is shared to help others avoid a similar situation.

I buy a lot of stuff from Centre Com. The prices are always competitive; stock is usually good (and…read morethey will quickly get in anything they are out of); staff are friendly and well informed. The Elsternwick store is a bit on the small side so the range can sometimes be a bit limited, but the Clayton Super Store is like a Bunnings. If they haven't got it - it hasn't been invented yet.