I don't love Typo. It's not because it's particularly bad, it's not. It's a cute little store, full…read moreof cute little things at fairly cute little prices. It's because it represents the successful commodification of a market which I love, and which I wish could remain in the amateur space. Three or four years ago, I picked up a 1970s pamphlet from the Australian communist party, talking about how Chinese communism was bad.It has a stamp in the front, saying it was distributed by Socialist publications, in Redfern. It has a six digit phone number. The cover is a black black rhombus and a small red circle on a green background. I love it, because it's a textual artefact from a unique moment in time. There was probably a print run of a few thousand at most. I doubt more than a couple of dozen still exist. And it's the simulacra of this which Typo sells, packaged and sold as commodities. Notebooks with covers which seem to call out to realms of fabricated experience. It's convenient, and inexpensive, and for most people there's no difference. And I respect that, I do. It's just a little bit of what I am is being faked up and sold.

A great place for stationary, quirky office equipment and decorative pieces - I love the tape…read moredespenser that looks like a cassette, the wall of letters and lots of other great ideas in the store. I recommend taking some time to look through everything! Of course, they offer regular folders, writing utensils, diaries too - everything is just a lot more than stylish than your average home or office fodder. Along with style comes a little bit of a price hike ( in comparison to average stationary you could grab at Big W or Target), but if you spend a lot of time in your office, why not try to make it a nicer space? They also offer items that are not specific to an office or stationary...like the awesome music canvas I picked up for only $40!

Although this is one of Burg's smaller discount shops I know that this shop stocks cheap static…read morecling duster cloths amongst its huge array of hardware, toys and other items. They are a quarter the price of the packs at the supermarket and so I buy a few a boxes. Now that I'm here I have to have a look around to see if there is anything else that I might need. Last time I found these small hardback notebooks. Nothing this time - there is a limit to the stuff that I need.

Sunbury Trusses was absolutely fantastic, we use prefab all the time and this is the best company…read moreto deal with. They are so knowledgeable and their product is such high quality, you can tell they care anbout what they sell and the staff are so helpful. Renee is just incredible.

THE VERY WORST - AVOID AT ALL COST!…read more I am a Carpenter and have just completed a medium size commercial project with this appalling organisation supplying walls (upper and lower story), Floor and Roof. The amount of mistakes was breathtaking. Over 7 stages of delivery, they short supplied at every single stage. Their customer service was the very worst I've experience in 28 years as a construction professional. There is no accountability whatsoever. They refused to accept responsibility for their errors. It was shocking. A fraction of their mistakes are as follows; Walls framed too short, Too tall, walls framed upside down. Windows across the entire Eastern face were all in the wrong location and we had all the ply bacing on and nailed off already. They short supplied almost every single hardware component. Their delivery driver broke 3 pipes on while landing a load on site. They refused to pay to fix. They short supplied the flooring by 2/3rds they sent the wrong brackets which didn't work or match their drawings. Their drawings were incorrectly labeled. 60% of the Trusses were too short. They misunderstood the steel structure they were supposed to build too on every single stage. We had to cut and modify trusses and Floor trusses ourselves on site. They we arrogant, rude, unhelpful. The refused to assist to rectify their mistakes. If we had taken them to court it would have been a whitewash. They didn't have a leg to stand on... It really could not have been any worse. Sunbury Wallframes and Trusses, the single worst supplier I've ever known. The very worst!

Well, this is basically just one of your suburban bookshops, but then again I have also discovered…read morethat you do have some pretty cool second-hand bookshops that also happen to be suburban bookshops, so I guess that doesn't really count all that much. Well, I should probably say that this is basically a new bookshops, so they generally just have the standard, run of the mill, new books here - nothing really all that different.

I was walking along Smith St. and I had to have a look inside Hogan Gallery. It is a long converted…read moreshop that shows mostly painting and photography exhibitions. The exhibitions are generally of a good standard and this one was no exception. I spend some time admiring the current exhibition of oil paintings. In the past I've seen exhibitions from street artists, photographers and illustrators. I don't just stop and have a look inside Hogan Gallery to see the art. I always look at the large range of exhibition invites, free newspapers, arts festival programs and other related bumpf by the seats just inside the front door. Aside from renting out the attractive gallery space for art exhibitions Hogan Gallery does picture framing, coffee and a bar, this art gallery has many sidelines. I haven't tried any of these.

This is what Smith Street is all about. Like many, I sometimes write multidisciplinary cafes off as…read morea conceit, but Hogan Gallery is the exception. A gallery/picture framer/cafe, Hogan Gallery boasts an ever changing roster of exhibitions alongside offering expert framing services. When I visited earlier this week the art on display ranged from chastely indigenous inspired and abstract to controversially porn denouncing - with a good bit of nudity to inform the critique - and much more in between. Most refreshingly of all perhaps are Hogan's prices with prints and photographs ranging from around $100 to $500 per piece. Quite possibly the kind of place you'll happen upon a burgeoning Banksy or a pre-famous Picasso, Hogan Gallery is a delight to behold.

I'm well aware that Officeworks doesn't quite fit in my usual haunts of bars, little cafes and…read morerestaurants but I felt obliged to spread the good word. This Officeworks completely saved my life a few weeks ago. It's open until midnight during the week, perfect for any budget, the printing staff are genuinely helpful and if it wasn't for them, I would have had a uni-induced heart attack. Extremely good customer service, so I figured it deserved the praise.

Easily accessible in the Bayside area. Good selection for small businesses. Service is variable…read morebased on the staff you encounter on the day. It is good idea to call ahead on the printing jobs because sometimes they can tell you a good time to reduce the wait. Technology selection is good, but sometimes a little expensive. We keep going back.

We love shopping at 'The Organic store' (as we know it)…read more The shop is not overly large, but they always have lovely fresh organic fruit and vegetables (seasonal) - what they have will depend on the day... fresh flowers and plants, plus a huge variety of dry organic foods, spices, herbs, toiletries, etc, etc.. Kathy always greets you with a smile..

I needed to get some decent frames for a couple of prints that I purchased while I was in Europe,…read moreand I decided that I would try this place. Well, it turns out that frames actually aren't all that cheap, though the staff here were pretty helpful. Mind you, like a lot of these places, they generally sell originals, not prints, or if they do sell prints, they tend to be for artists that don't happen to be dead. That's a bit of a shame, though it could be because stores generally only have so much space. It was good though, and they do have some interesting works here as well.

Have reliably gotten picture framing done from Studio Craft over the years, and I just visited…read moretheir new location near Auburn Road to get a timber box frame done for my home. Pleased to say I was served by the same friendly staff, and the turnaround only took a week!