Okay, it's only my little local shopping centre, but I'm quite fond of old Fairfield Gardens. It's…read morevery small, as shopping centres go, but surprisingly useful and always seems to have what I need. In addition to the classic supermarket, pharmacy, bottle shop and cafés, there's important services like a post office, cheapie shop, doctor's surgery and a computer repair shop. But the things I REALLY love about this place are the things you don't find at every (especially small!) shopping centre: the library, op shop and fruit shop. I would like my local to be a little bigger - one glaring omission is a shoe repair place (I would patronage the heck out of that!) but it's pretty great and never crowded!

Not bad - there is the bus stop right out front, a post office that is open Saturdays, a $2 shop,…read moremassage, sports store, travel, real estate, Coles, cafes, bakery, Lifeline (op shop), fashion stores and knick knack stores. The only thing really missing is a butcher and fruiterer. You can get quite a bit done here. There is a pizza store and liquor store just a walk across the carpark.

We went to Timezone (my friend and I). We had a splendid time. We aura farmed by collected cards…read morefrom the wizard of oz ticket maxing machine. The staff were lovely and were always happy to help when our numerous cards got stuck. This games was esoteric and presented an ephemeral enjoyment before we left. The value was amazing, we accumulated over 1400 just from today and spent barely any money at all Overall and amazing trip and would highly recommend. Here are some photos

Great shop but worse carpark to get out...took 20 minutes to get out of carpark which as long as I…read morespent in the shops..doesn't make you want to come back to shopping centre.

The most ridiculous shopping centre layout I've been in , it was slightly better before the…read morerenovations

A part of me was going to suggest that this was a small shopping centre, but that is probably…read moreunrating this particular place somewhat namely because it does happen to be a decent size, it just doesn't happen to be anywhere near as big as some of the suburban megamalls happen to be. Mind you, having a train station underneath sort of helps it out somewhat, namely because you don't have to walk all that far to get there, but it isn't anywhere near as great as others I have visited.

Handmade High Street throws together some really great local crafters and creators of all things…read morepretty and fun. The first things that caught my eye was a crocheted rose-shaped brooch with quite a few other similar ones to keep it company. I found delight in the handmade jewellery and recycled accessories including hairpins made out of old buttons and old teacups being transformed into candle holders, which is something I would never have thought to do. They also had one of the very lovely dresses that is so identifiable as one of Rachel Burke's I Make My Day projects, which is surrounded by a mountain of handmade things to choose from like tin earrings and very flamboyant floral hairbands that are just gorgeous. I was most impressed with earrings that were fashioned out of origami designs. Some of the things in here are so original and it's so nice to see support for local crafters. One of the back shelves advertises renting a space in the store so other artists can sell their wares. As I was walking out I laughed out loud at the cute new spin on bottle top jewellery when I saw bottle tops printed with vintage pictures and resold as necklaces. I think that's a really cute and unique idea. Another item Handmade High Street currently sells is a product by Reclaimed Records, who make old records into new products like notepads and use only recycled paper. A recycled record notepad will set you back $45 but hey, you are paying for an old record. I like what this place has going on. They've got some really great pieces and I see a lot of potential for the artists who showcase their wares here.

Kath Chownston, one of three brains behind Handmade High Street, said that she wanted to provide a…read morespace for artists and craftspeople to easily sell their wares. Markets are often exhausting, subject to the elements, and aren't a very reliable way to get the money coming in if you're selling your goods in this fashion. The internet is a great way to get your stuff out there, but still, she went one further and opened a store- for the good of everyone! For her, for the people who rent space in her store, for the person who happens to pop in for a look and take away something local and unique. For the interested artist or craftsperson- the way the rent system works at Handmade High Street works is that there are small 'cubes' (shelving space) that are $20 per month. If you do larger scale work, clothing for example, and you have a rack that you'd like to have in store, it might cost you around $200 per month. The rental price is subject to how big and how much of the work there is, and whereabouts you want it placed in the store. There's some great stuff there too. The beads by Patti Pennisi made me want for the ocean, the glass work of Cairo Made That was gorgeous, and I couldn't help but want to take home some scented soy wax melts by Lisa Macnab. There's not the tired repeat of like works in there either; there's great diversity. Go in and support a new local business that supports it's locals. Handmade High Street. Remember that name.

What is with this strange shopping centre! There is nobody here! It is a ghost town, although there…read moreis a Coles supermarket, the Reject Shop and a Michels Patisserie cafe. A gym is also downstairs. Most of the other shops are always closed. It's good because it's very easy to find a car park. But I don't understand why you would be extremely lucky if you could see 10 people at the most.

I prefer to do my shopping here rather than at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre just across the road…read morefor the simple fact that it has Coles rather than Woolworths. I think Coles is cheaper and has a better range of stock and always end up getting annoyed and vowing 'never again' when I shop at Woolworths. It's a tiny shopping centre but convenient as there is always easy parking and as well as the massive Coles supermarket there is a fruit and veg shop, a Gloria Jeans, a gym and a great spice shop. So you can hit the gym, grab a coffee and do the shopping all in one hit and for far less effort than at the bigger Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

This centre is a little strange, as the Bunnings store is normally in a warehouse and this Bunnings…read moreis in the centre, not a stand alone warehouse. Although, there is a fantastic Sushi cafe here called Sushi Train. It is absolutely awesome, probably the Best sushi ever! But this shopping precinct does not offer much, everyone is a lot better off going to the big shops, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre across the road. That centre offers a lot more :)