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Deck the halls: Harrolds Harrolds launches ‘The Gift Shop’ for your most joyous Christmas yet

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Deck the halls: Harrolds Harrolds launches ‘The Gift Shop’ for your most joyous Christmas yet

To celebrate the summer of reconnecting, giving and indulging with estranged loved ones, we’ve placed an extra emphasis on the spirit of Christmas this year. In a grand return to the tactile, experiential and immersive world of real-life retail, we’re turning our beloved Harrolds Collins Street boutique into a festive wonderland with a pop-up gift shop from November 30.

This particular activation is a first for Harrolds, harnessing the excitement and elation the city of Melbourne is feeling to emerge and embrace joy. Coming out of the world’s longest lockdown, our dedicated buying team dreamt up a Christmas gifting vault full of much-needed extravagance and grandeur.

The prerequisite for limited-edition Harrolds products? A balance of beauty and distinctions — expect ornaments of desire and objects designed to pamper, as well as home adornments for reviving the guest suite or reopening your abode for summer entertaining.

We’re turning our beloved Harrolds Collins Street boutique into a festive wonderland

Some of the most notable gift-ready additions to Harrolds include revered vases and vessels from Marloe Marloe, a diverse range of Assouline tomes, fragrances from Copenhagen favourite Frama, and German-hailing soaps crafted by the artisans behind Claus Porto.

Our inimitable womenswear buyer Roshali Kaul led the charge on selecting these merry-making new arrivals. When asked what gifts from the ‘shop’ feature on her very own wish list, Roshali “would have to say a colourful Dusen Dusen striped Robe and matching Towel, a delicate Vessel from Marloe Marloe and a Apothecary Hand Wash and Hand Lotion in reusable glass bottles from Danish brand Frama.”

One of the more undiscovered brands featuring in the Harrolds’ halls this Christmas is Helle Mardahl: a contemporary glass artist from Copenhagen, who is well established overseas but is still relatively unknown here in Australia.

“We are so excited to launch her dreamy universe exclusively at Harrolds this Christmas. Helle Mardahl’s designs are described as a ‘conceptual candy universe of magic, dreams and indulgence’. Think of candy made into glossy, whimsical glassware,” says Roshali.

Sugarfina is another new and delicious addition to Harrolds this year. Hailed for their ‘grown-up’ candy flavours like Champagne and Sparkling Rosé Bears, Tequila Grapefruit Sours and Peach Bellini Hearts, these treats make for the most decadent stocking stuffers.

The Harrolds Gift Shop has been designed to evoke festive cheer, existing as a dedicated space in store, festooned by lights and other seasonal embellishments, lined with shelves bursting with delicious treats for all.

We checked in with Harrolds’ visual merchandising aficionado Joel Rankin to explain the architectural and aesthetic vision of the pop-up, all underpinned by “the joy of discovery”.

“We really tried to evoke the nostalgia of browsing a souvenir shop while on vacation and late night trips to the grocery store to pick up a little holiday snack,” he says.

“Visually, we picked inspiration from a handful of different time periods over the twentieth and twenty first centuries. We referenced the perfection of supermarket shelves in the 1950’s, glamorous facades of New York theatres in the twenties and the joy of souvenir stores from the early 2000’s.

It was all about taking these locations and memories and transforming them into a glamorous, luxury, Harrolds experience.”

Joel’s most gift-worthy picks from the crop of Christmas new arrivals “includes the fantastical bath robes from Dusen Dusen”, or a home fragrance under the tree like Trudon’s seasonal offerings. “A real show stopper is the Fir Great Candle — it will instantly have you transported to Christmas tree farms afar”. His list naturally “goes on and on”, but for any stakeholders reading, grab Joel a copy of the Assouline New York by New York book to impress.

After countless hours of design development, research, planning and manufacturing, the Harrolds team will bring the Gift Shop to life in stores on November 30.

Harrolds will also be offering bespoke monogramming in-store, engraving the initials and names of giftees into exquisite beauty and fragrance pieces. Engraving will be running at Collins Street, in addition to the Gift Shop, on the 11th, 12th, 18th and 19th of December and at Sydney Westfield on the 18th and 19th.

“We’re immersing our Harrolds clients in tangible, all-sensory shopping with our Collins Street gifting trove. It’s such a momentous occasion to be welcoming Melburnians back into our boutique, especially on the cusp of a summer defined by freedom, adventure and togetherness. It’s a ripe time to dress up, step out and give generously, so we’ve built an ephemeral space to amplify that excitement,” says Mary Poulakis, Managing Director.

Shop our gifting collection online now.

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