Australian homewares and clothing brand Kip&Co is giving its identity as a “house of colour” a whole new meaning this week when it opens its first physical retail store in Melbourne.
Located on Gertrude Street in the inner-city locale of Fitzroy, Kip&Co’s new store will give shoppers the opportunity to experience the brand’s trademark vibrant aesthetic in person in a way that hasn’t been possible until now.
While Kip&Co has built an extensive network of 150 stockists alongside its e-commerce business since it was founded in late 2010, the brand has long dreamed of having its own showroom, says co-founder Alex McCabe.
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“We’ve spent almost 15 years building Kip&Co, growing the brand and getting to a point where we could create a physical space that genuinely represented everything we stand for,” McCabe told SmartCompany.
The Fitzroy store, which opens on Thursday, has been in the works for 18 months, says McCabe, who founded the brand with Kate Heppell and Hayley Pannekoecke. Kip&Co worked with interior architecture studio State of Play to develop the store’s concept, customer journey, bespoke furniture and finishes, and “the way each category would live within the space”, says McCabe.
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“We never wanted to rush it or simply open a traditional shop,” she says.
“We wanted to create a true Kip&Co home, and that took time, collaboration and a huge amount of consideration.”
Kip&Co specialises in bedding, clothing for adults and children, tableware, bath products and home accessories, and has become known for its collaborations with Australian artists, Indigenous makers and the creators of beloved children’s characters – from May Gibbs’ Gumnut Babies to Blinky Bill.
The breadth of the range is a key reason why Kip&Co now felt ready to open its own flagship store, says McCabe.
“Opening our own store has been a dream for a long time, but we always knew that when we did it, it had to feel completely Kip&Co,” she says.
“We wanted to wait until we could create a true physical home for the brand, where people could experience the colour, pattern, texture and creativity of Kip&Co in a way they simply can’t through a screen.”
It’s no secret that 2026 has been a particularly tough year for Australian retailers of all shapes and sizes, but Kip&Co is part of a growing trend of Australian brands venturing into the world of physical retail after building and nurturing a community online.
“Physical retail has to offer an experience, a sense of discovery and a genuine connection to the brand”, says McCabe.
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It was crucial that the Fitzroy Kip&Co store didn’t simply offer “a conventional shop fit-out with products sitting on shelves,” says the co-founder.
“We’ve created bedrooms, bathrooms, dining and living spaces, filled the store with bespoke pieces and objects we’ve collected on our travels, and introduced products that you can only discover in store.
“We want people to come in, have a wander, touch things, get inspired and hopefully discover something unexpected. For us, that sense of experience and community is where physical retail can be really powerful.”
It seems fitting too, that Kip&Co would choose its home state to open its first store.
“We’re a Melbourne-born brand, so Victoria always felt like the right place for our first store [and] Fitzroy in particular has always felt like Kip&Co heartland,” says McCabe, in reference to the suburb’s creativity, culture and community.
“We also loved the idea of creating a physical home for Kip&Co within a neighbourhood that already has such a strong identity. Gertrude Street gives us the opportunity to be part of that local community, while also creating a destination for customers from across Melbourne and beyond.
So, is this just the first of many physical stores for Kip&Co?
“Right now our focus is on Fitzroy and making our first store the best possible expression of Kip&Co,” says McCabe.
“It’s a big milestone for us, and there’s a lot we want to learn from having our own physical retail space. We’d never say never to more stores, but for now we’re excited to see how our community responds to Fitzroy.”