October 28, 2008
the drill hall emporium
The Drill Hall Emporium is, without a doubt, one of the best antique stores I've ever visited. It has the right balance of drool-worthy pieces and others that you can afford. And everything is so beautifully presented. It's such a pleasure just to step inside the building. It was definitely one of the highlights of my recent trip to Tasmania. Here, Tammy Baird reveals how she created such a gorgeous store.
How and why did you start The Drill Hall Emporium? I started The Drill Hall Emporium around 12 years ago with my older sisters, Donna and Juliet. We would spend our weekends travelling around in Donna's old Mercedes Benz sourcing vintage wares for the shop. The shop allowed us to have a fun and challenging weekend job whilst we continued our studies at college and university. Donna and I, with our Mum, have now committed ourselves wholly to the shop. Donna and I, together with our husbands (who happen to be brothers with their own antique shop), enjoy searching further afield in the UK and Europe to keep The Drill Hall brimming with unique and usable antiques.
What has been a highlight? I was walking the streets of Lille in the north of France and I realised that I wanted to end my career as a pharmacist to become a full-time antique dealer. The Drill Hall Emporium was already an antique shop but it needed a full-time commitment to reach its absolute potential. I felt a huge rush of excitement at the thought of doing what I really loved to do, hunt for special treasures and see the world at the same time. I couldn't sleep on the plane home as I was already planning the first buying trip overseas and worrying whether Donna and mum would think I had lost my sanity in France.
Where do you look for inspiration? A (never-ending) supply of interior magazines; international antique fairs; the simplicity of nature; and my husband, Todd.
What is the best lesson you've learnt? Hard work and dedication will bring reward and satisfaction.
If you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be? I struggled with this question, but I would have to say Nelson Mandela. His fight against injustice and his enduring vision for the future are beyond compare. "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die" - Nelson Mandela, 1964, his speech in his own defence at his trial.
What are you reading? The Shell - A World of Decoration and Ornament by Ingrid Thomas; Axel Vervoordt- Timeless Interiors by Armelle Baron and Christian Sarramon; and In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd by Ana Menendez.
Images courtesy of The Drill Hall Emporium