ONYX Vintage, located in Citi Centre Arcade, is an op shoppers haven full of pre-loved clothing and accessories. At Renew Adelaide’s launch of ONYX on Friday evening, guests browsed through an extensive array of unique items, some hand-picked from other op shops and some previously belonging to founders Bernie Elston and Tegan Solly. Like an oversize treasure chest filled with thrift shop goodies, ONYX is the perfect place if you’re looking for timeless pieces that don’t date, such as coats, heels, leather items and bags with an edgy, bold and feminine quality. Likewise, they offer reasonable prices for quality items that can’t be found so easily at your everyday op shop like the Salvos or Vinnies.
Owners and founders Bernie Elston and Tegan Solly
What makes ONYX unique are the clothes that have been carefully selected and curated to reflect the two founder’s own personal style. Many pieces in the store were purchased and worn by Bernie, whose style continuously changes, going through ‘colour phases’ that usually last only a month or two.
Born in Adelaide, Bernie moved to Sydney and initially sold her clothes in Newtown at various pop-up stalls, but after moving back and forth between Adelaide and Sydney, Bernie came across the opportunity to collaborate with Renew Adelaide to open ONYX. When asked where she sees herself in a few years, Bernie says she finds it difficult to stay in one place for too long, and would love to design her own clothes and accessories in the near future. With a strong passion for fashion, Bernie studied a diploma of Fashion Design and Technology at TAFE SA, which helped form House of 27 Letters. She would spend up to 20 hours painting her own designs onto the back of leather jackets, which became a tiresome task after only selling a few and unfortunately not bringing in enough revenue to continue.
Some of the crazy-cool clothing available at ONYX Vintage
The other-half of ONYX, Tegan Solly, also manages her own side project called Sniggle Curios, a collection of hand-made quirky products like cushions, jewellery, hair accessories and more. However with ONYX only recently opening, Tegan will be selling her items in-store instead of online and at markets. These cute pieces feature much-loved characters and reality stars like My Little Pony, Johnny Depp, and Will Ferrell among many others.
Bernie and Tegan have created a pretty cool space that is full of character, with their own unique flair tucked into every aspect of the quaint vintage store. For cool and funky pieces of clothing like near new Jeffrey Campbell heels for a fraction of the retail cost, be sure to visit ONYX at 141 Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Visit their Facebook for more info.
Images by elle ds photography
