When Tracey Parish opened L’Amour Emporium on Woodlark Street three weeks ago, she wanted a shop filled with eclectic things that people would love. And that’s what she got.

Searching for a shop name, she decided it could only be called the French word for love - l’amour.

Tracey said she greets every customer who walks into the shop, because “there’s nothing worse than being ignored in a shop” and often hears them say ‘I love that dress, I love that smell.’

Tracey has worked in optics, then hairdressing, and has now opened a shop with giftware, clothes, and jewellery. So, why?

“I always wanted to shop local, but struggled to find anything in Lismore that was good for gifts for weddings, birthdays and Christmas here,” She said. “So I decided to bring it here.

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“Everything I stock here is Australian manufactured or Australian imported. It was all about supporting Australian jobs - in these times, jobs are hard to come by and I would rather pay the Australian importer and give someone a job.

“So I did a lot of research to make sure I was buying things supporting Australian businesses.

Have a crack

“My motto is have a crack. I can’t physically keep running a salon and I was getting older and thought work is getting hard to get.

“So I thought I would start a business with a girlfriend who lost her job in Covid and I’ve given two people a job. I also have an 18 year old junior working her first job here too.”

Eclectic giftware

From candles to pots that look like faces and hand made Turkish bowls, there are beautiful objects everywhere you look and every item had a story and a background.

“The Turkish bowls are imported by an Australian company, so that’s’ supporting jobs here too,” she said.

“I have hand made, ethically sourced leather belts and bags imported from India by a lady in Brisbane who works with a family in India. She makes sure she pays them the correct wages and looks after them and improves the family’s living conditions – so I’m supporting this too.”

Affordable

“When I buy giftware, I get what I like and look at the quality of it - and keep the pricing affordable – there’s no point having beautiful stuff if people can’t afford it.

Clothing

Tracey has lots of loose boho type dresses, mostly made of good quality Italian linen and some of the designs are made by designers in Sydney.

“I would walk around Byron Bay and see these type of dresses and wanted the same in Lismore – but at a price tag less than $100,” she said.

The dresses come in sizes 8 to 22 and Tracey said they are popular with all age groups, from people in their 20s up to 80s.

“I had one lady say she was 80 and on a pension and she wanted something nice, but would wait and save up and come in and get what she wanted later,” she said.

Quirky

In the shop, there are signs that say Genius at Work and Man Cave and gemstone jewellery made by Freya in Federal.

There are unusual rusty sculptures for the garden and rain gauges, picnic tables for a sandy visits that don’t fall over and pack down easily made by an Australian business.

“I have Mojo candles, made in recycled wine and beer bottles that are made with love in small batches,” Tracey said.

“I also have organic face products and body balm and the people make their own pots to put the balm in, so the pots can be refilled or put in the compost.”

Pet plaques

There are even plaques for pets that have passed away – and Tracey has one on her dog’s grave.

“You would be hard pressed to come in and not find something for someone,” Tracey said,.

L’Amour Emporium can be found at 2/13 Woodlark Street, next to Hortons. It’s actually in the old Hortons Fashion shop – and Horton’s has moved next door.

It’s open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 12pm. Come in and say hi to Tracey. 

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