Scout Finch

Can you keep a secret? Well, I can’t.

One of my favourite vintage shops in Brisbane, Can You Keep A Secret, is moving and expanding.

The cool vintage shop was located at Greenslopes for more than four years, but for a number of reasons they needed to move. Owners Ajanta and Emily are moving their much-loved store near the Mater Hospital at Wooloongabba in September.

Right next to a funky bar they set up earlier in the year.

Owner Ajanta said the move to expand was a natural choice given their love for entertaining.

“We used to host functions and parties at the last place and always received such positive feedback about the music, venue and the fact it felt like a good old house party,” Ajanta said.

“We also found every time we went out we were never satisfied. Nowhere felt as good and fun as home.

“So we opened our own bar/home away from home!”

Complete with exposed brick and a stunning heritage terrace feel, the site is amazing and true to the vintage heritage.

For Brisbane-ites, it’s located in the former Hillyards Shop House and was just what the pair had been looking for.

“We’d been looking for a new space for a short while and were either trying to find a house so we could have the same vibe as we had, or a warehouse to go more into the events/function side of things,” Atjanta said.

“I visited some friends in Melbourne and after walking the streets down there knew what I really wanted.

“Low and behold, when I got back and asked Emily what she saw and where, we had the exact same vision and area, without me mentioning anything to her about my thoughts.

“We went online to look at real estate and saw Hillyards Shop House pretty much straight away. Great minds I say.”

The former jewellery shop needed a bit of TLC before they could move in, but like any vintage piece it was worth the work.

“The back room already had exposed brick so we knew it was under there, but didn’t know the state of it,” Atjanta said. “You could feel the place sigh when it all came off. Finally it could breathe again!

“Our style and theming is fairly consistent with our original shop with obviously adapting into it the classic era of the building itself.”

The new store was a natural progression for the vintage lovers and allows them to provide more space for their growing store and to cater for Brisbane’s supportive community.

“There’s a nice community in Brisbane and the true vintage lovers are very dedicated,” Atjanta said. “The dealers I have met all support each other as we all have our own niche market/era.

“Everything is sourced locally and hand-picked so the quality of our items is very high.

“It also means we’re pretty much all Australian made. We’ll find stuff at garage sales, deceased estates, second-hand shops, you name it! Emily can sniff things out from a mile away.”

Check out for their Facebook page to see upcoming news or updates. And keep an eye out for their funky signs they have outside – very funny!