Shine on
If there was one thing Christie Nicolaides needed when it came to opening her new Paddington jewellery store, it was patience.
Having bought the William St terrace in March 2021, Brisbane-based Nicolaides faced an almost insurmountable list of obstacles in getting the store to open, none the least of which were a global pandemic, lockdowns, state border closures, council regulations, renovation trials, new motherhood and the tyranny of distance.
But perseverance pays off and, in April, Nicolaides finally opened the glistening boutique that showcases her stunning Mediterranean-inspired jewels.
“It took two years to get it to this point,” she says. “But I wanted to do the store once and do it really well. And I love what we have done with it.”
For Nicolaides, picking Paddington for her first boutique outlet outside Brisbane was a natural choice.
“I want this to be a place where people come and enjoy,” she says. “If people are going to buy something, they are going to buy it. But this is almost like a space where I want people to enjoy the space itself. I don’t mind if they don’t come to buy anything, I just want them to feel welcome.”
Nicolaides began making jewellery about 10 years ago after working as a stylist for fashion brands including Easton Pearson, which had a boutique on Glenmore Rd, where she worked and became familiar with the inner-east.
“At the time, I really wanted to start my own business and jewellery was a fascination for me,” she says. “Over the years I had accumulated a huge collection of jewellery from travelling. I had hundreds of pieces, mostly vintage.”
After trying her hand at her own range, Nicolaides held a pop-up of her first collection in 2013. The collection sold out in four days.
“I realised on the first day that this business has legs, that there was something there, and that there wasn’t anything in Australia at the time with the sort of European style I was looking for,” she says.
With semi-precious gemstones and a 24-carat gold aesthetic, Nicolaides’ pieces reflect her Greek heritage and draw on the bold and beautiful style of the Mediterranean, from ancient Egypt to contemporary Greece, Italy and Turkey.
“I’m inspired by the colours of the Mediterranean, from the turquoise water to the ancient coins.”
Having run a successful boutique in Brisbane for several years, Nicolaides decided a natural progression would be to open the store in Sydney.
“I have been stocked in Myer and David Jones in Sydney and I knew there was a market here,” she says. “It was definitely the next logical step.”
The terrace fit out was done by hot Queensland designers Richards & Spence, known for designing Brisbane’s fashionable Calile Hotel. Nicolaides says the spare interior design — with its muted, chipped out walls that were left as the builders found them after they stripped out old paint and wallpaper — references the ancient world. And she argues the terrace location offers a perfect backdrop for her work, which evokes a sense of timelessness and heritage.
“I always loved Paddington when I came to Sydney,” she says. “My store in Brisbane is in a state heritage building and I wanted to find something like that here. I love that the jewellery is being displayed in a place that has some history and that’s how I feel about being in a character terrace.
“I also love that someone could just stumble upon this beautiful space; it’s like a little hidden gem.”
Nicolaides plans to travel to Sydney frequently with her two young daughters — the youngest is eight months — and husband Stephen Sourris, a businessman who understands heritage more than most.
Part of Brisbane’s Sourris cinema family, he specialises in reviving and revitalising vintage theatres. His family began in that industry by travelling around Queensland showing movies in country towns with projectors that would play films against walls.
Now the business owns and runs five prominent heritage cinemas in Queensland under the Five Star Cinemas brand. Nicolaides says the family may be tempted to look at some of Sydney’s ailing vintage movie houses.
“We really love this village,” she says. “You never know what might happen.”
Christie Nicolaides
60 William St
