Welcome to the first Shopgirl Visits column. My name is Jillian Leiboff, and I’m a photographer based in Sydney Australia. For the past 8 years I’ve been working part time as a photographer and whilst I started out shooting weddings, 3 years ago I started shooting shops and food for my blog.

I thought Holly’s readers might be interested in seeing some of the shops I shot, so in June 2009 I reached out to her and she liked what she saw. After that, I started randomly submitting my images to decor8 with my first recap being of the delightful Donna Hay store in Sydney. Holly has held a longtime love affair and fascination with Australian art & design but like most of you, isn't able to hop on a plane whenever she wants to go see it for herself. Showing it on decor8 is the next best thing and that's what I can do since I'm based down here though like love to travel so you may see the random post pop up from my travels abroad. You may remember seeing some of my images of the iconic Parisian store Merci on decor8, for instance. If not, I'll list at the end of this post all of the stores that I've photographed which have appeared on decor8 in the past so you can catch up! Please take a look!

A few months ago I was delighted when Holly asked if I’d like to write a monthly column for decor8 called Shopgirl Visits. I was so excited I immediately began making a list of all the places I wanted to share with you. Each month I’ll be showing you shops (and the occasional artist studio, market and cafe where things can be purchased) that appeal to me and I hope to you. I’m always happy to get feedback so your suggestions are welcome.

For the first Shopgirl Visits column I’ve chosen the Sydney store, Koskela. Koskela is owned by Russel Koskela and Sasha Titchkosky and their company designs and produces some of the beautiful furniture you see here. Koskela’s motto is, "Follow your heart, trust your judgment, do it with joy". It governs how they run their business and the types of people they work with and represent.

Koskela is one of the few stores in Australia that focuses on Australian designed and made products with a hand crafted element. Koskela stocks a collection of Australian made furniture, home wares, books and artwork for both adults and children. They recently moved from their premises in Surry Hills into a brand new showroom in Rosebery. As well as the showroom, the building is home to Kitchen by Mike, probably the most popular eatery in Sydney - you can see and learn more about Kitchen By Mike in the video below...

The shop is housed in a former canning factory and it’s a huge light-filled space where many of the original warehouse features have been left intact. Koskela also has a gallery space and a workshop where people can learn new skills or crafts. Some of the best of Australian design is represented here and I particularly loved the children’s area. I was sorely tempted by some of the cute lights on display and was trying to think of a compelling reason to take one home with me.

"Follow your heart, trust your judgment, do it with joy"

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning than having breakfast at Kitchen by Mike followed by a browse through Koskela. You can find Koskela at 1/85 Dunning Avenue Rosebery, Sydney. See you all again next month and don't forget to check out all of my shop posts on decor8 listed below! - Jillian

Donna Hay General Store, Black & Spiro, Bison, ici et la, Empire Vintage, Studio of Ceramicist Samantha Robinson, Anthropologie (London), Merci (Paris), Albion (London), Miljo, The Finders Keepers Market, Cotton Love Home, davidmetnicole, Mud Australia and Astier de Villatte (Paris).

(photos: jillian leiboff with store permission)