Gardenvale just wouldn’t be Gardenvale without the Dowsett family’s Nicholls Fashion Centre. One of Martin Street’s oldest residents, the Nicholls store with its iconic shopfront stands the test of time.

To out-of-towners, first glimpse of Nicholls suggests that the store is primarily for socks and jocks. Venture inside the double shopfront and assumptions are assuaged; the business is not just about dressing people, but the rooms in which they live. Bayside local Doug Dowsett is now in charge of the business, which he inherited from his maternal grandfather Bert Nicholls.

"Nicholls began on the same site but smaller," Dowsett says. "We rebuilt in 1986.

"At the very beginning it was just a husband and wife team but that soon grew to about six people.

"These days, we have 12 people on the payroll."

During the 1920s, Australians were more inclined to make clothing and furnishings themselves, so Nicholls became the destination for lace and other decorative materials.

Fast forward 90 years and Nicholls has grown to stock a wide range of furnishing options, including quality national brand suppliers Designed Blinds, Verosol, Luxaflex, Marco Fabrics, Warwick Fabrics and Galleria Trimmings.

The window furnishings and clothing mix remains.

"We’re unique in that we still have general product on the floor but have evolved into a modern day department store.

"We also go anywhere on furnishings; from Brighton to Blairgowrie, Torquay, Heathcote and beyond. "It’s our uniqueness that allows us to draw on customers from further away than usual.

"That, and our extensive range of fabric samples; we invest heavily in them and offer a range of swatches that customers can take home." Nicholls’ ability to supply goods from a huge repertoire of products and brands allows Dowsett to tailor furnishing solutions to meet the requirements of his diverse clientele. "You need a big range of goods to be able to do that. "Especially as every window is different.

"The challenge is to blend the different windows together via furnishings; we don’t want to be making houses into patchwork quilts."

That said, colour, pattern and texture are big at Nicholls.

"We get enjoyment out of seeing more adventurous furnishings.

"However, our best sellers are still sheer roller blinds for general use around the home.

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