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The Melbourne Small Businesses We’re Loving Right Now
Looking for Melbourne small businesses to support right now? From Brunswick tarot gatherings and creative studios to independent boutiques and standout cafés, these local names bring style, substance and neighbourhood character to the city.
Melbourne has always had an eye for the good things, but its small businesses are where the city reveals its character most clearly. These are the places shaping how we shop, dress, gather and spend our weekends, each with a distinct perspective and a strong sense of self. From tarot nights and artist-run spaces to excellent coffee and fashion with bite, they bring originality and neighbourhood character to everyday life. If you are looking for small businesses in Melbourne to support right now, start here.
*Consider this an evolving edit, with more local names to be added over time.
Radical Self Tarot
Radical Self Tarot is the Melbourne small business that makes a city feel more interesting. Founded by Leah Musch, the Brunswick practice approaches tarot as something more expansive than prediction, using it instead as a tool for reflection, perspective and self-inquiry. There is real intention behind it, and that care gives the whole practice its appeal.
At the centre is Tarot Club, a monthly gathering at Shell Space, where just 20 guests are guided through solo pulls, paired readings, journalling, meditation and art-led exercises in an intimate, open setting. Ten per cent of ticket sales go to Pay The Rent, and places rarely last long once released.
The practice also extends beyond Brunswick through Tarot & ’Tinis, a monthly collaboration at StandardX Melbourne, where readings come with a martini and the evening tilts a little more playful. It is thoughtful, community-minded and a lovely example of a small business growing with real clarity of purpose.
Keep an eye out for the next Tarot Club session here
Shell Space, Brunswick
Keep an eye out for its one-night-only pop-ups across Melbourne, too
Honey Bones Gallery & Little Homey
There are addresses that give a street its character, and Honey Bones Gallery is one of Brunswick’s best. Once an artist-run gallery, it has since grown into a creative space shaped by photography, performance, music, markets, launches and community gatherings, with eight artist studios at its centre and Britt Devlin and Jess Wright guiding the broader vision. Its appeal lies in more than what is programmed here. It is in the atmosphere too, that steady sense of art, work and community being given proper room.
Beside it, Little Homey brings another layer. Founded by Chad Camp, the cafe brings together Saazaa coffee, marula-topped cold brew, Ethiopian coffee ceremonies, record fairs and a programme shaped by music of Black origin. Between them, they give Trafford Street a distinct cultural charge, turning this stretch of Brunswick into somewhere far more compelling than a passing stop.
46 Trafford Street, Brunswick
Dussy
Tucked away along Saxon Street, Dussy is the Brunswick boutique making fashion feel interesting again. Founded by Melbourne designer Erik Yvon, the space brings together queer and POC-owned labels across clothing, jewellery, accessories and art, with a sharp eye for pieces that feel expressive, subversive and genuinely worth discovering. There is humour here, and style, and none of the flat sameness that plagues so much retail. It feels personal in the best way.
Sitchu Tip: Once you have had your fill, head next door to Tofu Shoten for soy sweets and tofu doughnuts to round out one very good case for spending local.
6A Saxon Street, Brunswick
From Brunswick tarot nights to creative spaces and independent fashion finds, these Melbourne small businesses make everyday city life feel far more interesting. Save this list for your next local wander, then keep the good energy going with our guide to Melbourne book clubs and social clubs that make meeting people feel easy again.
