JOHANN KIM Pigeonhole Takes Flight

JOHANN KIM

Pigeonhole Takes Flight

Five years ago Perth lad Johann Kim made the jump into retail, opening a tiny store - fittingly named Pigeonhole - at the end of the Bon Marche Arcade, and since then, life’s never been the same for the affable bicycle lover. Now the proud owner of six stores and a café scattered across Perth and Northbridge, Johann Kim is a busy man indeed, and that’s just how he likes it.
    “I actually opened Pigeonhole on my 25th birthday in October 2007. It’s almost five years ago now... It’s gone really slow and really fast at the same time,” he begins when asked what made him to decide to open a store of his own all those years ago. “Opening a shop was a pipe dream that I’d had back when I was in uni. I was studying law and commerce and dreaming of a more glamorous life. I guess a lot of people have those kinds of thoughts when they’re studying. At the end of my degree I took a year off to travel and visited a lot of great stores around the world and thought that maybe when I got back I’d look into opening one myself.”
    Each Pigeonhole store offers shoppers something slightly different – from fashion to cameras, home wares, and everything in between.
    “Well we’ve got the original store in Bon Marche Arcade on Barrack Street. This store is special because it is so darn hard to find. It also somehow ends up with all the random stuff that I pick up on my travels. You might find some random keychain with a toy doll with blinking eyelids, a pair of vintage specs without lenses and cotton wound round the frames, or an purple ’50s vintage circle skirt with a poodle sewn on it. It’s kind of like walking into someone’s bedroom. If you like that kind of random chaos and the intimacy of a small store then it’s probably a fun place to start!”
    Smaller than the Bon Marche store (if you can believe it!), the London Court Pigeonhole carries a small collection of quirky odds and ends. “Our little store in London Court is a real treat as it’s full of trinkets,” Kim explains. “We’ve got a nice range of cards and stationery as well as some cute homewares and gifty knick knacks, but what this store is best for is a great selection of jewellery. Earrings and necklaces galore! It’s a real treat!”
    Over on the other side of town in Shafto Lane is where you’ll find Pigeonhole’s dedicated gift shop plus Shop 9, which is home to fashions from Australia and abroad.
    “I’ve got two shops down Shafto Lane on the west side of town. One is for gifts and the other fashion. Shop 7a in Shafto Lane is our one stop gift shop. It’s the perfect place to find a present for a loved one. We have lots of home wares, trinkets, photography gear and accessories. Shop 9 Shafto Lane is full of independent fashion from around the world. We carry quirky fashion labels from Australia, Scandinavia, Europe and Asia along with our own range of apparel, bags and accessories. It’s a good place to find something a little different for your wardrobe - perhaps a pair of embossed leather boots from Sweden, or a camel coloured trench coat from France, or a lacey collared party dress from Seoul.”
    Fashionable fellas will likely already know about The Fox Hunt, tucked away on William Street in Northbridge. “The Fox Hunt is my menswear store on the ‘other’ side of the tracks! I’m a bit partial to this store as I think it’s probably got the nicest fitout of the lot, with some old world charm, taxidermy, old glass cabinets and jarrah floors. We carry easy casual wear and gifts for the average joe blow at an accessible price. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re the kind of guy that wants to look nice but not too out there. We’ve got some great labels in store too such as Nique, Acadmee, Dr Denim, Ksubi, Velour and Stussy.”
    And last but certainly not least there’s the biggest bird in the Pigeonhole family – Kim’s pop up shop at 140 William. “This is your one stop shop for all things Oigeonhole. It’s a massive store and we’ve tried to carry a wide selection of our entire range of products from fashion to stationery, giftware, jewellery, accessories, bags, photography and homewares.”
    Though his plate is already full (and then some), Kim still has plenty of ideas for Pigeonhole world domination up his sleeves, with plans to open more stores and expand his empire interstate and potentially overseas.
    “There are a lot of things that I’d like to do as part of Pigeonhole. For example, I’d like to open more stores (no surprises there!), extend into the eastern states or overseas, do more in house designing and production, perhaps dabble in furniture or even publishing... who knows! But I think what is more important than what I’d like to do with Pigeonhole is what I want Pigeonhole to be, and the kind of company, community and ethos that we want to foster and encourage.
    “I’d really like Pigeonhole to be the kind of company that can stay deeply connected and part of the fabric of the local creative community. We want to have a product mix that is unique in design, inspiring, global and yet accessible. I think good design should be available for everyone so I’m always looking out for stuff that is well priced yet still unique in design. I also believe that business is really just about people. We are here to serve the community of Perth with great products, friendly service and to be a platform for people to get inspired and develop their own ideas, designs and businesses.”
    To locate your nearest Pigeonhole store or to find out more about the Pigeonhole family, hit up Pigeonhole.com.au – where birds of a feather flock together.