A heritage woolstore in Kensington has become the newest monthly home for the team behind the Rose Street Market.
The Younghusband Market is a collaboration between The Rose St. Artists’ Market and the recently redeveloped Younghusband precinct on Elizabeth Street in Kensington.
The original Rose Street Market has been running out of a former junkyard in Fitzroy since 2003, hosting up to 120 creatives each weekend across art, fashion, homewares and design.
Younghusband Market
- Where: Younghusband Woolstore, 2/50 Elizabeth Street, Kensington
- When: 21 February, 21 March, 18 April, 16 May
- Time: 10am–3pm
- Cost: Free entry
- Access: Macaulay Station and Kensington Station are both a short walk away. On-street parking available (two-hour limit)
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The Younghusband offshoot takes a similar approach but in a considerably more dramatic setting — a converted wool store that dates back to 1901, when it was first commissioned by wool sellers R Goldsberg Row and Co. The site was later operated by broker Younghusband and Co until 1970, and has since been transformed into one of Melbourne’s most significant adaptive reuse developments, complete with original bale lifts, painted ghost signage and a distinctive sawtooth roof.
Each month, around 60 stallholders set up in the precinct’s bluestone laneway selling handcrafted goods — think ceramics, clothing, jewellery, accessories, artwork and locally produced pantry items. There are also workshops, live music and food on offer. Mass-produced items aren’t permitted, so everything on sale is made by independent creators. The market is fully undercover, pet friendly and within walking distance of both Macaulay and Kensington stations.
The Rose Street Market was originally inspired by similar artist-led projects in London, Berlin and New York’s DUMBO Collective, and has previously popped up at Queen Victoria Market, Lygon Street and National Trust sites like Como House in South Yarra. Since launching in Fitzroy more than two decades ago, the operation has featured the work of over 6,000 creatives. The Younghusband outpost adds Kensington to that growing list, setting up shop inside a building recognised as one of few substantial woolstore complexes to survive in Victoria. The precinct also holds the distinction of being Melbourne’s largest net-zero-carbon adaptive reuse development, targeting a six-star Green Star rating.
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