Shoemaker Jo Mercer has opened her first brick-and-mortar store, Matilda Life, in one of Melbourne’s biggest retail zones. 

Matilda Life, an Australian-made lifestyle brand, was born during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 to support hard-hit Aussie producers. It was the brainchild of Mercer and her business partner Lauren Mastromanno. 

The Matilda Life store features sustainable objects including Australian timber, natural Australian sandstone and Australian leather used throughout to enhance the shopping experience. 

The colour palette of the store was inspired by Australian summers, arid nights, and oceans. Stunning curving ceilings depict the arch of an Australian surf wave in metaphor.

The Matilda Life collection includes women’s apparel in wool, cotton and linen, leather shoes and trainers, sleepwear and personal fragrance and home fragrances.

According to Mercer, the Australian retail experience has changed since Covid as more shoppers choose to buy things in physical locations.

“We have seen, particularly over the past year, a strong return of shoppers to ‘brick-and-mortar’ stores rather than online, and that’s been reflected in the financial performances of key Australian retailers,” she said.

“We have high hopes that our product offering, location, shopping experience in-store and growing support for ‘Aussie made’ will see a strong performance for our first store. Customers are clearly loving the ‘touch and feel’ shopping experience again after two years of the pandemic.”