Room on Fire is Adelaide’s new benchmark for 90s streetwear

The evolution of the northeast corner of Hindmarsh Square continues with the arrival of the new vintage Room on Fire store. The small boutique opened earlier this month in the now-closed former Deli store on Pulteney, between Loc and Dunfor Noodle Bar, which will soon open. This is the latest addition to the changing enclosure, following the opening of Fire x Soi 38, expansion of Clarity Records and new daylight hours from Loc.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of this block,” says Stephanie Dimasi, who owns and manages the store with her (life and business) partner Reuben Lane.

“We like the idea that our customers have a shop, have a wine, have dinner, buy records, it’s a nice little flow. One of my friends said to me: ‘you are at the end of the shopping center and it is super accessible to arrive here but it feels like a village’. And that’s what we wanted to be a part of, this little community that we belong to, so we’re super happy.

Room on Fire was launched two years ago as an online store. The couple, who met while working at General Pants Co, both share a love for vintage clothing and music (the store is named after The Strokes second album, and there are t – group shirts and framed group posters on the walls).

“We always dreamed of having a store, but we didn’t really know when or how it was going to happen,” says Dimasi. “But we were really lucky that Covid business grew significantly because people could wear this stuff,” she said, acknowledging the growing interest in comfortable leisure wear that seemed to be on the rise. arrow with the increase in the life of the WFH. “We were really thrilled and lucky. “

The store’s Instagram subscriber count is now 22.8K. But the pair still see the value in nurturing the community that comes with a brick and mortar store. Even despite, or perhaps because of the closure of several CBD shops in 2020.

“A lot of people are going in the opposite direction,” Dimasi admits. “And we understand that – there is obviously a big risk. But there’s that level of ability to deliver the service you don’t get online that we want and need and feed off of.

“We just like to talk to people,” Lane adds. (In time Large format expense at the store, he treated every customer who walked through the door like an old friend.)

“And there is a small gap in the [Adelaide] market for that sort of thing, ”continues Dimasi. “There are so many stores that sell vintage well, but everyone brings something a little different to the table.

“We definitely have a more athletic orientation. These are t-shirts, sweaters, jackets. It’s the street style. We’ve just started importing stuff from Carhartt now.

Everything in the store is available online and vice versa (the duo plan to expand the online store soon). Color-coordinated displays are stocked with an assortment of airy jackets, oversized sweaters, striped T-shirts, vintage jeans, caps and more. Prices start at $ 40 (for t-shirts) and go up to $ 150 (for Carhartt jackets, for example).

“We buy high-end brands like Polo [Ralph Lauren] and Tommy [Hilfiger] and Guess, ”Lane says. “And then athletic styles like Nike and Adidas, lots of Champion … American pro sports [merch] so the NFL, the NBA, baseball, ice hockey, a lot of varsity equipment because varsity sports are so important and they just released this product in the 90s… then the novelty side of things like sweaters and cartoon t-shirts.

Lane and Dimasi are especially excited about some of the kitsch and rare items in store. “I love stuff like that,” Lane says. “I love the idea of ​​finding something that you will never find elsewhere.”

roomonfire.com.au

@roomonfirevintage