Fuel your creativity

Melbourne is Australia's cultural capital, with many art galleries and exhibitions, a thriving theatre and music scene and some incredible street art. While you can’t visit these cultural institutions right now, you can bring some of that creativity into your home to make long days in isolation a little less tedious.

Get those hands a little dirty with a clay and tool kit from Melbourne ceramics studio Ceramiques. They’ll provide the tools, 10kg of clay as well as online tutorials that will have you modelling like a master in no time. Preston-based Tantri Mustika also delivers home-hand building clay kits.

Jigsaw puzzles have absolutely flown off the shelves during isolation. Now you can figuratively wander the streets, parks and buildings of your favourite city with The Melbourne Map’s new 1,000 piece puzzle. Also worth checking out their destination posters and ‘Can You Find?’ calendar, which you can deep dive into pockets of Melbourne.

For those with an artistic flair, Melbourne Artists’ Supplies is a one-stop-shop for all your creative needs. From acrylics, oil and watercolours to journals and canvas – stock up online for hours of entertainment and relaxation.

Fitzroy’s Wunder Weave sells a range of weaving kits and products to create cuddly winter warmers. Stock up on a variety of coloured yarn and weave the wall hanging of your dreams. Or take up knitting with supplies from Wool Baa.

Budding musicians can hone their talents with a digital visit to Spot On Ukes. Made from sustainable bamboo, these ukuleles are for beginners of any age and have a unique integrated colour coded learning system so you can strum a favourite tune in no time.

Sourdough starter kits were popular during the first lockdown, and this second wave is an opportunity for improvement. Order a sourdough starter kit from Simply No Knead, Nourish Me Organics or perhaps a 19-year-old live sourdough culture from Ballarat Home Brew.