New owners take iconic Richmond Records in new direction

Wife and husband team Catherine and Mark Stannard purchased the iconic music shop a year ago, and during this time they have launched the business in a new direction which is already being applauded by music-loving locals.

"Music is everything to me, my husband is a musician, and it's a big part of my life," Mrs Stannard told the Gazette.

"There was no online presence when I bought the business and we built the website after that. Then when coronavirus hit I opened an eBay store, offering free postage - that way, people who were stuck at home didn't feel like they were missing out."

During COVID-19, the Stannards hosted a logo design competition, the winner of which - a local young artist by the name of Kate Sagovac - is now working at the shop, and will soon begin selling her creations in store.

"She's very clever. We're going to start customising some small furniture pieces for Fathers' Day - a chair for example, and band it up with vinyl covers, one-off makes," Mrs Stannard said.

She described the store as "totally different" to what it was a year ago.

"There's no cafe and no rock 'n' roll clothing. Now it's totally music and music merchandise, and instruments. Our tagline is: if we don't have it in store or you can't find it, we can get it for you," she said.

"We also sell band jackets, stereos and turntables."

They're also planning to launch a new guitar line, hand-crafted pieces made by Mr Stannard out of Australian wood.

"We've made it through the first year with fires and COVID, and now it's time to grow the business," Mrs Stannard said.

During lockdown, the team sold lots of musical instruments, including acoustic guitars, harmonicas and ukuleles.

"People were at home so it was the perfect time for them to learn. We also started selling DIY guitar kits, to make your own guitar and customise it at home," Mrs Stannard said.