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APPRECIATE: Local businesses.

During these tough, straight up crazy times, it couldn’t be more important to support the ones who fed us, kept our pantries stocked and made our homes pretty pre-iso. Local businesses are pretty darn special. In addition to being the lifeblood of the community and economy, they give our neighbourhoods character, they know their customer’s names by heart and they remember that we don’t like onion in our sandwiches. We’re lucky to have some insanely talented friends in the worlds of food and design, so we thought we’d share what they’ve been up to, and how you can get your hands on their goodies without even having to change out of your tracky dacks.

1. Stanley Street Kitchen
Think twice before hitting that order button on your next UberEats meal. Stanley Street Kitchen is delivering wholesome, hearty and reasonably-priced meals to Melbourne households within 15km of their Flemington base. A concept by the Fonda team, the menu features the likes of spag bol, lentil curry, pumpkin soup and texan chilli con carne, with each order serving approximately 4 people. Simply heat it up, put your comfy pants on and enjoy. There’s also a choice of five wines (an iso essential) plus Fonda’s Mexican house beer to wash down your meal.

The kitchen only uses Australian ingredients, so you’ll be supporting homegrown producers too – bonus!

Check out the website here.

2. Sonny Chiba
If a lack of Japanese food in your diet is making you turn to instant ramen packets, we have good news: Sonny Chiba in Armadale is now delivering! Load up on a mixture of traditional and inventive Japanese dishes including mouth-watering nigiri, fresh hiramasa kingfish, tasty gyoza or their Wagyu Tataki. Something about the combination of sushi and wine makes even the 1most slobbish of nights feel fancy.

Check out the menu here.

3. Barton Milk Bar
If you’re not one of the lucky few with a coffee machine and the barista skills to go with it (no, Nespresso pods do not count), you’re probably in dire need of a good coffee spot. Barton Milk Bar in Hawthorn has taken takeaway coffee to the next level – simply text your order to the number listed on their Instagram and swing by their takeaway window where it will be hot, ready and waiting. You can also pick up toasties, B.L.A.Ts and an assortment of sweet treats. Iso breaky sorted.

Peruse the selection here.

4. Nimble Activewear
Fun fact: we’ve recently discovered that activewear also doubles as sitting-on-the-couch-wear. I think most of us have given actual pants the ditch at this point, but it can be nice to keep yourself feeling a little luxe while WFH. Especially if you’re going for lunch time walks or doing home workouts on the reg. Nimble in Armadale sells a unique collection of active and lounge wear made from recycled plastics. Whether you’re trying a virtual class or bingeing Netflix, the beautiful and ridiculously comfy pieces have you covered. Hot tip: Nimble is also streaming short workouts on their Instagram (@nimbleactivewear). The perfect way to try our your new ensemble.

Get browsing here.

5. Botanicah Melbourne
Like many, we’ve been using iso as an excuse to cultivate a cute little family of plant babies. They’re the next best thing to an actual pet, and given all the time we’re spending indoors, it’s nice to bring a splash of nature into the home. Plus they look hot. Spread over 350 square metres, Botanicah in Prahran is something of an indoor jungle, home to a diversity of handpicked plant species and gorgeous pots. You may have to get off the couch for this one, but they’re currently limiting the number of people allowed in the warehouse to only a handful at a time so you can explore freely and safely.

Feast your eyes here.