Artist, architectural illustrator and long-term local | A conversation with Jane Grealy
Community
May 17, 2019
In Conversation
James St(JS), Jane Grealy (JG) – Artist, Architectural Illustrator and Long-term Local
James St Guide Book Edition Three is now available at participating retailers – get your hands on a complimentary copy before it’s too late!
Featuring, a carefully curated summary of the boutiques, dining destinations, eateries and laneways of James St, the guide, is created for locals and visitors alike.
Divided into six dedicated categories including New Stories; Stay; Fashion; Food + Drink; Lifestyle + Design and Health + Beauty, the guide book is editorial in style. Every store sits alongside original images which invite you to view James St with a fresh perspective.
There are three New Stories – one of which features a conversation with Jane Grealy, an artist, architectural illustrator and loyal long term local. View the full discussion below:
JS: What are your memories of James Street over the years and how has it changed?
JG: When I moved here fourty years ago, James Street was semi-industrial and very much considered the rougher end of the New Farm peninsular. There were warehouses, light industry, car mechanics and all sorts of workshops, storage yards etc. I think this is the area that has most changed, very much for the better. Now we walk down for dinner or a movie, window shop and are spoilt for choice.
JS: What are some of the elements of the precinct that have been successful in your eyes and that make it an attraction for you to visit?
JG: Just walking through the James Street precinct is entertaining. And it is a proper precinct, the architecture that links it all together, the scale and mix of retail, all works. Credit must be given to the developers who used the same architects over the last fifteen or so years that has resulted in an attractive cohesion rarely found. The in-between and back of house spaces are just as interesting as the facades. My most recent architectural love is the entry staircase at The Calile from ground to first floor. The scale, reminiscent to me of some ancient hall, and the attention to materials and detail, give me a sense of arrival and occasion.
JS: You are a self-confessed fashion addict, specifically in the past an addict of the Easton Pearson label. Do you satisfy your urges in James Street and if so, which places do you haunt?
JG: Well you could wear Easton Pearson anywhere in the world and know that you were uniquely, appropriately and interestingly dressed. Now I can still go a little crazy in Camargue… have a calming coffee at Harvey’s, then a visit to Gail Sorronda is a must, and always Phoebe Stephens, for flowers and inspiration.
