Folkstore Founder Sasha Dommershuyzen is a self confessed hippy flower child. She spent her childhood immersed in nature, creating magical worlds in the pine forests and bushlands surrounding her Melbourne home. By the age of 11 she was already working at her parents local craft store Riverclay, an earthy Aladdin’s treasure trove of locally handcrafted goods. Memories of helping gather roadside wildflowers for drying, bottling local honey and ceramic goods hand thrown on a wheel instore, still inspire her today. Riverclay was more than just a store, her parents fostered a community of like-minded artisans with a passion for craftsmanship and an eye for beauty. Sasha soon became  a buyer for her parents’ store venturing on buying trips overseas which involved scouring the markets and bazaars for rare textiles and pieces to send home.

In 2002, Sasha opened her first retail store Harem, in the heart of Melbourne’s bohemia, Brunswick St Fitzroy. Harem was an ode to the feminine spirit: a sanctuary of beauty and self nurturance for women. The store encouraged her creative instincts to flourish as she designed and handcrafted her own range of upcycled fashion. Studies in natural medicine, followed by the birth of her children meant a natural evolution towards a sustainable business that truly expressed her whole heart and soul. It was a business that needed to align with her growing concern for the health of the planet and a move away from an increasingly throwaway culture. In 2019 Folkstore was born.

Folkstore is a return to Sasha’s roots, a thoughtfully curated collection of lifestyle artisan wares using nature based materials that are gentle to the earth.It is founded upon the personal relationships that Sasha has cultivated with the creatives that supply the store, as well as her own Folkstore slow fashion label and hand crafted range of botanical ritual wares. Like all things in nature, life moves in natural rhythms and cycles. Once more Sasha finds herself harvesting wildflowers and creating wares using sacred plant medicines - a confirmation that her inner flower child has always been with her.

Folkstore is more than just a store. It’s a community of like minded brands and people who celebrate beauty and preserve artistic traditions, in harmony with nature. Its wares offer an invitation to reconnect with yourself and the natural world, encouraging self care and kindness towards people and planet.