28/07/2026
You won't believe this... our minds were BLOWN. 🤯
If you've ever visited our shop, you've probably spotted this dapper gentleman hanging near the counter.
Fun fact: we've lost count of how many people have tried to buy him.
Ten years ago we picked up this original oil painting from Gumtree for $10. Our original plan? To drill eye holes into it and make one of those creepy paintings whose eyes follow you around the room. 😂
Then we Googled him.
Turns out he wasn't just some random bloke, so we abandoned that idea and instead asked our talented friend and local artist, Hayley Gillespie, to give him an eggplant & poppy makeover. Nose ring and all.
He's been part of the shop ever since.
Fast forward to a few days before Christmas...
A customer was admiring the painting and asked where we'd found it. After hearing the story, he stopped us and said:
"That painting used to hang in the boardroom of the company I worked for. That's the founder."
😳😳😳
What are the chances?!
For anyone curious, our mystery man is John William Connell AO.
He served as a Major during WWII before becoming one of Australia's leading structural engineers. His projects included the Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne's Underground Rail Loop and She Tin Hospital in Hong Kong. In 1987 he was awarded the Order of Australia, and he lived to the incredible age of 103.
So yes... we may have added a nose ring to the portrait of one of Australia's most accomplished engineers.
No regrets.
We like to think we rescued him from landfill and gave him a second life as the unofficial mascot of eggplant & poppy. And if you ask us... Johnny absolutely rocks the nose ring. 🩷
