[Region]
A Maker's Guide to the Galleries of Margaret River
Where to spend an afternoon between the cellar doors — the small galleries, the studio visits, and the makers who'll be at the bench when you arrive.
If you are coming down to the Margaret River region for the wine and the surf, you have already worked out that there is more here than the wine and the surf. The country between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin holds one of the highest concentrations of working artists in Australia: painters, glass-blowers, sculptors, woodworkers, most of them in small studios you can walk into during the day. (Why so many makers ended up here is a longer piece on its own.)
This is the route we send people on when they ask. It is not exhaustive. It is a day, well spent.
Start with a slow morning in Yallingup
The northern end of the region is quieter than the wine villages further south and, for an art day, it is the right place to start. The light over Smiths Beach is at its best in the morning and the road from there to the workshop runs through karri country.
The gallery on Blythe Road is open every day, 10am – 4pm (Saturdays until 5pm). John will most likely be at the bench. The east room shows the work of artists we admire (glass, painting, photography, sculpture) drawn from across the southwest.
Then south, down Caves Road
Caves Road runs the spine of the region. There are a dozen galleries along it; these are the ones worth the detour. (For the longer take on driving Caves Road properly, I've written that up too.)
JahRoc Galleries, Margaret River township
The largest commercial fine-furniture gallery in the region. Long-standing, well-curated, worth half an hour even if you are not buying.
Boranup Gallery, Boranup Forest
Set inside the karri forest south of Margaret River, in a building that is itself worth the trip. Pottery, glass, jewellery, and a serious painting collection.
Gunyulgup Galleries, Gunyulgup Valley
Closest to Yallingup. Mixed media, strong on regional photography and ceramics. Stop here on the way back north.
What to look for
A region this dense in art will tempt you to skim. Resist it. Pick three places and stand in front of the work.
The smaller the gallery, the more likely the maker will be there. Ask questions. The story behind a piece (what timber, what year, what tree) is almost always more interesting than the price tag, and the price tag means more once you know the story.
To take something home without knowing what, start with the small pieces. A turned bowl, a hand-blown vessel, a single framed print. The big pieces find you over time; the small ones are how you build the habit.
Finish with a coffee on the verandah
If the gallery is still open when you get back to Yallingup, the verandah is the right place to sit for a while. The light at the end of an afternoon, across the stone of the workshop building, is the reason John has been at the bench in the same patch of bush since 1982.
Plan your visit to Yallingup.
Directions & hours →