Flags Fantastic

You can bet the owner and manager of Flags Fantastic, David Robins, scores pretty highly when it comes to recognising the flags of the world. “There’s still one or two that catch me out,” he admits. There’s certainly no mistaking our own Union Jack and Southern Cross though. It’s everywhere you look in the store - not just on shiny rectangles of fabric (the standard 1800 x 1900mm size is $89), but on hats and caps, number plates, magnets, temporary tattoos and iron-on patches - alongside other Australian patriotic symbols like the Eureka flag and the Boxing Kangaroo. That said, you don’t necessarily have to be the sort of hand-on-heart patriot to find something at Flags Fantastic. Robins sells flags for sports teams, checkered flags for automotive aficionados, International Code Flags for nautical nuts, Tibetan prayer flags, rainbow flags, flags adorned with medieval heraldry and - for the aspiring pirate - the notorious Jolly Roger. Flags Fantastic also offers flags tailor-made to your own designs. And, as Robins also points out, you don’t even need a flagpole. “Often flying a flag is the last reason they’re used for,” he says. “There’s all sorts of reasons people need flags. They put them on their walls, use them at funeral services, use them on boats, in plays...” And, of course, flags are all the rage as fashion items - many customers leave the store with a newly acquired flag draped around their shoulders as a cape or cloak. Quips Robins: “I sometimes think I should have a full-length mirror in the store.”