Tiff, Tim, Daisy & Leo live in Newcastle. Tiff & Tim have been Novocastrians their whole lives. This tight-knit family shares a passion for music and fashion, and together they have created the vibrant, unique experience that is Abicus.
Tiff's entry into music began with making mix tapes for friends, her obsession with bands like Redd Kross, Beastie Boys, Sleater Kinney, and The Melniks grew until she launched her own fanzine Candy Flipper in 1997. She was a regular contributor to other local fanzines and music publications, interviewing many of her idols, including Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, to name a few.
While she was a true devotee to the early 90s grunge scene, fashion was not a dream during her teenage years. The opportunity to take a short-term lease on a small shopfront on a sleepy Darby St came up when her previous job at a Hamilton independent record store closed its doors.
Having spent the previous 2 years managing or buying for other local record stores, music was always going to be part of this new venture. However, it was the decision to include a rail or two of hard-to-find clothing in the store back in 2000 that really set Abicus on its way. From the start, Tiff has been both a music and fashion buyer for Abicus, whilst also looking after all of the back-end operations.
All the while, her husband Tim has been there assisting with all things Abicus. Whether it be designing and building the interior of the stores, taking care of the men's apparel, accessories, and music buying, or producing the Abicus Website and marketing material, Tim also keeps himself busy with various other musically-inclined creative projects.
Tiff and Tim feel extremely lucky to be able to provide jobs for the team of 12 working at Abicus. The fact that customers walk through the bricks'n'mortar store's doors every single day while the online store continues to grow truly is a thing of wonder for them, something they don't take for granted.