Who we are
We believe the best things are unhurried — slow doughs, long ferments, mornings spent doing one thing well. This is the story of how Velour came to be.
Our Story
It started on a Sunday in 2011. A folding table at the local farmers market, a hand-lettered sign, and more sourdough loaves than we could sensibly carry. We sold out by 9 am. The next week, the same. And the week after that.
After two years of early mornings and market weekends, we found a small corner shop on Millstone Lane — the kind with high ceilings, worn timber floors, and the faint smell of what was baked there before. We painted the walls warm, installed a secondhand deck oven, and opened our doors on a Tuesday in March 2013.
What we had then is what we still have now: a conviction that bread should be patient, that pastry deserves proper butter, and that a bakehouse should feel like somewhere you want to linger.
How we bake
We source organic, stone-milled flour from a small family mill three hours south.
Flour, water, salt, and starter — combined slowly by hand until the dough comes together.
Cold-proved in the fridge for 18–24 hours. Time is the ingredient most bakers rush.
Each loaf is shaped by hand — no moulds, no shortcuts. Tension built through folding.
Into a 260°C deck oven, directly on stone. Steam injected for the first few minutes.
Our history
2011
Margot and Tom set up a folding table at the Redwood Quarter Sunday markets. They sold 14 loaves and a dozen cookies, and sold out by 9 am.
2013
After two years of markets, they signed a lease on a small corner shop. Painted the walls warm, installed a secondhand deck oven, and opened on a Tuesday.
2016
A kitchen extension, two new ovens, and the first three members of what would become a team of ten. The sourdough subscription list hit 200.
2019
We brought in a dedicated pastry chef and started laminating croissants in-house. The queue on Saturday mornings has been a little longer ever since.
2022
Knocked out a wall, added twelve more seats, and rebuilt the counter with reclaimed hardwood. The result is a space that finally matches the warmth of what comes out of the oven.
Now
Same corner shop. Same 4 am starts. Same belief that the best thing you can do for someone is hand them something warm you made with care.
The people
Co-Founder & Head Baker
Margot trained in Lyon and spent seven years in bakeries across France before returning home to Australia. She oversees the bread programme and still shapes every loaf before it goes into the oven. She's the reason the sourdough tastes the way it does.
Co-Founder & Café Manager
Tom runs the front of house and makes sure the café feels as good as the food tastes. He's responsible for the coffee programme, the playlist, and making sure nobody leaves without being asked how their day is going.
Pastry Chef
Suki joined the team in 2019 and brought the croissant programme with her. She studied at Le Cordon Bleu and has a particular talent for making things that look effortless and taste extraordinary. The seasonal tarts are entirely hers.
Come find us
Open every day from 7 am. There's a seat for you and something warm just out of the oven.