A historic Dunalley building that was most recently home to a fish and chip shop is set to begin a new chapter, with viral Mr Skelly creator Christian Watson planning to transform the site as a general store.
Watson, an American designer and animator, has more than 5.9 million Instagram followers and moved to Tasmania with his wife Elle-May in 2023.
Watson is best known for creating Mr Skelly, a small skeleton character featured in short, uplifting animations that explore themes of kindness, hope and everyday moments.
His 10-second animation clips can take up to 200 hours to complete, with one video alone viewed 95 million times.
Watson now creates the animations from his home near Port Arthur, while also working to restore the former fish and chips shop after purchasing a 30-year Crown lease on the property.
The building dates back to around 1893, when it was originally built as a general store.
The shop will be called 1924, the same name as the Noosa store he operated for six years before closing it and sending its antique furniture and goods to Tasmania.
The store will stock Mr Skelly merchandise, books and other goods, with Watson hoping to eventually add a cafe and create a “third space” where people could enjoy music and outdoor seating without feeling obliged to buy anything.
“We’re just trying to restore it to its original purpose of a general store, which is what we ran up in Noosa,” Watson told Pulse.
Watson said the site once had two-kilometre-long jetties stretching into the bay where steamships from Hobart would deliver goods, with locals carting supplies away by horse and carriage.
The building is one of the few structures that survived the devastating 2013 bushfires.
He estimated the store would open in around six months, given the amount of restoration needed.
“Our biggest desire really is to restore it to glory and not have it be falling apart and disheveled,” he said.
Watson said the store would be “specific to Tassie only” and that early 1900s furnishings would give the space an authentic period feel.
He recently signed a book deal with Penguin for a large illustrated book featuring Mr Skelly and said a national book tour would kick off in the coming weeks.
Tasmania’s diverse scenery now inspires much of his work.
“There’s something so amazing about snapping a photograph of a landscape here and turning it into a painting for one of our animations,” Watson said.
