News

In the Spotlight - Mixt

Time to introduce a stockist that is close to our hearts: Mixt. Miranda and Marc know all about selling NZ made products and own two beautiful shops in Kingsland. The only danger when stepping into the store to hand deliver their orders is leaving empty handed. Their stores are beautifully curated and are full of fantastic treasures. Store Name: MIXT Your Name: Miranda Pritchard and Marc Knott Job Title: Owners Location: Kingsland, Auckland How did the idea of the store come about? We opened the original MIXT store in February 2004. We decided to combine our joint interests in vintage, mid-century furniture and collectables (Marc) and contemporary New Zealand made craft and design (Miranda). The result was MIXT - the store continued with this combination in the same premises until November  2012 when we expanded to two stores side by side. Why the name? After much brainstorming we settled on MIXT - the name reflects the original combination of new NZ made and retro that we sell. What kind of products do you sell?  Vintage collectables and furniture, contemporary NZ made gifts, jewellery, ceramics and prints on paper. What are the best and worst things about owning your shop? We love owning MIXT - it is a great job! We have a lot of wonderful, loyal customers and suppliers who we have become good friends with over the years. We get to sell beautiful vintage and NZ made objects and support local designers - what is not to love? Worst things... Probably the scale of commitment required - we both work every day on the business, both in the shop and behind-the-scenes. What's your favourite creative outlet? Arranging the shop displays! Gardening, cooking and crafting with our beautiful daughter Violet (aka the 'Craft Queen') - Miranda

How do you find new designers / products to stock? This is one of the surprisingly difficult and time-consuming parts of the job - finding unique NZ made products that make our store stand out. We visit fairs, look online and increasingly new suppliers are contacting us directly as we have been around for so long and are well-known for supporting local makers. What song or album are you currently playing in the shop? We sell a range of CDs from NZ distributor Ode Records and have purchased a number to play in the shop - current faves are Ladi 6 and The Eastern and Waves. Where can people find you physical shop and on the web? MIXT is at 502-504 New North Road in Kingsland, Auckland. Best contact online is our Facebook page   All photographs taken by Liora, Toodles Noodles

In the spotlight - The Garden Party

  The lovely Anna Lim, owner of The Garden Party shares her story of how she started her shop and what she loves about being a store owner! Store Name: The Garden Party Your Name: Anna Lim Location: 71 Ponsonby Rd How did the idea of the store come about? My mother and my aunt were keen potters and needed some where to sell their hand painted plates.  (They loved painting them but the piles of plates under the beds were growing too large.  They knew that if they wanted to keep painting ceramics they had to find a way to sell them. I was wondering aimlessly round India and came back to help sell them and open The Garden Party.   We originally sold mainly NZ painted ceramics but quickly grew to sell all sorts of NZ designed and made products.  That was 20 years ago and we now find that there is a much wider variety of fabulous new and original NZ designed and made product than before.  New Zealanders and the rest of the world are appreciating the enormous talent here. Why the name? We liked the idea of parties and gardens and also Katherine Mansfield wrote a wonderful short story called The Garden Party. So we thought the name encapsulated fun, nature, New Zealand art and culture. What kind of products do you sell?  We sell anything we can find that we think is beautiful and amusing and designed in New Zealand.  We also sell some products that aren’t made in NZ but are so good we just have to sell them. What are the best and worst things about owning your shop? I love finding new and interesting stock.  And displaying it. We enjoy our local suppliers and craftspeople. Our customers are pretty lovely too!  Worst thing is getting a phone call at 8am on a Sunday morning from a sick staff member who can’t work that day and knowing your plans for that day have to be shelved. What's your favourite creative outlet?  Cooking followed by gardening and drawing. What are your top 5 websites/blogs at the moment and what makes them stand out? I like to check out ‘The Cool Hunter” regularly as they have phenomenal images of places and architecture.   I like The Denizen as it keeps me up to date with things happening locally. I have just purchased a pair of shoes from Anthropology in the states and I love their website as it has so much great stuff displayed clearly.  I am a big fan of Pinterest and I often get inspiration and repin beautiful images to our own pinterest page.  How do you find new designers / products to stock? I am always on the lookout for new and interesting products so I am always on the hunt.  I go to gift fairs, festivals, markets and lots of crafts people approach me directly.  Also the internet has become a good way of sourcing products. What song or album are you currently playing in the shop? Loving The Passenger, Sola Rosa’s brilliant Low and Behold, High and Behold  and am eagerly awaiting Mahoney Harris’s new album. Where can people find you physical shop and on the web? 71 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland and online