Blog Posts

Naturally Luxurious

28/9/2017

Madeleine Ritchie skincare traces its proud heritage to the ancient spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England.

It was 1963 when Mrs Hylda Conway (Madeleine’s mother) first started making honey based creams from natural recipes discovered by her beekeeping husband.

In 1982, Madeleine Ritchie began to make the skincare products in New Zealand under the HoneyCreme brand. The formulas were enriched with pure NZ honey, local plant botanicals and pure NZ spring water. Madeleine pioneered the development of the world’s first skincare to contain Manuka Honey in 1988. And so the honeycreme story began, made of entrepreneurship and creativity, elegance and craftsmanship.

Pride of the South

25/9/2017

Growing up on a farm in the Waikato, Ian Blackwell's father taught him about the value and versatility of timber. After sanding back a bit of old Rimu one day Ian fell in love with native NZ timbers. Rimu continues to be his personal timber of choice, providing a unique , striking and contrasting grain unlike any other.

A carpentry and cabinet making apprenticeship led Ian into a career working with wood. Developing his technical skills and gaining experience over the years only fuels a love of working with timber and as a result he has developed a hand finished range to be truly proud of.

Today Ian is lucky enough to call the rugged West Coast of the North Island home and together with the his production team, they are proud that all of their wooden products are lovingly created and distributed by our talented team in Riverton (30 minutes West of Invercargill).

Cut using the latest laser technology every product is then assembled and finished by hand. You can be sure that every one of our pieces has been put together with great care, attention to detail and the Pride of the South

Pottery From The Point

19/9/2017

Tucked under Auckland's Harbour Bridge lies the charming neighbourhood of Northcote Point. It is here that Chrissie and Charlie Seakins create simply beautiful pottery inspired by New Zealand, and have been doing so for over 30 years.

The simple yet effective designs are quintessentially Kiwi and many of their unique pieces have Muriwai sand (from our rugged west coast) suspended in the glaze. So, by taking home a piece of Pacific Painted Pottery you are also taking a piece of the land from which it came.

Most recently, Pacific Painted Pottery was selected to provide all the plates for a brand new eatery in Auckland's CBD. A wonderful achievement for such talented craftspeople.

Well done Chrissie and Charlie, we are so proud to have your pieces in-store.

Sweet Memories

7/9/2017

The Old Lolly Shop Takapuna opened in 2009 and to this day remains a small family-owned business.

Offering a fantastic range of confectionery, from old style blackballs and humbugs to Kiwi favourites like spearmint leaves, feijoa drops and choccy fish. The Old Lolly Shop Takapuna also make some of their own sweet treats in-store; lollipops, sticks of rock, peanut brittle, fudge, aniseed squares and hokey pokey to name just a few.

Not only do their products taste delicious, they bring back such sweet memories of simpler times.

Gifts of Distinction

4/9/2017

Timber Arts take the natural beauty of New Zealand's native wood and crafts it into gifts of distinction.

For 20 years, Timber Arts has been handcrafting items from native timbers with their work being enjoyed all over the world thus earning them a reputation for high quality workmanship.

The New Zealand forest is a production of nature found in no other land, and Timber Arts work with a range of 19 native timbers, using the different colours and grains to produce a unparalleled finish and unique pieces.

Wood has always been an important part of human existence. Today, the timbers of our forests are a treasured national resource and are justifiably protected. In creating works of art from each small piece of wood used, the Timber Arts craftspeople place a true value on our forest heritage.

The Great Balancing Act

31/8/2017

What do kiwi birds, sheep, dinosaurs, kangaroos and elephants all have in common? They all feature in Tarata's Balancing Act wooden puzzles.

Since 1983 these challenging puzzles have been handcrafted by a team in Christchurch from farm forested timber. Tarata's fun puzzles will challenge your skills, dexterity and patience as you try to balance them. It's simply a matter of holding your tongue in the right place!

Each set comes in a lovely gift box with full instructions and a challenging configuration card showing approximately 20 of the literally 100's of possible ways of balancing each set of animals.

Balancing Act puzzles are a fun and educational game that is suitable for all ages. A great gift idea as the benefits of playing with the animals are numerous and impressive, for both creative and scientific minds.

How many animals will you be able to balance?

Skincare for Real Men

27/8/2017

Most businesses start at the kitchen table; DirtyMan started in the bathroom... on a building site!

The original DirtyMan, Mike Orange, noticed himself in the mirror at work one day and quickly decided he needed to look after himself a bit better. So began Mike's search for a men's hygiene and skincare product that provided exceptional results as well as being a product he would feel comfortable using.

There didn't seem to be anything that ticked those boxes, sure there were lots of men's moisturisers and facial scrubs but they seemed to be just a hand-me-down or add-on from a big brand that focused on the women's needs and wants. What's more, the men's products were all riddled with chemicals. Mike decided this had to change...

And in 2007 the DirtyMan concept was born. The range now includes moisturisers, facial scrub, shaving gel, face wash, and deodorants.

Original and Unique

22/8/2017

Moodance Leather Goods specialise in original leather goods and textiles that are all handmade on Auckland's North Shore.

This small family-owned business offer exclusively designed bags in plain and multi-coloured leather. As all Moondance bags are individually made, the colours and textures of the leather and lining fabrics are unique to each bag.

The bags come in a range of sizes from coin purse, through to handbags and small backpacks and satchels. Each and every piece is finished to an extremely high standard so you know you will get almost a life-time of wear out of them.

Beautifully made right down the last stitch.

Fur Real Since 1983

18/8/2017

A small family-run business in the heart of Dunsandel, Canterbury have been up to their elbows in all things possum for over 40 years. Possum Pam has grown from one small retail outlet selling gorgeously made possum pieces to being a major supplier in possum, sheepskin and calfskin products.

Priding themselves on creating only the very best quality pieces, these experienced furriers stand by everything they make because everything is made-to-order. No mass produced items here!

From traditional gloves, socks and slippers through to their quirky nipple warmers and luxurious shoe liners, Possum Pam guarantees to bring you only the very best of what possum, sheepskin and calfskin has to offer.

From Tragedy to Triumph!

15/8/2017

Contracting a vicious staph infection what was slowly eating away at her face, Hannah Cadwallader decided that after modern medicine couldn't help it was time to take matters into her own hands.

After hours of online research, Hannah melted manuka beeswax and applied it as a face mask, with instant but small improvements to the infection. After adding a few other ingredients to the treatment, Hannah tried it again and within 48 hours, the swelling and inflammation calmed and every day afterwards the raw look of the sores lessened until fresh new skin was growing.

After making some extra bottles of the balm and advertising in the Taupo local paper, Hannah's Bumble Balm was born with extraordinary results being experienced by countless customers.