News

New adventure range

We're extremely excited to launch our Adventure Range this Autumn! All these illustrations and sayings were inspired while on holiday down in Wanaka earlier in the year. Sometimes a refreshing holiday is all you need to get those creative juices flowing. Here is a sneak peek of some of the new designs and new products that will be available for purchase as of next month. As always all our products are designed by founder, Liora, and made here in New Zealand.

January in review

2014 is off to a roaring start! Anyone else out there blown away with how fast January went by?

This month has been full of firsts for us! New house, new studio, 2 new kitties, planting fruit trees and a veggie garden...so much to learn and love!

Here are some of the highlights from this month.

New Years in Wanaka Opening up the shop for the first time in our new location The view outside the new studio Meetings in Auckland for some new products Beautiful house warming gift from Little White Box Trying out juicing at home... ...enjoying a refreshing drink in the sun Exploring town in this gem Setting up the new studio

Hope you've all had a great start to the new year!

In the Spotlight - Gifted Design Store

This past week I was lucky enough to go back to my favourite New Zealand town - Wanaka! I positively love this lakeside town. It has an enormous charm, stunning scenery, great eateries, strong coffee - what's not to love!? While there I popped into one of my favourite stockists Gifted Design Store. I met Rachael and Caz at the last NZ Gift Fair and knew we would hit it off right away! If you're ever down south and in the area, make sure to pop into their store! Though beware you will want to purchase everything inside! Store Name: Gifted Design Your Names: Rachael Bowering and Caz Cruden Job Title: Co-owners Location: 19 Helwick st Wanaka How did the idea of the store come about? There was a real gap in the market when I started it 8 years ago. I use to go the city and covet the beautiful Design Stores wishing there was something like it in Wanaka!! Why the name? The designers we stock are Gifted! What kind of products do you sell? Homeware, Jewellery, Leather bags and wallets, Art, Stationery, Occasional furniture. What are the best and worst things about owning your shop? Best things are....Loving your job, talking to people who love what you’re doing. Finding exciting new product/designers. Worst things Wanaka’s shoulder seasons are a little slow.... need to be careful when ordering and staffing at these times. What's your favourite creative outlet? Changing displays....constantly. Also when new stock comes in. What are your top 5 websites/blogs at the moment and what makes them stand out?

1. Studio Home - We love Studio Home, Julia is constantly sourcing new designers and ideas to keep her blog fresh and addictive!!
2. Design Sponge
3. The design files
4. Fancy
5. Finders Keepers
6. Etsy

How do you find new designers / products to stock? New Zealand and Australian fairs, Magazines, blogs etc and they often find us – which is nice. What song or album are you currently playing in the shop? Nadia Reid – Letters I wrote and never sent. She played here in Wanaka last week. Where can people find you physical shop and on the web? 19 Helwick St Wanaka, Also our facebook page – Gifted Design Store    

The inspiring South Island, New Zealand

 Last week I was extremely lucky and went on holiday to my favourite part of New Zealand - the South Island. Don't get me wrong, I fell in love with this country six years ago when I came here for a holiday (and never quite left) but there is just something particularly magical about the South. The mountains look like giants, the plains are as vast as your eyes can see, the golden hour seems to last a lifetime and the air is perfectly clean.

This trip we spent four days in the township - Wanaka - where my Mr.'s parents have now built their dream home. My parents flew in from the US (yup, the big meet of the parents!) and we all relaxed, enjoyed some specular wine, food and company surrounded by the most magnificent mountain scenery. I was even lucky enough to stop into a few of my stockists while in town - it's always such a humbling and "someone pinch me" experience to see my products in shops.  After spending some time in Wanaka helping with the move, touring around some stupendous wineries it was time to travel further south!

I was extremely lucky this trip to see where my Mr. grew up, a teeny tiny township named Te Anau. It's not exactly a metropolis like my home town, Palo Alto, but his old family farm took my breath away.  It's no surprise the people from the South are so lovely, just look at where they live! From Te Anau we traveled into what really should be named one of the world wonders: Milford Sound. My parents and I planned to come on a cruise here five years ago but the trip was cancelled due to an earthquake - let me tell ya - it was worth the wait!  We all decided to do an overnight tour which meant we sailed alongside dolphins, saw rainbows, and woke up with fresh snow on the mountains. It really doesn't get more spectacular than that.

Here is a small list of my favourites from the trip:

• My parents love wine tasting when they come to New Zealand (who doesn't, right!), the Northburn winery has a fantastic antipasto platter that can be enjoyed on their spectacular lawns.
• There is a fantastic Wood Gallery just outside Wanaka passed Luggate - everything is made there on the premises by the owners. Their cheese boards are really something else.
• Another favourite winery that we visit every trip is Mt. Difficulty. It's become a tradition to come and have lunch here every time we come to visit Wanaka. They also now make a Chenin Blanc - delish!
• If you're traveling through Te Anau on your way to or from the Fiords, make sure to put Dunluce Bed & Breakfast on your list. Their hospitality, breakfast and decor was top notch!
• Lastly, here is the overnight cruise we took on Milford Sound. The crew was extremely friendly and knowledgable - highly recommended.

As you can see I have a strong love for New Zealand. It inspires me everyday with its beauty and lovely people. I hope you have enjoyed some of my pictures! x

Staycation 2012

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday break so far! As all my family is in the US and my partner who's family is in beautiful Wanaka originally thought that he would have to be working through - we are having a "staycation" in Auckland this year! With so many people leaving the Auckland region for the holidays we thought it would be a great time to explore our "new" home. Unfortunately the weather gods have had other plans. Providing us with some pretty bad weather. So we've made the most of it with doing what we love! I FINALLY got some new gym shoes (been wanting some for about a year - yay!) and have really given them a go with going to the gym for the last five days straight - wowie (helps justify that summer wine of course)! I did the girly thing of cleaning out my closet, tidied up my desk (that was seriously needed) and have given our apartment a nice big clean. We've also made some delicious meals (pictured top right - recipe to come) and did my first baking in four months! Since going super healthy I've stopped baking - which breaks my heart - but sacrifices have to be made...  We also managed to get on over to White's & Co  (pictured bottom left) for a delicious soft serve yogurt treat thank's to The Collective! Fingers crossed, the weather is supposed to improve and tomorrow we're venturing out for our first tiki tour! I'm sure to keep you posted and hope you're all having a lovely break full of family, friends, and great food! x