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Souvenir shopping, but not as you know it |
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New Zealand’s creative streak keeps our retailers well-supplied with fantastic locally-made products. For you this means souvenirs that are truly useful. You’ll find designer fashions that are fabulously different, wine and artisan foods for your pantry, hand-crafted house wares you’ll want to use every day and original artworks that will become family heirlooms. |
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In any holiday, a percentage of your time will be spent shopping. From browsing resort town boutiques to wandering around artsty-craftsy markets, it’s a way to wind down after adventure activities or kill time before a restaurant booking. Maybe you’ll have a list of people to buy gifts for, or maybe you just want to find something special for yourself. Either way, you’ll discover that souvenir shopping here goes way beyond tea towels and tee shirts.
In the souvenir shopsShops that are purpose-built for souvenir shopping often sell New Zealand-made products that you simply won’t find in ordinary stores. Possum merino knitwear, for example. Created from the fur and wool of two introduced species that thrive in New Zealand (brushtail possums and merino sheep), possum-merino yarn is light, soft and very resilient. It looks beautiful, doesn’t pill and holds its shape. Another souvenir shopping speciality is sheepskin footwear. You’ll find slippers and boots for all ages in almost every colour of the rainbow.Wood, glass and jade
Handmade wooden photo albums are hugely popular with travellers - the perfect way to display your holiday pictures. Bowls, puzzles and candleholders are some of the other things that look good in wood. Wood studios that use native timbers such as kauri, rimu and totara can be found throughout the country. In particular, try to visit the shop associated with the Matakohe Kauri Museum in Northland. On the west coast of the South Island, look for the House of Wood in Hokitika. Hokitika is also the place to shop for New Zealand pounamu (jade), because it’s sourced from the local rivers. Master carvers work the stone to craft jewellery and beautiful ornaments. Pounamu has special significance for New Zealand’s Maori people; in times past they used it to make tools, weapons and adornments. Glass art has forged a strong culture in Nelson, where the Höglund art glass studio is based. Ola Hoglund and Marie Simberg Hoglund have worked together as a team for more than three decades to create glass artwork that has earned them worldwide praise. You’ll also find art glass studios in Rotorua, Hokitika, Taupo and Geraldine. Edgy designersWhile you can shop for New Zealand designer clothes in the UK, Europe, Japan and USA, the experience is more satisfying down here. Take Karen Walker, for example. Her clothes sell all over the world, but in Auckland and Wellington you can flick through the racks at a genuine Karen Walker store.There are many other local designers to discover on your New Zealand holiday. Dunedin is home to Nom D - a label known for its dark, wittily sombre look. Laurie Foon, with her Starfish label, epitomises Wellington’s passion for fashion. In Auckland you’re on the home turf of Trelise Cooper, Zambesi, World and Workshop - each one fabulous in its own way. One accomplished New Zealand designer has not succumbed to the lure of the city - Annah Stretton’s business in based in Morrinsville, a country town between Auckland and Hamilton. Here you can shop at her outlet store and enjoy the menu at her fashion-friendly eatery, Café Frock. SkincareNew Zealand’s very own premium skincare brand, Evolu, has a special focus on botanic therapies that are simple yet potent. You’ll find the Evolu range of face and body products at airport duty free stores, department stores and Life pharmacies. When you get home, the Evolu online shop will come in handy.Living Nature is another botanic-inspired New Zealand beauty brand. Made with no preservatives or parabens, Living Nature products feature ingredients that are unique to NZ, such as manuka honey, totara extract and harakeke (flax) gel. New Zealand flavours
Extra virgin avocado oil, plain or infused, is another treat to take home. Look for it in specialty food stores and on supermarket shelves. Also, keep an eye out for New Zealand manuka honey - it has amazing medicinal properties, particularly the brands that have a UMF (unique manuka factor) rating. Kiwiana oddities |
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