Making a welcome return to Christchurch, WORLD is probably the most avant garde fashion offering you will find in the city. We’re talking silk trousers with massive protruding pockets that MC Hammer would be proud of (with matching cropped blazers), for the ladies, and psychedelic-print shirts and suits for the boys. All the WORLD clothes are made here in New Zealand so expect superb quality …
Nestled in a cosy container at the Re:Start mall, Toi Toi has much more to offer than your average gift shop. With its relaxed and friendly atmosphere, the shop has a magic of its own. Get lost browsing the huge range of kiwi-made products on display, from New Zealand artwork to jewellery, bags, and watches. Toi Toi has got New Zealand-inspired gifts covered …
Located in the busy Addington Coffee Co-op, The Addington Store welcomes you with big open arms. The sign above the window boasts the store’s main premise: “Locally Made. Ethically Traded. Environmentally Friendly” …
Dusk Gallery and Store makes for a refreshing change from the touristy shops of Hanmer, North Canterbury. You won’t find a possum fur handbag, scarf or hat anywhere here. Instead, Dusk offers you the chance to have that perfect, New Zealand themed home accessory, from stylish wall clocks to ceramic fantails for your mantel piece and vintage-styled tea towels …
If you are familiar with other Redcurrent stores (there are ten in New Zealand), you will know what to expect from Redcurrent on Victoria Street. Boasting a sleek interior with a boutique feel, this spacious store is stocked with delicious smelling candles and stylish homewares, as well as some gorgeous handbags …
Terra Viva is a breath of fresh air in the midst of the industrial fug of Burnside business parks. The fully licensed café serves everything from burgers and eggs benedict to tapas and platters, and they even do an elegant high tea set against a whimsical, contemporary space …
Down a winding driveway in the beautiful woodland setting of Tai Tapu, sits The Packing Shed Gallery and Café. A country café best experienced on a cold and misty Sunday morning, The Packing Shed is a friendly and casual space with a very effective wood burner …
Is your living room crying out for a little life? Head to Flower Bazaar, a little florist helping to make Mairehau a destination shopping experience. …
Milou is one of the latest shopping additions to Sumner. With a big focus on New Zealand designers (the owner is a designer herself), Milou is a place to keep a close eye on. …
Sweethearts is a family owned restaurant serving decadent, chic and utterly delicious fare. A long time favourite of grannies and lovers of traditional English high tea, oodles of people swamp to this restaurant in Harewood for the scenery and old school charm. …
For the coolest gifts the other side of Banks Peninsula, look no further than Lava Gallery. Facing the ocean with high ceilings, white walls and relaxed atmosphere, this store is an ideal place to buy affordable gifts, quirky prints, cute handmade jewellery, stationery plus inspiring homewares and knick knacks. …
A small but perfectly formed space furnished with glass cabinets and walls painted an impeccable shade of pale blue, Red Fish Blue Fish is a mix of whacky little trinkets, books on life and design, New Zealand-shaped chalk boards, greeting cards and stuff for the bathroom. …
Another mighty fine store at the pop up mall… At Hapa, you will find jewellery by the likes of Kathryn Leah Payne, beautiful stationery and an incredibly original beanbag. …
The Lotus Heart is a vegetarian restaurant owned and operated by students of Sri Chinmoy, a musician, poet and peace advocate who believed that by living in joy is to live the “inner life”, one that leads to self-realisation. How this relates to vegetarianism is that by eating meat, the aggressive quality of the animal enters into you. …
There are many great things to say about Lyttelton, the little harbour town just a short trip from Christchurch, and Portico is one of them. This gift shop specialises in New Zealand made products (nothing made in China here thank goodness), displayed carefully on rickety tables and in beautiful glass cabinets. …
We would be quite happy for Toi Toi to become a chain, one that is in every airport around New Zealand. It’ll make a nice change from the clichéd shops selling possum fur socks and paua earrings to tourists. Instead, Toi Toi sells Kiwi art, beautiful hand made bowls and random bits to fill up [...] …
Art Gallery bookshops are always incredibly stylish and well stocked, with not just design books and arty postcards, but certainly in this case with cool gifts like quirky mugs and little toy robots …
What is with Rangiora-ites and the French? They’re obsessed! Another French inspired shop in this North Canterbury town is Femme de Brocante, which after an unsuccessful Google search and a quick text to a French friend, turns out to mean… well, I’m still trying to figure it out. But I can tell you what they [...] …
You can almost smell the Frenchiness of this place from Fendalton. Although it’s nothing like any store in Paris (let alone France), when you look closely, Cosi Fan Tutte is full of little treasures from L’Hexagone and beyond. …
Nestled on Main Street, Oxford in an art deco building once home to the Salvation Army, Emma’s at Oxford is a jam-packed gift store heaving with books, food stuff and kitchen wares. …
When you step into Flock Design Boutique you feel as if you could be in anywhere in the world… on High Street in Sydney, Monmouth Street in London or rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. …
French Blue offers two essential things in one setting: coffee and shopping. The store has an extensive stock of parasols, handmade pottery and kitchen supplies, jewellery, cards, baby clothing, cushions, throws and gifts. …
There are neat places all over the place! Select your nearest city to get started.