Solvej swings on Kardashian wishlist
Toddler swings made near Taumarunui have become a favourite of American reality television star Kourtney Kardashian.
The eldest Kardashian sister featured Solvej swings, made in the King Country township of Matiere, on her Christmas wishlist posted on her personal blog and Instagram page.
Solvej, pronounced sool-vay, is a 25-year-old business that makes Scandinavian-style wooden swings for children. It is named after Solvej Mortimer, the daughter of founders Thomas Mortimer and Jenny Etherington.
Now head of marketing, Solvej Mortimer said the makers had never watched Keeping Up With The Kardashians and had no idea how the wooden swings caught the celebrity’s eye.
‘‘A couple of years ago, she bought two swings from us online. At the time we had no clue how she found us, maybe through a friend or just the internet. It’s still a mystery to us,’’ she said.
‘‘An email from her personal assistant said Kourtney absolutely loves the swings and wants a bunch to give away to friends this year. We’ve been hoping to get a photo of one of her kids using it on TV but we don’t actually have a TV.’’
Mortimer said that since Kardashian’s blog post, traffic to Solvej’s website grew tenfold and stockists of the swings in the United States had placed reorders faster than normal.
Thomas, a Swedish-born cabinetmaker and Jenny, a Matiere craftsperson, met in Western Australia in 1986.
Solvej said her parents travelled between Sweden and New Zealand for many years, earning a living from selling traditional Swedish crafts and leatherwork, before settling in Matiere, a few months before she was born.
‘‘Being a Swedish cabinetmaker, he couldn’t bear putting his kid in a plastic swing – that felt a bit blasphemous. And he couldn’t find any other on the market, and made that for me.’’
The family started to sell the swings after demand for them grew locally.
Mortimer said the business boosted the local economy.
‘‘It’s very hard to find employment when you live so rurally so a lot of people were leaving. So [Jenny] really wanted to start a business to upskill people who couldn’t work on farms.’’
The company employs seven other people. It also ships worldwide and has stockists around the globe, including in the US, Denmark, Austria, Dubai, Hong Kong and Australia.
Thomas used to build all the swings, but approaching 70, he wanted to retire and spend his days in the garden and training other craftsmen.
Solvej swings retail for $220, and Mortimer said even with Kardashian boosting traffic, the company had no plans to increase the price.