CLEVER CRAFTS
THERE’S A cute new shop in town that smells divine. Sage & Thyme has opened in Heretaunga St in Hastings and the first thing that struck me when I walked in was the gorgeous smell.
Owner and operator Tina Hume will be a familiar face to those who love browsing through craft markets.
She has been to hundreds with her amazing crafts and popular natural skin and beauty products Living Naturally, but now she’s decided it’s time to stay still — for now at least.
“After years of markets and packing up and packing down and travelling I decided it was time to stay in one spot for a while,” Tina said.
“I’ll still go to some markets but I’ll pick and choose. Over the years lots of people have asked me if I had a shop so I thought why not.”
With help from family and friends she has opened the doors to a delightful space which is light and bright and full of beautiful things.
Her Living Naturally range is gorgeous. Tina says she has always had sensitive skin and her young daughter had eczema all over her body.
So she set out to make something that would suit her skin and help her daughter.
“I used a basic recipe off the internet and then started experimenting. There was a lot of trial and error but I got there in the end. The range is really popular, especially the calendula and rose facial moisturiser — it’s my best seller.”
Her beauty products are just one thing this talented woman makes. Among other things Tina knits, crochets and sews.
“My grandmother taught me to knit. Her name was Bid and she was a talented artist and potter — she taught me heaps. She was a lovely grandmother and she sparked my love of making things.
“I also knit for charity. I think it’s a cool thing to do. When my daughter was born she was tiny and I was given some beautiful knitted items. It made me feel really good and I want other people to have that feeling.”
When Tina first started making her products, because her grandmother was Irish, she named them Aiceanta which is the Irish Gaelic word for natural.
“However, people found it really hard to get their tongue around it so I rebranded to Living Naturally.”
The name of the shop is something Tina thought on for a long time.
“Sage is for wisdom and thyme is for tick tock — as we get older we are supposed to get wiser — well in theory,” she laughed. “So it has a natural and personal meaning to me.”
As I browsed around I was really impressed with the diverse range of items for sale. Along with Tina’s handmade cat caves (you have to go in and find out what they are), booties, peg bags, makeup bags, aprons and her amazing beauty and skin care products — she even makes her own washing powder and body powder — and “none of my products are packed out with fillers, they are all natural” — there is also jewellery and beautiful scented candles. Something I really loved was Tina’s homemade soap inside felted “animals”. You wash yourself with them and the felting shrinks with the soap.
Perfect gifts for people that have everything. In fact there’s loads of unique gift ideas at Sage & Thyme. Check it out.
'' I was really impressed with the diverse range of items for sale.'' Linda Hall
■ Sage & Thyme is at 306 east Heretaunga St, Hastings. Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm.