Sugar and spice — and all things nice
Paper Poppy, an arts and crafts store with a difference, finalist for Top Shop
Customers kept telling us we had such a beautiful shop, so after some persuasion we decided to enter in the Top Shop category, which wasn’t too hard to do.
Levin’s mall is home to a unique arts and crafts store called Paper Poppy. It started in November 2020 as an online business but a chance to buy a fudge-making business the following year meant the owners, Jolanda and Grady Wells, had to look for a physical location to operate out of, owner Jolanda Wells said.
Soon after they moved into the mall shop, giftware was added to the mix.
Paper Poppy is one of four Top Shop finalists in the Electra Business and Innovation Awards and offers everything you need for a variety of crafts, such as cross-stitch patterns, scrapbooking and card making.
The fudge making part of the business is very popular and has a lot of regular clients.
The shop also sells crafts on behalf of other people and stocks large wooden toys, baby knitting, quilting and more.
“We wanted the business to be a ministry and to support local crafts people. We also sponsor a child through Tear Fund,” said Jolanda, who has tried to add a little Holland or Dutchness to the shop layout.
“Ik hou van gezelligheid,” she said, meaning she loves the “cosyness”
Jolanda Wells
Dutch folk are famous for. Jolanda describes the step of opening a store in the middle of a pandemic last year as a true step of faith. “We had never done anything this big before.”
Paper Poppy also offers gift boxes and sells handmade cards. They have a lot of gifts featuring horses, which go well in Horowhenua. Paper Poppy also stocks Rawleigh’s products.
The store’s reputation is growing and craft people from other towns, including Whanganui, Palmerston North and even Wellington have been in to stock up on supplies, having discovered this little Horowhenua gem.
“Customers kept telling us we had such a beautiful shop, so after some persuasion we decided to enter in the Top Shop category, which wasn’t too hard to do.”
While Jolanda runs the shop with Rose, who helps two days a week,
husband Grady is the fudge maker and supplies fudge for myriad tastes.
Paper Poppy is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm and on Saturdays from 9.30am until 1pm.