What’s In Store?

What have been some of your quirkiest homeware finds?

One of my special pieces is the Garden Trug. These are traditional garden baskets made by hand from steambent willow and poplar. There are only a handful of trug makers left in the world and we are lucky to have Bill Blair from Ōamaru still making his.

My marketing manager is obsessed with our ‘spurtles and dibbers’; spurtles are traditional Scottish porridge stirrers, and dibbers are for making holes in your garden to plant seedlings into. Both are made in small batches by a local Canterbury woodturner, Jock Grant.

Some of the unique products you have found for Frances Nation have a long history of being made here in NZ. Can you give another example or two?

My stainless steel mixing bowls have been made in New Zealand for about 50 years. People have told me they were given a set for their wedding and still have them. I sell a camp toaster that’s been around a while and it often reminds people of their childhood.

What is a practical NZ-made item that you personally find indispensable?

I couldn’t do a winter without a pair of our lambskin gloves. They are hand-stitched by specialised glove makers in South Canterbury. They are the old-school classic driving gloves – except I use them when I’m cycling. They are so warm and comfortable!