Business owner retires after 49 years
Passing on iconic Cambridge store to trio of women
Iconic Waikato business Colonial Heritage Antiques in Cambridge is evolving after its founder Kenneth Sheldrick announced at age 89 it was time for him to retire. Sheldrick established the business in 1973 and since then, for many people, a visit to Cambridge wasn’t complete without popping into his shop to peruse the eclectic range of antiques, collectables, rare books and estate jewellery.
Sheldrick says: “When my late wife Beverley and I moved from Australia to start the business in 1973, we never imagined it would still be going in 2022. We both had a passion for beautiful objects, and knew Cambridge was the perfect place to establish our shop.”
He says the secret to his longevity and ability to work decades after others retired was simply following his passion.
“When you follow your passion, it’s never work. The wonderful people I have met over the years, from locals to international visitors, have been a constant source of stimulation and pleasure.”
Sheldrick will now enjoy his retirement and use it to pursue his passion for overseas travel.
Since October, The Heritage Trading Company owners Helen Martens, Maria Gascoigne and Joanne Mcintosh have been the new custodians of Colonial Heritage Antiques.
The three women each own their own interior and homeware businesses:
Martens runs Tuffet & Co, Gascoigne owns Redeemed Recycled Interiors and Mcintosh runs Linen & Stone.
Mcintosh always had a love of French furniture and antiques, which led to her setting up her first homewares store, Rustic French Living, in Western Australia. After three years, she sold the business and moved back to New Zealand, where she set up a pop-up store in the old Central hotel building in Cambridge, which then went on to become the shop Collective on Empire.
She moved her brand Linen &
Stone to the small shop in front, and it didn’t take long for Martens and Gascoigne to expand their businesses into Collective on Empire as well.
Since the three women share an ethos of upcycling, reusing, and redesigning salvaged homeware, they decided to join forces to found The Heritage Trading Company, and now have big plans for Colonial Heritage Antiques.
They want Colonial Heritage Antiques to join with their businesses, as they are all located in the same building. This will introduce a new shopping concept to Cambridge, with the four stores operating on one floor, with a feeling reminiscent of a traditional general store.
Sheldrick says the three women were the perfect fit to take over the business.
“When I met Helen, Maria and Jo, the dynamic team behind the Heritage Trading Company, I knew immediately that they shared my passion for beauty and had the energy to build on the foundations Beverley and I established, with some updates and expansion into areas such as e-commerce,” Sheldrick says.
Gascoigne says: “Our holistic, environmental philosophy fits in well with Ken’s appreciation of artisan craftsmanship of yesteryears, with us designing, sourcing and reinventing products that will create sustainable interiors. The Heritage Trading Company believes in ‘slow’ retail, by salvaging unique homewares from the past and breathing new life into them.”
She says they are looking forward to creating a unique shopping experience in Cambridge that is inspiring, creative and which will teach people to love items from the past, thereby leading to them valuing said items and living more sustainably.