Ruby & Sol - curious collectibles

Ruby & Sol has closed down  – however Sherry is starting up again online at ShopVintage.co.nz with beautiful handmade homewares.

62 Williamson Avenue, Grey Lynn, Auckland Tel. 09-378 0357 Open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

If you were one of the many who discovered Sherry Roberts’ shop Ruby & Sol in Richmond Rd in February this year, you will be thrilled to know that she is back, this time in the front of a lovely villa in Williamson Ave.

People were so enthusiastic about her first foray into the retro retail market, Sherry decided to keep on collecting and has filled two rooms with wonderful bits and pieces.

“Having a shop with such a loose genre allows me the freedom to collect, play and display and sell anything that appeals to me. I’m not stuck in any particular era although I don’t think anything in here has ever worn a bar code. The recycling aspect of this business appeals to me too.”

You will find furniture, lamps, crockery, glassware, clocks, paintings, photography, mirrors, beautiful little girls dresses, toys, linen, jewelry, handbags, shoes, silk sarongs and scarves.

Just because it was practical and useful didn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful.” Case in point: check out Sherry’s amazing collection of retro kitchenware and aprons.

Sherry is also happy to hunt down that special item that you know is out there somewhere and you just don’t have the time to search for it.

This is most definitely one of the loveliest shops we have ever found, anywhere. And it is refreshingly reasonably priced too. Another excellent reason to visit - you will actually be able to afford something.

The problem you will be faced with of course is narrowing your choice of item down to the very one you like the most. Happy shopping!

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Felt

www.felt.co.nz

How did the idea of Felt come about?
I make merino armwarmers which I had been selling on Etsy in America and I found it quite frustrating that there was nothing similar set up locally. So I thought about it for a while, talked about it to anyone who would listen, did some research and eventually decided it would bug me forever if I didn’t do something about it.

When did you set up felt.co.nz?
Felt was launched in June this year, so it’s been up and running for about five months.

What do you enjoy most about running Felt?
At the moment it’s so exciting to see people signing up and new listings
appearing – it’ll be a while before that novelty wears off!

In a more general sense, I love the philosophy of Felt. Buying handmade is about being human and connected to the people around you. Shopping on a site like Felt is a completely different experience to buying mass-produced goods in a soul-less mall. Anything that you buy on Felt has a story, a personality, a philosophy behind it and you can talk to the person who created it.

I’m really enjoying talking to people about their crafts and seeing the passion and creativity and energy that goes into their work. It’s great to be able to support artists, craftspeople and designers by providing them with a tool to promote and sell their work.

Are you involved much in the Crafting community in your area / NZ?
Not so much at the moment, but I plan to get more involved. And I hope that Felt will become a significant resource and networking tool for the crafting community.

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Buttons contemporary jewellery

www.buttons.co.nz

How did the idea of buttons.co.nz come about?
The idea for ‘buttons’ came out of the desire to build a hall for our children’s school on the south coast of Wellington. We were having our annual fair and our usual brainstorming for new and interesting stalls, when the idea of button necklaces came up. We all did a bit of rummaging round in the op shops and our cupboards, then came together with our collections of buttons and loads of ideas.
The stall was a huge success and more importantly we loved it and enjoyed working together.

What do you enjoy most about running buttons?
We all have such fond memories of our own mother’s and grandmother’s button jars, bags and boxes and we share this memory with so many others.

It’s been an amazing progression from a few buttons simply threaded together to the intricate work we do now, and the cohesive collection we’ve developed. Our first necklaces we made bear no resemblance to our current collection. We love the entire process of making our jewellery. The huge fun there is in gathering the buttons, the fact that we are creating something beautiful out of lovely old thing, even the envelopes we make as our packaging are made from gorgeous old wallpaper. As a group we have all brought such different skills and strengths together. Luckily for us they are all very complimentary and we are still having fun… It’s a great feeling.

When did you set up buttons online?
After working with our current retail stockists around New Zealand for almost 2 years, taking buttons online seemed the next logical step to take. Luckily we had friends who were extremely talented and patient in this area and helped us develop and build our site… It has been a long process and huge learning curve and we are thrilled to have been up and running for about for 4 weeks now.

Our next challenge is to spread the word around the world!

Are you involved much in the crafting community in Wellington / NZ?
We love the local craft scene.Its so fantastic and inspiring to see what other people are creating . One of our local stockists (Mindy @Juniper ) runs stitching evenings at her store. It is so great that these traditional skills are being kept alive, shared and then given a new twist. We are always searching for new inspiration and new skills to learn. Given our diverse day jobs we are bound to come across something to share and then the next idea will be born and we’ll go on from there.. It’s a very natural progression for us… we can’t wait.

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