[ad_1]
It’s not often the shop owner starts the negotiation process but Ray and Raewyn Boulton aren’t in it for the money.
That’s why if you take something up to the counter at Second Impressions Clothing Barn with a price tag for $7, Raewyn will most likely give it to you for $5.
The store is one of many unique spots tucked away in Eltham, Taranaki, 40 minutes south of New Plymouth, where you might find the perfect Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for person.
The small Taranaki town with a population less than 2000 is renowned for cheese thanks to the Fonterra factory there, the freezing works and farming but surprisingly is also a secret shopping gem.
READ MORE:
* ‘Cow troughs’ on main streets irk small town residents
* Fonterra creates jobs in South Taranaki after job cuts, $605 million loss announced
* Residents of NZ’s ‘worst towns’ hit back at researchers
The very walkable town centre is filled with vintage and secondhand clothing shops, art galleries and eclectic home and garden wares.
But it would be easy to miss.
It’s a busy town with many driving straight through on State Highway 3 between New Plymouth and Wellington, however, it’s well worth the stop.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Ray and Raewyn Boulton own of Second Impressions Clothing Barn and love helping people find affordable clothing.
“I love this place, we talked about the city, but with the competition and everything that you’ve got to deal with, and on a personal level situated right here is needed, the community needs affordable items,” Raewyn said.
“I call it the best secondhand store in New Zealand, but I’m a bit biased.”
They have three clothing bins in New Plymouth they collect from and don’t accept off-the-street donations.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
The pair are also passionate recyclers.
In a cost of living crisis they want to help make clothing affordable for families.
Their motto isn’t about getting rich, it’s about supplying people’s needs and recycling as many products as they can.
“I kind of do this whole I’m so bad at maths. I love being bad at maths. So if something says $50, to me, it’s $30.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Whatever the price listed, there’s a good chance Raewyn will give you a discount claiming she’s ‘bad at maths’.
“Watching a mum walking out with a big bag of clothes that she’s only paid $20 for knowing everybody’s got something is what it’s about.”
Since advertising on Facebook and posting the store on buy and sell pages in different towns she’s noticed a lot more people stopping in on their way through, especially from Whanganui and Wellington.
Across the road at El Smoove, Sharon Stewart gets a lot of out of towners popping in, too.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Sharon Stewart from El Smoove specialises in one-off pieces and reworked vintage.
She says many walk in and can’t believe a store like hers exists in Eltham.
Stewart imports all the stock from America and specialises in one-of-a-kind pieces and reworked vintage.
Walking in you need to stop and take a moment to absorb it all before diving in and looking around.
There’s patch-work corduroy jeans, NBA jerseys, vintage sunglasses and bright-coloured fur jackets.
Originally from Taranaki, Stewart moved back from the Gold Coast six years ago and opened the business.
“I love what we’ve created. No two things are the same.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
The store is full to the brim with colourful, fun clothing and accessories.
“It’s a really cool town, it has a lot to offer, and the people are fun.”
Some of those fun people with a lot to offer are Barbara Valintine and Mark Bellringer around the corner on Bridge St.
The couple own The Bank, an eclectic design store, which sits in front of their five-bedroom, two-storey home and French courtyard garden.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Mark Bellringer and Barbara Valintine own The Bank in Eltham and have spent the last 16 years renovating it.
They moved to Eltham from New Plymouth 16 years ago because Valintine fell in love with the building.
The former bank building was housing a mechanics workshop at the time and was filled with car parts when she viewed it, but she saw the potential and over time the couple have gone all out with renovations.
The shop features furniture, art, home decor and garden wares with a spiral staircase up to the couple’s personal champagne room.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Their eclectic design store sits at the front and their 5 bedroom two-storey home sits at the back.
A taxidermy deer, in the festive spirit with decorations around its neck, sits above the door leading back to their home with a full-sized stuffed peacock looking on from the opposite wall.
“Our friends were so surprised when we moved here and told us we’d be so isolated,” Valintine said.
“But we’re not, particularly over the last five or six years, heaps of people from overseas have come into the region, we’ve got everything we need in Eltham.”
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
The pair fell in love with the building and moved to Eltham from New Plymouth 16 years ago.
The couple say they sell their stock all over New Zealand, especially because of the highway and people stopping in on their travels.
“On weekends we get locals, but we’re not really designed to be a locals store,” Bellringer said.
“There’s hardly anything left like this in New Zealand.”
[ad_2]
Source link