In the winter of 2024, my partner and I took a leap of faith and moved from Australia to New Zealand. We had been talking about it for years at that point, and when a job opportunity came around, we knew it was time to take the plunge.

As my partner settled into his new role, I found myself pondering what I could do next. There were a few enticing ideas... joining a culinary school, finding a small bookshop with a passion for stationery and, something that I still haven't ruled out, buying a farm and transforming it into an 18th-century smallholding. But I ultimately decided to pursue another long-held dream - opening a haberdashery store.

My grandmother was a talented seamstress who worked for a clothing company and created costumes for the theatre in her own time. Her studio was a converted maid's room next to the kitchen. It was a tiny treasure trove filled with sewing machines, a mirror so large that it took up a quarter of the little room, and a cabinet bursting at the seams with sewing supplies. The room was a testament to her creativity and resourcefulness, with carefully collected tins of buttons, folded fabrics, and stacks of Burda magazines she managed to acquire during the USSR's scarcity.

Combining my love of crafts and history seemed like the perfect way to start this new venture. And so, the idea for Little Haberdashery Shoppe was born. I decided to start small, with a curated range of sewing patterns. However, as the name entices there are many things in the works. So it's best to stay tuned for things to come...

My hope is that the shop will inspire you to make a beautiful garment that you will treasure for years to come. That people will learn what goes into making a garment and the traditional skill that is needed. That sewing without a thought behind it and cutting corners at every turn is just as bad as fast fashion which you might be trying to escape. And lastly, and most importantly, that we can create something together, because listening to you, the maker, is important.