On an O/E many moons ago, I remember sitting in a cafe in Ithaca, Greece and ordering a range of fresh salads. A humus salad was presented as a plate of humus drenched in olive oil, followed by a tomato salad : tomatoes lost in a sea of olive oil and a green salad: yep you guessed it, lettuce drowning in olive oil also. A far cry from the classic Greek salad we are used to, or so I thought at the time.
Read MoreCelebrating our very own Matariki this week, we thought it the perfect time showcase some of our wonderful local artisan Northland made gift box suppliers & share their artistic & original Northland flare.
Read MoreTucked away in a private 1.5 hectare oasis, near Piroa Falls in Waipu, is our very own local Roastery, Air Coffee.
Meet Walter, specialty coffee Roaster and Taster at Air Coffee and supplier of our increasingly popular Mocha gift boxes. In a Mud brick house surrounded by luscious Manuka and Nikau , Walter makes us a “pour over” coffee while we sit down for a chin wag.
Read MoreWe all know that feeling when you jump out of the shower and go to apply your morning skin routine to find you are out of moisturiser! You instantly swear to get more organised and stock up before hand next time.
I must confess this happens to me ALL the time, and is what prompted a very overdue meet and greet with one of our local gift box suppliers, Lara and Dan of Matakana Skincare.
Read MorePossibly not a topic we really think much about in our daily wash routine, but for soap maker Alicja of SANOlifestyle, it’s actually both. On a steamy hot January day at a cafe in Whangarei, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Alicja (Ala) who had some very interesting stories about how soap is actually made.
Read MoreOur search for more locally handmade gems to add to our NZ made gift boxes continues….. after a visit to the Quarry Arts Centre in Whangarei, we discovered, hidden away in her own Northland tropical oasis, ceramics Artist and Potter, Marilyn Krey.
Read MoreHave you ever met that person who is such a perfectionist, that even after hours, days or weeks of work, if what they are doing is not quite good enough, it gets binned and they start over?
Local Waipu Fashion designer, Tracey Ann is that person. Her passion for design started as a child. “ I drove Mum mad” Tracey says. A very active child, she would be always creating things from scratch but if she didn’t like the end product she would start all over again.
Read MoreRemember the excitement as a child, of ripping open presents Christmas day? And, if there were siblings and cousins around, it all turning into a kind of feral ritual, the result being torn wrapping paper and envelopes strewn all over the living room floor!
Now, all grown up, we do things a little bit differently…….
Read MoreFinding a premium handmade chocolate to add to our NZ gift box range, proved more time consuming than first thought, until we came across Chocolate Brown. We all know the Swiss are master’s in the art of chocolate making, and Chocolate Brown is no different.
Read MoreWhen it comes to stunning scenery, views, and East Coast beaches, we are spoilt for choice in beautiful Northland. So discovering an equally outstanding and affordable luxury apartment that is Marina Cove in Opua, was the icing on the cake on a recent visit to the Bay of Islands.
Read MoreTucked away in a stunning seaside location in Parua Bay, Northland is the home of Taihoa Tides Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We all know olive oil is good for you, and Taihoa Tides tastes great! On our search for a high quality Northland olive oil for our NZ Gift box range, we were lucky enough to spend a few hours with owner Denise, who gave us a tour of their beautiful orchard and treated us to a tasting of their varieties of Taihoa olive oil.
Read MoreHow do you have yours? Crunchy or smooth? With butter or without? Hot or cold? However you have your toast, you will be doing yourself a disservice if you weren’t applying lashings of your favourite Fix & Fogg Peanut Butter. The F&F journey started five years ago - two lawyers were making and selling peanut butter in local markets around Wellington until they decided to chuck in corporate life and dedicated themselves to ‘nut’ life.
Read MoreWho doesn’t like Chocolate and coffee? Or even better, Chocolate coated coffee beans! Imagine our delight when we searched for a chocolate maker for our NZ Gift box range and found The Chocolate barn located in our own town Waipu. And, if coffee isn’t for you how does macadamia or goji berries coated in milk or dark chocolate sound?
Read MoreIt’s no coincidence that a girl from the Naki who started a gift box business happens to stock some of the West Coast Cocoa product range. For one, my love of chocolate is ‘infamous’ and those who know me well will remember a time i went without chocolate chews (from the supermarket pick n mix years back) for about 4 years straight - it was such a big deal as I went cold turkey and actually never looked back…how silly was i?
Read MoreSamantha from Sea and Clay and I have a lot in common. Our love of Netflix, our love/hate relationship with computer work and the fact we both admire Chelsea Handler’s attitude when it comes to not caring what people think about her. To KEEP GOING is the biggest lesson Sam has learnt from being in business and wouldn’t you know it, I also agree.
Read MoreWho doesn’t love a good High Tea? I’ve enjoyed my fair share of them over the years but I’ve never actually brewed a loose leaf tea before. I’m an EB (English Breakfast) lover from way back, just your average ‘Choysa, round tea bag’ kinda gal…I know, how refined of me! I don’t feel very regal when I make or drink it, in fact the only aspect of my tea drinking (thus far in my career) that meets any sort of ‘englishness’ is that I acquired my love of the cuppa in London back in 2003.
Read MoreJess and Jason are the couple (professionally and personally) behind the ‘Buy one, Give one’ business that is FRANK Stationery. Their story, beliefs and WHY is so inspirational and they are making an incredible difference on the lives of kids in our community…their product range is gorgeous and we love to support, in our own small way, enterprises with real purpose.
Read MoreAnyone else use their exercise time to get some clarity about a work project you might be working on? Well, Cheyney from Camille Co knows all about that and as she is busy juggling two businesses, hopefully her workouts are double the fun! Cheyney has been really open and honest in sharing her thoughts about her business and in life in general - striving to do better than yesterday is what keeps her going - I think that rings true for a lot of us.
Read MoreWhen researching and curating all the amazing products that go into our gift box range it's essential that all the beauty/skin care products contain no nasties, use natural ingredients and made cruelty free...Handmade and Homemade is the epitome of these standards and expectations.
Read MoreThanks so much to Sharyn from JFriend & Co for sharing this YUM recipe with us - we wanted you to be able to take away an idea to recreate yourself if you purchase our Breakfast in Bed or The Dipper gift boxes - both contain JFriends Blackcurrant Honey - this is super easy to make, perfect as a dessert or brunch menu item if trying to impress!
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