School Report - My Trip To Auckland by Amy Gunson, age 36.

Before my trip to Auckland, I put a call out for creative places to go. Kellie and D were both quick to answer my call. Recommending the creme de la creme of Auckland's creative scene.

D suggested I visit Crafternoon Tea which is a monthly craft market in trendy Kingsland. My mum-in-law said "oh yes, that's trendy and young". Like a complete idiot, I forgot to say hi to D in person because I was too busy taking in the work of New Zealand's clever crowd. Hi D! Though a tad smaller than Australian markets, I found Crafternoon Tea to be a bit edgier than a typical Sydney craft show. I could see the artisans style each coming through the project. I dug that.

To follow it up, I took Kellie's advice and headed over to relaxing Devonport with my inlaws for coffee. Devonport has both a little fabric shop and a yarn store to keep you entertained. The intent was to spend time in the nice things shops, but the timing didn't work out and its tricky to shop with family in tow.

I've had to keep the pocketbook close for the impending trip to Japan, so I don't have much to show for my journeys. We did stumble upon Let's Go Retro in Swanson on our way to Bethel's Beach (the Xena Warrior Princess Dunes). I can't find a website for them, but Let's Go Retro is one of the best vintage and upcycled shops that I've ever visited. Around each corner was something beautiful that I wanted to take home. If we weren't flying carry-on only, I might have. This is a well-planned vintage shop. Each piece has a design aesthetic to it. It's tidy and been lovingly selected for the store. A definite must visit in the Auckland area if you're a fan of vintage and upcycled vintage products.

While there, I picked up a couple of New Zealand crafty magazines.


Atlhough now defunct in print, World Sweet World is clever kid's dream. With projects ranging for building stools to creating silver leaf jewellry, there really is something for everyone. In total 9 issues of WSW were produced and I was fortunate to pick up three back issues. I'm not a zine-head but, I'd love to find the rest of the collection. WSW is still going strong on their blog where they are posting tutorials from past zines. If you're a craft magazine collector, do scoop up back issues. Let's Go Retro has issues 6,8,9 available or you can order 4,8,9 from the World Sweet World site.

As one zine closes it's pages another springs into place. Extra Curricular is a new zine for creative people with a plethora of interviews, ideas and inspiration. These are produced in numbered limited print runs. Issue 1 had 500 copies. You can get one by calling Let's Go Retro. Issue 2 is available soon from Extra Curricular's BigCartel store.




Speaking of stumbling on stores, I fell into Renee's Red Vintage Quilts in Takapuna which is a little Korean owned shop with heaps of Lecien fabric. Again, carry-on limited me, so I picked up a simple half-meter of some Cats and Dogs Show.

My final little surprise in Auckland was the $3.00 Japan store which is a NZ variant of Daiso (100 yen). This is located downtown near Borders on Queen St. I went a little crazy here, so I've hidden most of my goods. Let's just say wooden spools, miniature paperclips, notepads, iron-ons, magnets and most things Japanese make me happy.

So if you're headed to Auckland, keep your eyes open. From what I could see those Kiwis are very clever folks. So many great treats along the way! As for my trip to Auckland, it was clever and good. I'd happily go back with a rental car to explore further a field!

Thank you kellie and d for your suggestions.