Creative Common Occupation

As much as I love the idea of supporting small, independent fashion designers, I often find the garments unwearable.  They're more like pieces of abstract art then something I could actually figure out how to put on.  So yesterday when we plodded up the stairs to check out the Creative Common Occupation pop up shop I was blown away by the collections.  They were beautiful!  They were so simple and yet unique in their design, and best of all I could see myself wearing almost every piece (unfortunately my bank account was less cooperative otherwise I would have come tripping back down the stairs with a whole new wardrobe).
I've got to say though, I really fell hard for My Deer Fox's diamond bags (Ooo they're like origami) and Jyoti Kalyanji's seamless knitted homeware.  
Anyway listen to me prattle on!  I just wanted to tell you to go and check them out.  Their opening party is TONIGHT and they're only sticking around for a couple of days so don't dawdle. 
Creative Common Occupation
4 Cross St (behind Krd)
Opening party 7 - 9pm
More info here

Shop local: Thick as Thieves

My bag is my most prized possession (you know, after my daughter, my camera and my wedding ring).  It has been with me for nearly 10 years now.  It has had zips replaced, seams restitched and is at least a few shades darker than when I bought it.  We've traveled half way around the world together, had some crazy adventures, met some wild folk. So when Thick as Thieves say that a good bag is like an old friend I get it, I really do.  I only discovered this amazing New Zealand label recently and am just in love with their handmade leather satchels. Stunning right?!  So go on, go and find your bag for life!

Thick as Thieves

Knee deep in inspiration

 Beam and anchor

Imogene and Willie

Penny Weight

Remember back when you knew who was making what you were buying?  When hard working people could make a living from producing quality items that lasted a life time?  When you really thought about what you needed, bought it once and bought it right?

No??

Yeah me either.  It's practically a foreign concept to our generation.  We buy on impulse, we buy crap, crap breaks two days later, we throw crap in the rubbish, crap ends up in the crap heap.  We shrug, didn't cost much anyway, we head to the next dollar store, buy the same crap in a different colour... the cycle continues!

I've been so guilty of this, so addicted to the 'want' for crap, so used to impulse shopping.  

But lately I have really been opening my eyes to this amazing sub-culture that is fighting its way through the chain store pandemic. Young people who are learning old crafts, using local sustainable materials, spending painstaking hours perfecting each individual piece they make.  And the result is something beautiful.

Anyway it would be fair to say that it has had a profound effect on the way that I think about... well almost everything really!  It's a bit of a learning curve for sure.  It's not easy to switch your brain from 'oh my god that's so cheap and I have to have it right now', to 'I really need this and wow okay it has a bigger price tag but that's okay because I'll be using it for the next 20 years'.  But I'm trying, we're trying.  

The reason I really bring this up is that there are changes coming to Dashfield Vintage, and they heavily reflect this new (to me) way of thinking..  So just a heads up :).

Cultural fix

A lot of people don't know this but I'm half Eritrean. 
You're half WHAT??
Half Eritrean.
What's that?
It's a country.
Never heard of it.
You're not alone, most people haven't.  It's a tiny little country, in case you were wondering.  It's nestled in along the coastline of the Red Sea in Africa.  I'm sad to say that I've never been there before and know very little about the culture, but there are two things I am very well acquainted with... the food and the coffee!  Ask me what the one food is that I could happily eat for the rest of my life and I will tell you injera.  Glorious, delicious injera.  And then I'll wash it down with a little cup of your best Eritrean coffee. 
Injera is this sour sort of yeasty pancake that gets piled up with spicy sauces, vegetables and salad.  Then you use the pancake to scoop this irresistible mountain of goodness up and shovel it into your mouth.  Mmm and then you savour every last bite!  I am yet to come across somebody who isn't utterly in love with injera from the very first taste. 
Then comes the coffee.  Oh my, it's like no other coffee you've tasted.  It's coffee the way it was always intended to be brewed!  Fresh green beans are roasted in a little pan over red hot coals, then ground in a mortar and pestle before being boiled in a long necked vessel.  The end is stuffed with horse hair to filter out the grinds when the coffee is poured into tiny cups piled high with sugar.  All the while a chai smelling incense is burning away on coals beside you filling the air with a smell that makes you forget you're sitting in a West Auckland sports field. Traditionally you drink three cups in a row, but if your caffeine tolerance isn't up to scratch you're probably jittering after the second hit.
So you see every year we wait for the International Cultural Festival like it's Christmas.  We head straight for the Eritrean tent, say our hello's and take our place in the semi circle around the coffee lady.  And we don't budge for the next few hours!
xx

Mimosa

There aren't many good cafes over this side of the bridge.  In fact if I'm perfectly honest I can only think of a couple, and Mimosa* is at the top of my list.  It's one of those places that just make you feel at home, or at least the kind of home I wish I had!  It's a little vintage, a little rustic, it has local influences and is just the right kind of quirky.  We come here when country life is getting the better of us and we're craving a bit of cafe loitering and people watching.  We hang out by the window sipping our coffee's and devouring our sushi rolls (well that would mainly be Ayana, she rates their sushi pretty highly).  You see this cafe has a little twist, it's run by the sweetest Japanese woman and therefore the food has a delicious Japanese influence.  Everything also happens to be organic and fair trade which is something I'm finding increasingly important. So if you ever find yourself stranded on the North Shore and would rather pretend you were somewhere more exciting then this cafe serves as a great refuge.
Must try: A Japanese breakfast (which I haven't actually tried yet but am dying to!)
Parking: Plenty of 30 minute parking on the street outside, 120 minute prepay parking on the side streets or if you're sneaky you could park at the mall for free.
Highchair: No proper high chair but a cute retro kids stool for the slightly older ones.
Vegan/ Gluten free/ Vegetarian friendly: You betcha!
* Psst, Mimosa isn't just the name of a prissy cocktail, in Japanese it means Silk Tree.

Address: 460 Lake Rd, Takapuna
Website

Downtown

It's days like this that leave me wishing we lived in town again.  I miss the huge variety of different people (the North Shore isn't exactly known for its diversity), I miss the cafes and I miss just being able to walk down to the local shops.  Country life is great too of course and has many, many benefits but occasionally the grass (or concrete I suppose) looks a little more inviting on the other side.  Anyway although we had a lovely afternoon of exploring downtown Auckland, the real aim of our mission was to check out the Vintage Fashion museum exhibition.  What a fantastic and altogether unique location for such an event!  These gigantic, eery old Silo's make such a great exhibition space, although probably less appealing to those with claustrophobia.  As for the clothes themselves, hmmm they didn't particularly blow my socks off.  I mean yes, there were some beauties in the mix, particularly the blue 50s  El Jay frock, but on the whole it was a little sparse.  From what I understand a number of garments where being photographed at the time we were there so perhaps that's why there were so many naked mannequins. I'm glad we went of course, especially because I think it's important to support these events so that they can grow and educate more of the public, but it wasn't quite what I had hoped.  All in all we had a great day though, so no regrets there!

 

KOKAKO: historic post office turned cafe

For years this old building on the corner of Williamson Ave in Grey Lynn stood casting a gloomy shadow over the shops.  It housed Auckland's most depressing post office. Outside it the local glue sniffers, meth heads and crazies huddled together on the park bench across the road screaming the odd obscenity at unlucky passerby's.  If only somebody would make use of that building and it's hidden deco charm, I often thought.  Then one day I heard a rumor, psst there's a new cafe in town!  They're roasting their own coffee, are quietly vegetarian  and proudly fair trade.  Going into town has become a bit of a luxury since we moved out to the country, but this one seemed worth making a trip for.  The transformation was amazing!  The space was light and bright, the staff (many old hospo comrades) were easy going and friendly, the food was unique and delicious, and when you really ran out of conversation you could let your gaze fix on the coffee roasters to the right.  Anyway it's safe to say we came back, and then again... and now it's our number one spot for a coffee fix in town.
Must try: The cold drip coffee!
Parking: Any side street is best (main street parking times have been reduced to 30 and 10 mins)
High chairs: Yup
Vegan/ Gluten free/ Vegetarian friendly:   Sure are
Kokako