A collage of four film photos showing shopkeepers standing behind the counters of their shops

Wellington shopkeepers (All photos by Hamish Thompson)

SocietyApril 27, 2024

Behind the counter: Wellington shopkeepers

Guest writer

Wellington shopkeepers (All photos by Hamish Thompson)

A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services.

Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end of year submission. I don’t remember how or why I chose the topic, but the idea of having photos of shopkeepers, being their own boss surrounded by their wares, appealed to me.

After a gap of 47 years I decided to continue the series – this time in Wellington – using the same camera and the same type of black and white film.

In nine months I photographed, using a “snapshot style”, the 30 shopkeepers who feature in this exhibition. They represent a variety of small shops that have caught my eye on the streets of Wellington.

This series of photos celebrates the personalities of the owners and their shops and illustrates how they contribute to the unique character of Wellington. Some have been family-run businesses since the 1920s. They include book stores, barber shops and florists, as well as stores specialising in fabrics, hats and ice cream.

These local businesses create a sense of place and community identity. They also provide personal customer service and a welcome alternative to chain stores and online retailers.

A black and white film photo of an older man wearing a suit and standing in his suit shop — Robert Vance – Vance Vivian, Wellington Central

Menswear store Vance Vivian, founded in 1924 by George Vance and Harold Vivian, is today a third-generation, family-owned-and operated business on Lambton Quay.Robert Vance started working in the shop at the age of 10, making suit boxes in his school holidays. He and his brother Hamish took over the business 40 years ago after buying it from their father. They are hands-on owners, working in the store alongside their staff. Robert has seen many changes over the years, noting that, “there are very few independent businesses left in Wellington, especially in the clothing business”.

Black and white film photo of two men standing behind the counter of their shoe repair shop — Vijay and Esvar Parbhu – Dixon Street Shoe & Bag Repairs, Te Aro

Esvar Parbhu started an apprenticeship in 1953 with his father, who established a shoe and bag repair shop in Upper Cuba Street in 1929. Today Esvar works with his son Vijay in their Dixon Street shop, where they have maintained a loyal customer base, despite the many changes in their trade. When Esvar began work. all the shoes and bags were made of leather and everything was hand-sewn or nailed. Over the years he has seen a trend to more casual footwear made from synthetic materials. As Vijay says, “We’ve adapted and understand this is now the future of footwear, though we’re always pleased to see brogue shoes or a welt stitched sole!”

A woman stands in her fruit and vege shop, with goods behind her — Sandra Lai – Eastbourne Fruit Supply, Eastbourne

Sandra Lai started out in the Eastbourne Fruit Supply as an after-school helper. Founded by her parents Jack and Jenny Lai in 1953, the shop is Eastbourne’s longest-running business, now managed by three of their children – Tom, Richard and Sandra. The family’s longstanding service to their community has included employing generations of local teenagers, providing many with their first jobs. Sandra considers herself lucky to be in Eastbourne working with her brothers, commenting that, “we couldn’t do it without each other”.

Black and white photo of a woman standing at the counter of her leather bag store with bags around her — Jessie Wong – Yu Mei Lounge, Te Aro

Jessie Wong founded her luxury leather goods business in 2015, when she couldn’t find a design-conscious bag that fitted everything she needed for a day. Nine years later, Yu Mei has more than 37 stockists, including internationally renowned fashion destinations Farfetch, Bergdorf Goodman and Harrolds. The Yu Mei Wellington Lounge opened in 2019 with a large Giotto marble island as the centrepiece, creating a communal space where people can sit, have a drink or a chat and learn more about the brand. Jessie says, “Many bags have been designed out of conversations in the Lounge, and it serves as a place of collaboration, not just transaction.”

A baker stands behind her pastries in her bakery — Grainne Kerr – Baker Gramercy, Berhampore

Pastry chef Grainne Kerr is the general manager of Berhamphore’s Baker Gramercy, founded by James Whyte in 2014.
Grainne describes the small community business as “a French artisan bakery. We try to keep to the classics – nice and elegant with beautiful flavours. Indulgent.” What she most enjoys about her job is the three-day process of making croissants, her favourite pastries. “They are the hardest to learn and make; such a classic, elegant pastry with a huge amount of complexity behind it. Very rewarding to make and eat of course!”

A man stands in his bicycle shop surrounded by bikes — Dan Mikkelsen – Bicycle Junction, Te Aro

Dan Mikkelsen has ridden bikes since childhood, including as a bike messenger in Auckland, San Francisco, Montreal and Copenhagen, where he trained as a chef. His passion for bikes and coffee and his vision to grow an ethical business led to Bicycle Junction, a specialist “bikery”, selling and fixing bikes, running workshops and events, and providing an in-store café. “The thing that gives us most joy in the shop is watching parents go by on bikes with two or three kids on the back. It feels like you’re really making a bit of a change, because undoubtedly that’s a car that’s coming off the road. We sell all types of bikes, but those are the most rewarding for me.”

A hairdresser stands in her salon in a black and white photo — Gale Walker – Just Teasing Hairdressing, Te Aro

Gale Walker opened Just Teasing Hairdressing on Cuba Street in 1994 and is still loving what she does. “I enjoy the connection with people and the people we work with. We have really long relationships – some of our clients have been coming for over 30 years.’ Today, Gale’s Willis Street salon has a very distinctive and colourful style, with many artworks by friends. She appreciates what others have brought to her business. “That’s the thing about salons, they actually belong to everyone – everyone has input. It’s like this because of all the people who come here and their energy. Visually it’s what I like but it also has input from others.”

A black and white photo of a man behind the counter at his fish and chip shop with menu above and behind him — Tim Sheng – Alicetown Seafoods, Alicetown

Tim and Olivia Sheng bought Alicetown Seafoods in 2016, soon after arriving in New Zealand from Hubei, China. They had never worked in this type of business before (Tim was an engineer in China) but chose to buy a fish and chip shop as it was easy to learn the cooking process (“You only have two deep fryers!”). Olivia says, “The best thing about the business is we enjoy people – we really enjoy talking with our customers.” Tim had no English when they arrived, “But now he can talk with our regular customers. They talk about the weather or the food or something – so it’s kind of like talking with family.”

A man with an impressive beard in his hat shop with hats lining the wall behind him — Simon Smuts-Kennedy – Hills Hats, Petone

Hills Hats’ story began in 1875 when Englishman Chas Hill opened Hill and Sons, Men’s Hatters on Wellington’s Lambton Quay. Almost 150 years later Simon Smuts-Kennedy runs the business from a factory and shop in Petone, following in the footsteps of his father Pieter. Customers include the New Zealand Police and New Zealand Defence Force, along with musicians and others who enjoy wearing hats. Simon believes that a hat can “add to a person’s personality and give them a lift”.

A man stands in his household cleaning store, with various scrubbing brushes hanging from the ceiling above him — Mark Ussher – Good House Keeping, Te Aro

Mark Ussher opened eco/DIY store Good House Keeping in Cuba Street in March 2018, selling well-made goods and eco-friendly recyclable products. Mark’s idea for the store was to have “a mix of everything – hardware, tools, eco products – kind of like an old general store or hardware shop.” For Mark, Wellington’s Cuba Street was the perfect location. “You have public servants, business people, cruise-ship tourists, alternative life-stylers, students, rich, poor, punks, hipsters – everything. Cuba Street’s the one place you can see it all.”

‘Behind the counter: Wellington shopkeepers’ is showing at Thistle Hall Gallery on Cuba Street from April 22-28.

Keep going!

a grey haired asian woman bends over a backpack she is stitching on a table with sewing machines on it

At the Repair Cafe, broken things can be mended (Image: Shanti Mathias)

SocietyApril 26, 2024

An afternoon at the Repair Café, where everyday objects get a second life

Shanti Mathias

Contributing writer

At the Repair Cafe, broken things can be mended (Image: Shanti Mathias)

Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that.

It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In their arms are objects big and small: a Soda Stream machine, a bag full of clothing, a heater, a pair of garden secateurs.

This is a Repair Café, an international movement where volunteers with some kind of fixing expertise get together to provide their services to the community for free. Started in 2009 in the Netherlands, the first Repair Café in New Zealand was in Lyttelton in 2013. Since then, the organisation has grown to operate nationwide, with regular check-ins between different organisers to share ideas, resources and support.

“There are so many products that are made to only last a short period of time; a plastic knob snaps in a kettle, and then the whole thing no longer works,” says Brigitte Sistig, Repair Café Aotearoa’s co-founder. “So many things have been designed to be hard to repair.”

The goal of a Repair Café event is to help identify what can be fixed and teach people how products are designed so they can purchase things that will last longer. While experienced repairers do a lot of the work, key to the process is conversations had with each other to understand what’s gone wrong.

After visitors check in, getting a slip of paper with some details of their repair and what’s needed, they head to different stations. Outside, bikes can get fixed at Tumeke Cycle Space, or woodwork can be repaired at The Shed. Upstairs at Gribblehirst Hub, a shared community space, people can head to a table for sewing and darning, fixing electronics, sharpening knives and tools, and mechanical fixes, requiring glue, drills, screws or nails.

“So many things are built to break – we have entire industries that thrive on the fact that your heater will only work for five years, then you’ll need a new one,” says Jai Singh, the Gribblehirst Hub co-ordinator who is helping to run the Repair Café.

a brown skinned man in a black hoodie smiling in front of an orange sign — Jai Singh, community repair advocate (Image: Shanti Mathias)

Sidrah is eyeing up the arrangements of tiny allen keys and screwdrivers on the table, putting the awkward bundle of her heater down on the floor while she waits her turn. Its switch has been broken since last winter. “I trained as an electrical engineer, so I know how to fix it, but I just don’t have the tools,” she says. Her overseas qualification isn’t accepted in New Zealand so she hasn’t been working as an engineer – she only heard about the Café through a Facebook ad. She didn’t know that there would be sewing machines available for fixing, and she’s thinking about items of clothing she could bring to fix next time.

What makes it so hard to fix things in New Zealand? As Sidrah found, needing specialised tools is definitely a limiting factor. The Repair Café is able to use their connections to amass the overlockers and sewing machines, drills and awls, whetstones and shoe glue that is required to fix dozens of objects, but almost no-one could have all of this at home. In a culture where it’s perceived as necessary to own a lot of stuff, then it’s inevitable that a lot of that stuff will break down and need repairing.

Marama Davidson, Green Party co-leader, knows the satisfaction of being able to fix things, too. “I’ve had a set of drawers for more than 30 years, they’re in my bedroom today,” she says. “I’ve replaced runners, handles and knobs – it could have gone to landfill decades ago but I’ve kept repairing it.” Not everything is this easy to fix: she notes that mass manufacturing means that items are often glued together, or made out of formed plastic that can’t be repaired once it snaps.

a brown skinned woman in a maroon shirt with a lapel collar and the grey green ocean in the background — Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, who knows well the frustration of not being able to repair something you’d like to use (Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

“We need it to be easier to replace product parts,” Davidson says. She’s sponsoring a Right to Repair members bill that would update the Consumer Guarantees Act, due to go through parliament soon. It would mandate manufacturers to provide information, software and spare parts for the objects they produce, and give consumers a right to redress if the goods they buy don’t have reasonably available provisions for repair. Repair Café Aotearoa, WasteMINZ and Consumer NZ have long been supportive of a right to repair legislation.

Right to repair laws have been enacted around the world, most notably in the EU: manufacturers are prohibited from creating software or hardware barriers to repair (like preventing the use of 3D printed parts or putting new software on an older device), as well as extended guarantees after an item has been repaired and mandating that information and costs of repairs are easily publicised. US states and the UK also have provisions for repair in their laws. “We’re behind, the rest of the world is pushing for more sustainable consumption,” Davidson says.

Will the law pass? That’s less clear; while in government, Labour ministers Rachel Brooking and David Parker expressed interest in a right to repair law, so they might support one now. Farmers in the US have pushed for a right to repair, specifically regarding agricultural machinery, which New Zealand farmers have also supported; this is an issue that can have broad political support.

two men, one crilling a new screw into a carbonating machine — Fixing a drink-carbonating machine at the Repair Café (Image: Shanti Mathias)

At the Repair Café, it’s easy to see how the possibility of fixing things is a “gateway”, as founder Brigitte Sistig puts it. “You come, and you can see how much repairing is possible – you learn how the object works, you learn about waste,” she says. It’s a shift in how to see objects, too, like Sidrah spotting a sewing machine and realising that fabric can be fixed. Wearing out and breaking down is inevitable if something is being used – but that doesn’t mean it has to go straight to the bin. As shoe soles are glued back on, secateurs sharpened, frayed backpack straps reattached, it’s possible to imagine the scene recreated dozens of times around the country, and around the world. Legislation could only make the repairing more easy.

After all, the current way we treat useful objects as disposable hasn’t been around forever. Margaret is 93 years old and has come over from the North Shore for the Repair Café with her daughter. They’re waiting to get their toaster fixed, the guts of the machine exposed on the table as a volunteer examines its glinting metal. “When I was growing up, things were supposed to last forever; I thought it was so wasteful if people chucked their stuff out. But now that’s all people do,” she says. She’s happy that services like this exist. “We need these skills in the community.”

Lai, a woman who describes herself as passionate about knitting and darning, is in the corner of the Repair Café, contemplating the possibilities of repair as she stitches a strap with careful fingers.“I love fixing things, I love knowing that something is mendable,” she says. “But I think that change ultimately needs to come from the top; it shouldn’t be something that you have to choose to come to on your Sunday afternoon, we should just have things that last.”