A long time love of all things New Zealand, jewellery and fashion inspired The Paua Room to be created in 2001.
“I was inspired by my mother Ann Hineaupaki Macfarlane (Te Arawa), to start my own boutique and help women feel good about themselves through fashion and clothing, Mum had a shop for 33 years and kept many of her customers for most of that time! I started out in her shop from the age of three! I learnt a lot from my beautiful mother about fashion, but mostly that all women want to look good, this doesn’t mean following the flock and picking up every trend that comes along, but finding your own style and what is suitable for your body shape, for this reason I stock unique, quality brands and labels that you can fall in love with and wear over and over again.
As art and home are also passions, I added gifts, art and homeware to the selection available at The Paua Room. I have trained in jewellery making and textile design and am a bit of a magpie with an eye for beauty!
Mostly I wanted to support New Zealand designers and artist , so most of the art works and gifts are from New Zealand. I also celebrate my heritage and our beautiful natural environment through the selection, as I feel many people want to keep it local too. This has several benefits- the buyer gets a beautiful piece to own or gift, and our local economy gets a boost! If you are visiting New Zealand or just love our kiwi style, you will also love the selection at The Paua Room.
The Paua Room is presently a family business and you will find me or one of my children working here, so Kia ora , please come and say hello soon!”
-Linsey
More About The Paua Room -
I have always been drawn to the wild west coast beaches of Auckland, so set up The Paua Room in 2001 in north west Auckland township of Helensville. A quirky historic town on the banks of the Kaipara River, not far from the west coast beaches I love.
Helensville is a short 35 minute commute from down town Auckland – and yet a world away. With wonderful cafes, a winding, moody river and many historic homes and buildings, this little village reminds us how New Zealand towns used to feel, but with all the conveniences of modern life – and now a special place to indulge in a little retail therapy – especially for those who love beautiful things!
Our retail experience includes good old- fashioned service if you need it, or a chance to browse and select on your own in our spacious and beautiful new store.
Those pieces that do not come from New Zealand are selected from ethical and sustainable producers around the world to add variety and a great selection to our customers.
Our gift selection is exciting, fresh and different.
We stock fresh, vibrant and exciting pieces by New Zealand Made companies and individuals that reflect our stunning natural surroundings. We have NZ skincare, jewellery, tee shirts and more which make excellent gifts.
Jewellery is one of our specialties, again an eclectic range of both New Zealand made and imported special pieces, mostly in sterling silver, or funky fashion pieces from resin, metal or fabric. There is something for every taste in our jewellery ranges. We select from independent jewellers which gives us freedom to bring you new pieces often, and at a reasonable price.
Accessories of course make the outfit or can be an impressive gift. We have selected beautiful scarves, belts, bags, hats, gloves and mitz (merino fingerless gloves) for you to choose from. We believe that colour is vital for health and happiness in life – our ranges include many different colours – not just black!
Skincare is also one of life’s vital luxuries, so we stock Kiokio and Pacifica Skincare ranges which are 100% NZ Made. These ranges are luxurious, beautifully scented and therapeutic. Kiokio uses only natural New Zealand ingredients many of which cannot be found in other products. They make great gifts or personal treats – your skin, or someone else’s, will love you for it! As someone who has suffered from sensitive skin and eczema, I take skincare seriously, but don’t want to miss out on all the ‘yummy stuff’ like soft gorgeous fragrance, so have tried these ranges and found them excellent for anyone who wants to still have the ‘yummy stuff’ and look after themselves at the same time!
I always look for dynamic and new art and currently have some amazing art works in store by Trudi King, Wendy Fraser, Melinda Macdonald, Shann Whittaker, Kim Devich, Jo Luping, Bob Steiner and more. A fantastic selection of New Zealand Art cards can also be found.
We are happy to gift wrap for you, we also have Gift Vouchers available for purchase – for when it’s just too hard to choose!
We look forward to serving you soon at The Paua Room.
