Keeping It Kiwi
There was a time when we Kiwis suffered from cultural cringe – but not any more. These days it’s not only fashionable to have Kiwiana in your home, it can be downright profitable, too!
Source: Designsponge
The décor in this 1950s bungalow belonging to Kate Alexander and Matt Kardos says “Proud to be a Kiwi.” Even the black-and-white motifs on the cushions seem appropriate.
Source: Te Papa Collections
This is a cup and saucer made for the New Zealand Government Railways Department in the 1940s by Crown Lynn Potteries, as if you didn’t know. One of these without a saucer and with “a strange thing going on with glaze above N.Z.R. logo” just sold on TradeMe for a couple of hundred dollars.
Source: Urbis Magazine
Since Crown Lynn closed its factory doors in 1989, even its utilitarian crockery has stopped being an embarrassment and become a collectors’ item. And if you’ve got one of these Crown Swans that your granny left you stored in your basement, it could be worth in excess of $500.
Source: mamasstyle.com
Kiwiana, typified by icons such as the buzzy bee and Mr Four Square, has been described by the Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand as “quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood”. This chocolate fish keyring and jelly jetplane are pretty quirky, and if you’re thinking they look good enough to eat, so did we. But we wouldn’t recommend it because these pieces are actually made from resin, available from the Kelly Vize Felt store.
Source: T Double L Designer Décor
New Zealand designer Tina Lumsden’s first collection was inspired by the sense of emotion the Toitoi instils in all of us.
Source: crystalashley.co.nz
Sometimes just a wall hanging like this one from Crystal Ashley can be all it takes to add that sense of Kiwi-ness to a room.
Source: sarahcdesign.co.nz
Kiwi art doesn’t have to be confined to the indoors, either, as these panels from Sarah C Design show.
Source: limitedvintage.co.nz
Now we’re talking – this dyed woollen rug, rattan settee and pillows from Limited Vintage are just sooo Kiwi retro.
Source: redbarnart.co.nz
If you mis-spent your youth as I did in milkbars and takeaway joints, you’ll totally relate to the art of Matt Guild whose photorealistic depictions of a lost era in New Zealand’s history are available from Red Barn Art.
If you’re looking for a truly Kiwi or retro remodel, look no further than Fix It Renovations – 100% New Zealand owned and proud to be Kiwis.
Source: redbarnart.co.nz
Another iconic work of art from Matt Guild, this piece recalls an age when no self-respecting New Zealand garage was complete without a Zephyr.
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