Three Bored Housewives make a crafty business!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m still in the small north Canterbury town of Culverden.

It’s located about one hour north of Christchurch the South Island of New Zealand’s largest city, on State Highway 7 that leads inland to the Lewis Pass.

It’s also on the way to the thermal village of Hanmer Springs.

Culverden has a population of between 400-500 and apart from being a stopping point for refreshments for motorists, earned most of it’s keep as a service center for the local rural community.

As outlined in yesterdays post,  http://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/new-post-86/ the Tea Rooms is a well known landmark and stopping point for people travelling to Hanmer.

Across the road from the Tea Rooms is a shop that is the initiative of three local ladies.

The “Three Bored Housewives”  is a co-operative gift and craft shop. (“Mockett’s” is the name from the building’s former life,  it used to be a motor mechanic garage)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s a brilliant example of a small community capitalising on the talent of local skills and materials and and I’m surprised and delighted when I enter to see that the shop is jam packed with a vast array of locally produced wares.

The shop name is also delightfully witty and although these housewives may have been bored when they founded the shop, by the looks of things now, surely they don’t have any time left to be bored these days?

The shop is a treasure trove of arts and crafts, and the variation of what’s on offer is rather unexpected considering the size of the town and surrounding community.

Let’s take a look around and see what catches our eye…

Items range from the cute,  to funny, whimsical, practical, functional, tasty, decorative, and useful,  so the biggest problem with this place seems to be a very good one…  where to start!?

If you are looking for a handcrafted gift  for someone then this kind of place might well turn up something different that is prefect. I like the fact that local materials are used in things like the wooden bowls,  that the soaps are handmade, the aprons home sewn…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

What a cool little business… I like cool businesses, don’t you?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Playground, an Icecream, a Loo and a Tea Room (not necessarily in that order)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If you are in Christchurch New Zealand and you want to visit Hanmer Springs and the Thermal pools, you have only one real option when it comes to the choice of  roads to get there.

Sure it is possible to get there via other tiny back roads but in truth, that would involve  driving the long way for hours longer than necessary.

The best and only practical option is to take the Main North Road out of Christchurch until you get to the Waipara turnoff and  then take State Highway 7 inland to Hanmer Springs.

This route on State highway 7  means after you have passed though the tiny town of Waiau, you will come to the bigger township called Culverden.

“Culverden” is a byword for generations of Canterbury families and their children and instantly several key words and phrases spring to mind ” Public Toilet stop” and ” Tea Rooms” ( if you are an adult) “icecream” and “playground” ( if you are a kid).

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If I were the gambling sort of person (I’m not) I”d be willing to lay money on the fact that  if you did a poll of Christchurch residents and asked them to tell you  the first things that sprang to mind when the word “Culverden” was mentioned, these these four words would be right at the top of the list.

So, a tiny town with a loo stop in a critical location… let’s go take a look at the sights of Culverden.

Noooo, I don’t mean we will look at  the loo, I’ll spare you that bit, I’m sure you know what a Public toilet block looks like !

I mean the Tea Rooms. Let’s take a look around.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

So once we’ve got our lunch and drinks,  we head out into the sunshine (well actually a picnic table in the shade) whilst the kids expend some energy in the Domain and Playground that’s almost next door…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)