In our latest Designer Profile, we chat with Kendall Watt, young Auckland-based fashion designer and the owner of The Stockroom, who sell NZ-made fashion both online and in their Newmarket boutique…
In our latest Designer Profile, we chat with Kendall Watt, young Auckland-based fashion designer and the owner of The Stockroom, who sell NZ-made fashion both online at www.the-stockroom.co.nz and in their Newmarket boutique.
Tell us a little about yourself Kendall…
I grew up in Auckland and then went on to study Fashion Design at Massey University in Wellington. As all recent graduates know, it is tough to find a job when the number of graduates are seemingly much larger than the number of entry positions available.
To overcome this, I opened a little retail shop and stocked it with my own designs, and complemented them with accessories from other young designers and NZ brands.
Your boutique has been open just over 6 months now, how has it been?
Things are going really great. The clothing in The Stockroom is all designed by myself and made in NZ; however we have accessories from Australia, Sweden, and the Himalayan region (the source of the snuggest scarves I could find!) I also have other NZ designers such as Margot providing jewellery from Wellington, and Veronica B, with a small range of beautiful pony fur belts.
How have you found competing against cheap imports and online sales?
Without a doubt selling New Zealand-made products has its challenges, but I have found there is a good proportion of customers who make a dedicated effort to seek out and support NZ-made clothing.
It’s sad to hear brands such as Starfish going under largely due to online sales and cheap imports. Online is definitely where things are heading and I do all I can to embrace this. Growing our social presence and email database is important for keeping in touch and building a relationship with our customer base.
We incentivise direct customer interaction by regular giveaways of clothing and accessories. This week (24th May 2013) we have a Pony Fur themed prize pack, with a Status Anxiety wallet and Veronica B belt up for grabs. Thread readers can sign up to The Stockroom newsletter here and automatically be entered into the draw.
All the garments shown can be found in The Stockroom on the corner of Remuera Road and Broadway in Newmarket, or online 24/7. You can add them as a friend of The Stockroom on Facebook here!
24 May 2013
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