Holidays are a bit of a nightmare for Braden and Zahna, aged six and seven. Their dad, Mark Thomson, insists on stopping the car at obscure places every few kilometers in his endless quest for second-hand treasures.
“It has become obsessive…he calls it an illness!” says Melinda Kassim of her partner. Together they have opened Fuzzy – named after the ‘warm fuzzy’ you get looking at objects from bygone days – in an historic building in Carterton, and the shop is filled with the fruits of their travels.
Mark’s collecting mania started early: as a five year old growing up on the West Coast, he was known to push a wheelbarrow full of things he’d collected back home from the dump. He shipped several hundred kilos of shopping back during a recent OE.
The couple’s perfectionist streak can be seen in the smart renovation of the building, formerly The Old Mill, which they began just over a year ago - and the artful displays of vintage furniture, fabrics, dinnerware, glass and Kiwiana collectibles.
Sourced from throughout New Zealand, many items have enjoyed a revival and will appeal to discerning collectors. Crown Lynn aficionados will love the display of dinnerware on the custom-built mirrored shelving behind the counter. Clever lighting picks up the candy shades of fifties and sixties glassware.
“We didn’t realise what we’d bought to start with, and the amazing character of the building,” says Melinda, indicating the embossed ceiling and polished floors.
Melinda, who has a background in finance, always wanted to run her own business. She and Mark were running stalls at Martinborough Fair when the idea for a shop came up “spontaneously”. Finding the historic Carterton building with its double bay windows clinched the idea. The living areas behind the shop meant the family was able to move to Wairarapa. Mark continues his work (originally as a sound engineer in radio and now in the film industry), alongside Fuzzy.
And while the shop will now be on the radar for other people’s obsessive road-trips, the couple are cultivating their yen for NZ brands such as Lady Lichfield clothing, and 1950s fabrics: “I’ve definitely grown into it,” says Melinda.
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