Craft shop masters the arts

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 458, 20 October 1992, Page 9

Craft shop masters the arts

In seasonal towns businesses like craft shops usually rely on the influx of visitors to make their money. Not so with one Ohakune shop which has experienced great support from local customers. Virtuosity opened in premises on the corner of Goldfinch and Ayr Streets in Easter this year after much renovation by owners Sam Porter and Verona Smart. The shop was not a pretty sight when they

first moved in, so along with Sue who works part time, Verona and Sam sanded and polyurethaned the floors, painted and stencilled the walls and replaced the fire place to totally transform the premises. The shop has a huge range of crafty goods with everything from leather boots to hat boxes to gourmet vinegars. The name Virtuosity comes from the word

virtuoso, a person who has a masterly or dazzling skill or technique in any field of activity. Verona and Sam have been friends for years and had a small business making candles, under the name Virtuosity, in Raglan before coming to Ohakune. After finishing her comprehensive nursing training in Hamilton, Verona joined Sam, who had returned from travelling overseas

and was working in a hotel in Raglan, on a trip around the South Island. They came across some incredible and very inspirational craft shops. "They had this amazing atmosphere and the crafts were beautifully finished and all uniquely different," Sam said, "some of the crafts were really radical." Both women enjoy a challenge and thought that, yes, they could have their own craft business. Full of ideas and wanting to snowboard they settled on Ohakune. A lot of shops specialise in one or a few kinds of craft but Virtuosity has a taste of everything. They have extensive ranges of cosmically coloured candles and ceramics, one of the widest selections of jewellery in Ohakune and lots of chunky knit jerseys and funky patterned leggings. Both Sam and Verona's mothers supply the shop with dried flower arrangements, hand made cushions, teddy bears, padded hat boxes and baskets.