Craft creators open "Clowns" in Raetihi

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 262, 8 November 1988, Page 7

Craft creators open "Clowns" in Raetihi

Waimarino crafts people and those who enjoy crafts now have "Clowns" in Seddon Street, Raetihi as a place to sell their wares and to buy from.

Owners Garry Kristiansen and Rowena Chapman, and their son Sam are selling crafts from t h e Waimarino including much of their own work. Garry works with leather to create bags, belts vases, planters and plant hangers and with wood to make small furniture such as tables and shelves as well as wooden toys. Rowena creates with knitting, spinning and sewing, making soft toys, jerseys and clowns. "Sam just makes havoc," says Rowena. Other crafts people represented in the shop are potter Rea Watson from Taihape and two wood turners, one from Taihape and one from Hunterville and a windsock maker from Turangi. More pottery is due in the shop soon. They also have mounted photographs and paintings by local artists, imported cane ware and pot plants. "We would like to get into a small plant nursery, probably early next year," said Garry. They intend to make use of space at the back of the shop for this. The shop is the old Anderson's Butchery building which the family has bought. They have dccorated the interior with Hessian and recycled bricks which makes it look more like a craft shop, but they have retained some of the old butcher shop fca-

tures. The meat rails are still hanging from

the ceiling, with plant hangers having replaced the sides of beef, and the ceiling fan has been repaired and put to work. The couple are from

Auckland but have not lived there for some time, having been in Raetihi for about 1 8 months and at Mahonui for a few years before that.

Garry has been building a log house at the Tinto's Mill site over the past year, which is now nearing completion. Building the house followed studying the craft under Canadian log builder Del Redomski at the Ohakune log building school. Garry and his

building partner plan to sell the house. Rowena and Garry say they have both had ambitions to run a craft shop and Clowns is the result. They say they are looking forward to some summer visitors and that their intention is to offer there mer-

chandise with prices kept down. "We've had favourable comments so far," they say. "Tell your readers we're on the look out for good quality craft to sell on commission," said Garry at the end of the Bulletin visit.