Meet the Makers: Abbe and Kerry of A&C Homestore

Getting to know Abbe & Kerry

Congratulations Abbe and Kerry! How does it feel to be the proud new owners of A&C Homestore?

Abbe & Kerry:
Amazing – thank you, we’ve been big fans and customers for such a long, long time and we loved everything about the A&C brand.

We’ve been in the business for a few months now and it's been great getting to know the team, in the office and in the stores. Seeing their passion and love for the products and customers has been really amazing!”

“We’re so lucky to have such a great team and very excited to now be working with them, launching new lines, products and injecting some of us into taking A&C into its next chapter.”

We would love to get to know you a bit better. As sisters in law, what is it about your individual personalities that make you a great team?

Abbe & Kerry:
“Abbe has a strong eye for design, colour and interiors, while Kerry has a great commercial and business background. Together we make a great team! Our skills complement one another well and we balance each other out perfectly.

Kerry:
“We didn’t intend to go into business together initially, I was looking at buying a business with my brother, but once we saw the opportunity come up it had Abbe’s name written all over it!! Her skills, experience and passion for interiors fit with the business seamlessly.”

Abbe & Kerry:
“It’s been nice working together but we feel like we see each other less than before! We still see each other every day but we have a big team who work on separate things. Kerry is on the operations side, making sure the business continues to run smoothly and Abbe is on the buying and promotions side of the business.

You each bring with you a wealth of experience in creative brand management, retail, and fashion. Tell us a bit more about where you’ve come from and how this has led you to A&C?

Kerry:
“I’ve worked in the online marketing world for over 20 years, developing brands and their presence in the market. When the A&C opportunity became a reality, we were super excited, it fitted us perfectly so we jumped right in!”

Abbe:
“I’ve worked in creative marketing and retail roles for a long time too and in a variety of roles across FMCG and in lifestyle magazines. I also have a background in visual merchandising and display, working for a large fashion retail company in the UK. A career highlight was working on the Selfridges Christmas Window Displays!

We loved that A&C is a New Zealand owned and operated family business. This was really important to us and an important factor in the kind of business we wanted to step into!”

We hear you have some exciting plans in the pipeline for 2023. Any secrets you’re willing to spill for our OBV community?

Abbe:
“We know our OBV community love fashion and we’ve just dropped our Autumn/Winter clothing collection in-store. Our wardrobe essentials are classics with an A&C twist. There are luxurious cashmere and merino pieces and casual and tailored outerwear styles, as well as our take on the classic shirt and trousers.

We also have some exciting new brands coming in this month, just in time for Mothers Day, these were hand-picked from our recent buying trip to Sydney and we know the OBV community will love them. One of them is the beautiful sought after ‘Addition Studios’ Range, we have the Hand and Body Wash & Moisturiser in-store now.

We also have our popular Linen Quilt back in stock in Oatmeal - this sold out in a few weeks last time, so we’ve re-stocked it along with a new colourway - a stunning ‘Rosemary’ Green. Perfect for autumn layering.
Around September we have a really stunning new bed linen range coming in - we are super excited about the launch of this. We also currently have a spend and save promotion on bed linen with up to 20% off bundles. We do little bundles like this throughout the year.”

Kerry:
“An initiative that was launched at A&C last year was the Ten Trees Linen Initiative. It was started prior to us coming on board and it’s something we’re really proud of.

Trees For The Future® is a company that works with Sub-Sahara African communities that have been affected by deforestation and land degradation and provides local farmers with tools, seeds and training in sustainable land use, so that they can plant trees and for every piece of linen that we sell we plant up to 10 trees, we feel really proud that you are not only receiving a beautiful, natural product, we are also giving back to the earth. It’s really great seeing how many trees we’ve donated. We’re up to 13,499 so far.

What are some of your favourite items in store right now?

Kerry:
“I love the new cashmere range, it's so warm and cosy with lovely colours to choose from. The new ritual bowls are just beautiful and there are matching cups too. I've just updated all of my cushions at home with some of our gorgeous natural and green cushions and now my couches look so warm and inviting to snuggle up under a throw, perfect for reading or watching the fire.
The other range that I think is worth a mention is the Lulu range made from recycled plastic and 3D printed in NZ, there is a stool, a planter and a waste bin, I love the eggshell colourway. You can check these out here.”

Abbe:
“I am loving the new glazed pieces by McMullin & Co, they are a beautiful light sage green shade and in great shapes. The Earnest Vase & Clementine Bowl are my faves. We design our own A&C furniture as well and the latest shipment has just arrived. We actually just photographed it at our own houses. These gorgeous pieces are exclusive to us - colours like sage and cumin and in very limited numbers, so you have to be fast. My new favourite is the Dylan Armchair in Spruce - which is a stunning deep green colour.

Can you give us any insight into trends for this winter when it comes to decorating the home?

Abbe:
“Natural materials like marble, stone and wood and neutral earthy tones like cream and beiges help to create calm tranquil spaces and this is still a big trend this winter. Pair these with earthy green, paprika tones and rich browns to provide a cozy colour palette for winter.

Soft curvy shaped furniture and wavy wood furniture inspired by the 60s and 70s is huge. The curvy trend seems to be here to stay and you can see this in furniture like snuggly sofa’s, occasional chairs, bedheads, sideboards, coffee tables right down to candlesticks and vases.

Add arcs and curvy shapes into your home with large furniture or smaller décor items, this could be mirrors, vases, lamps, bookends, occasional chairs or one of our gorgeous new ‘curvy’ bench seats or stools.

For winter layering in your lounge, bedrooms and dining rooms (inside and out) layering textural throws and sheepskins is a luxurious way to add warmth. Stylish (cordless) lighting is also a great way to create a mood and as the table lamps are USB charged you can use them anywhere.

The Menu Carrie Table Lamp gives off the most incredible moody light!

Rattan and Wicker furniture is making a come back too - both for inside and outside use.”

You have both been loyal customers to A&C Homestore over the years. How do you plan on making your mark on the business in future?

Abbe:
“We have lots of exciting plans in the pipeline, including new A&C products and the introduction of some beautiful new local brands.

We’re currently working on getting our Interior Designer In-house service up and running in all stores. We have this service available in our Christchurch store where our trained interiors team go into homes and help pull together items and looks for a space - and this In- House offering won’t be far away for our lovely Auckland and Orakei customers.”

Kerry:
“We’re also investing lots of time on customer service and continue to ensure the experience of shopping with A&C is always a memorable one. We want our staff to deliver a great customer experience and provide expert product knowledge. This actively contributes to building a fantastic interior design service.”

Your team is more than retail assistants and managers. Tell us about what makes them special and why they add more value to the customer experience?

Abbe & Kerry:
“In our team we have a mix of specialties from floristry to fine arts, fashion design, many interior designers, artists and marketing professionals. Lots of these people have studied these careers or do this outside of their work at A&C. They’re all from really creative backgrounds, are skilled and bring a different focus and lens to the business. They aren’t just a standard retail staff member - they’re moodboarding, working with customers on looks for their home and with suppliers on sourcing the perfect product. They really learn a lot about the products and have a passion for design - coming at it from all different angles whether it’s product or styling.

We even have a fashion designer who makes jewellery - we’re lucky to have her pieces for sale in the store. Magna is the brand, and she creates beautiful handcrafted pearl earrings. I think we all have a pair, they are stunning.”

We know that you are pretty new around here having just taken over the business. But what are your go-to spots at OBV? Or are there any places you look forward to checking out?

Abbe:
“My go to spots would have to be Bowl & Arrow – who make awesome coffee and are our friendly neighbours and Farro for a delicious cabinet sandwich.

I also have on my to-do list to check out Silky Otter Cinemas and eat all the popcorn – I’ve heard it's next-level good. Can’t go wrong with $15 tickets on a Monday with bottomless popcorn!!”

Kerry:
“I love being able to pop into Farro and pick up a delicious KT cake slice - plus the ginger crunch is delicious! It's so convenient to be able to pick up those last minute items for dinner too.

I really enjoy wandering through Kings Plant Barn and choosing herbs and hanging indoor plants to add that lovely smell, colour and texture into my kitchen.

The aroma from Moustache cookies is wonderful… and I can confirm they taste as good as they smell!”