Crushes is an ethical concept store that curates goodies that are kind to the earth and her people. The Karangahape Road boutique showcases hundreds of products made exclusively from New Zealand businesses, alongside its hand-picked, curated vintage clothing section. Because there needs to be a place that makes it easy for you to be mindful about purchases, and intentional about community.
Rose and Sarah met in 2010 and instantly bonded over their love for vintage and retro clothes. Rose was selling her wardrobe on Trademe, meanwhile Sarah was hoarding bags and bags of clothing that were too good not to snap up. Sarah offered that they should start a partner up and offered to use the shop-space that was below her flat. That is when they started The Bread and Butter Letter (later renamed to Crushes) which opened in 2011.
Because Sarah and Rose loved vintage and craft markets, they posed the question, ‘what if a market was open all the time? Makers would be able to spend less time manning a stall and more time making’. This idea led them to make a store with 100% NZ-made goods paired with vintage. In this beginning phase, there was an emerging conversation about conscious consumerism (though that term hadn’t been coined yet). They realised what they were offering wasn’t just cute, but was important; By buying NZ Made, you can best support the local economy. And by buying pre-loved clothing, you can opt out of questionable labour practices. Sarah and Rose decided to use the shop as a way to offer a guilt-free shopping experience, and as a way to educate consumers about consumerism.
In 2013, Sarah and Rose took a big leap of faith and leased a three-story commercial building on Auckland’s infamous Karangahape Road which is the perfect match for Crushes.
In 2021 they did a big re-modelling to the space which included incorporating a recycling and re-filling station on their mezzanine to take the idea of conscious consumerism to that next level where customers are invited to return and re-fill their Crushes goods to make their products more circular.
They launched Crushes Social Club in 2022 as a way to come together after years of isolating covid, which makes this Karangahape Road location a place for people to come together and learn and play.
Crushes is located at 225 Karangahape Road, Newton in Auckland.
Mon – Fri: 10 – 6
Saturday: 10 – 5
Sunday: 10 – 5