About Nanna Bangles
In November of 2017, Nanna Bangles opened it's doors to it's first premises, in front of The Victorian Wardrobe in Oamaru's historic Harbour Street. A small store in Mr Edward Lane's former office (of Lane's Emulsion fame), with penguins living under the floor it was a great way to start building the business.
The name 'Nanna Bangles' came from our pet-name for my maternal grandmother, Dorothy. Originally dubbed 'Nanna Bangles & Beads' as a way to differentiate from my elder cousin's other grandmother - it was shortened to 'Nanna Bangles' over time.
Many of the items you would find within the doors of Nanna Bangles would be things you'd nostalgically remember from your mother or grandmother's house - tying in with the memories of our childhoods.
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Our first shop on Harbour Street (penguins not shown)
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The one and only Nanna Bangles & Beads
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The Nanna Bangles sign at Harbour Street
Our Thriving Community
By August 2018, the original premises had become a bit of tight squeeze, and Nanna Bangles moved next door into the former offices of Catto's Woolstore, originally occupied by J & T Meek.
Oamaru's Victorian Precinct was a most wonderful place to be based, with a great sense of community amongst all the business owners and gallery proprietors. We were in the centre of all the cultural events that Oamaru had to offer - Harbour Street Jazz & Blues Festival, the Steampunk Festival, and Victorian Heritage Celebrations, to name just a few!
Many touring musos stepped foot in Nanna Bangles, which was conviniently located across the street from Donna Demete's Grainstore Gallery, the most amazing place to go to gigs of all sorts. Once I even sold costumes to a Hollywood film that was shooting down our street!
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Owner Livvi dressed in her finery for the Otago Daily Times
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Original archive photo of our second premises in the Victorian Precinct
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Just one of the many gorgeous vintage cars that visited the precinct
Nanna Bangles Goes North
When Nanna Bangles first opened it's doors. we were graced by visitors from all over the world, but little did we know that things were about to change dramatically... when COVID-19 swept through!
We reopened and managed to make things work - the shop size and layout made social distancing quite difficult but we got through. The support of New Zealanders who were travelling our country was invaluable for the next period of the shop's time in Harbour Street.
By the end of 2020, the business began to pivot again as I moved to a warmer climate! My partner had the opportunity to start work teaching up in Nelson, so we upped sticks and embarked on a new adventure. Because commercial rents in Nelson are considerably more than those in Oamaru, the decision was made to put a hold on having a physical shop, mainly trading through social media to begin with.
Nanna Bangles dabbled in markets as a way to continue business without the overheads of a physical store - first at the Isel Twilight Markets, but we really got settled into a weekly store at the Motueka Sunday Market from late 2021. It's been wonderful to get to know local stallholders and customers alike, with weekly regulars coming to peruse Nanna's wares.