There’s plenty of colour, texture and style to get excited about at an elegant lifestyle store and cafe in central Christchurch. Swoon, on the corner of Durham St North and Peterborough St, is a light, open space featuring a carefully selected range of art, furniture, New Zealand – designed clothing, jewellery, custom-made cushions and locally-made ceramics.
The in-store cafe serves freshly made scones and other cabinet food, along with excellent coffee, and is already proving popular with workers in the area, near the Christchurch Casino.
The business, which has an eye-catching mural on an outside wall by artist Holly Zandbergen, is owned and managed by Christchurch local Anneke Bedford, a former kitchen and interior designer who is stepping into retail for the first time.
“I want Swoon to have a sense of community and we’re planning to invite our customers along to regular art openings and styling evenings. Our aim is to create an enjoyable, tactile shopping experience where people can touch things, try them on and find what works for them.”