Yes, they are expensive, but they're GOOD. The owners love art - it's a labour of love for them…read more They love working with you to find the best frame and framing technique for your art. I could spend hours in there talking to them and I totally trust them with the art that we've bought from all over the world. I highly recommend. Also note, they're open every day. Quite often framing is a weekend job, and I love that you can pop in on a Sunday. I did take one star off because they are expensive, and I don't know if that's fair because I'd rather pay them than some chain... Tip: they sell lots of great NZ prints. If you're a tourist, I highly recommend for your piece of Kiwiana to take home.

David's emporium is your one stop shop for everything! Here they have tools, paint, art supplies,…read morecrafts, material, nick-nacks, appliances, wigs and my favourite.....dress-ups! It's at David's you are able to find anything and everything suitable for a party, or if you're after something on the cheap. Located on Cavendish Drive in Manukau, it's only really convenient if you're in the area. There is plenty of onsite parking available. I have been here a number of times to pick up bits and pieces with my boyfriend, who is really in to art. He finds that they always have great sales on their canvases, sketch books and cheap paint brushes that he might need for touching up. Here I have managed to purchase lint rollers and a foot exfoliator, both of these cost next to nothing, I was very impressed.

I first discovered Little White Box at the Kraftbomb market. They sell a range of cute and dainty…read morehand crafted ceramics, mainly ornaments and kitchenware. They are all handpainted and made right here in Auckland. I have purchased a few hanging ornaments of birds and an angel and they are really special. I see now, looking at the products on their website there some cute bunny rabbit designs too. As for the pottery range, I really like the bowls/cups that have red hearts painted on them, and the polkadots and the blue stars. These would make a great addition to any kitchen. The Kraftbomb market is held every last Sunday of the month at the Grey Lynn Community Centre in Auckland 11am-2pm, and is the perfect way to spend a lazy sunday!

This store is great because it doesn't cater to the 'kitschy' side of New Zealand art and design as…read moremuch as some souvenir type stores like it do. It's more of an Art Gallery rather than a store. And affordable too. I love artist Tony Cribbs 'Adventures of Tin man' series and always like to pick something up whenever I see one in a store or gallery. They are just too cute. And funny as well. I always get compliments on them whenever I have people over to mine. They just exemplify the New Zealand sense of humor so well. I like the fact that Mana also has prints of a lot of their artworks so if you can't afford the actual original artwork itself there are still opportunities for you to own a slice of something. I'm currently crushing on one of their artworks, one of a Maori girl/princess wrapped in a traditional woven cloak. I may have to settle on the print of this one myself!

If you're looking for some absolutely beautiful local art, jewellery or gifts for someone visiting…read moreNew Zealand to take home with them or even to send to someone abroad, this place should be your one stop shop. They've got a fairly small but carefully curated collection of glassware, paintings and sculptures alongside jewellery and cards and other nick-nacks. My favourite things in here are the necklaces. Long thin silver chains with bird and flower pendants, which were gorgeous and really unusual. Things like this range from around $40 up to $400, so you're sure to find something no matter what your budget. I've been looking for a Green Stone necklace for my partner for quite some time and have never been able to find one that I really love, but the ones in Mana are the nicest I've seen in Auckland. Plus they were playing Ben Howard on the stereo when I walked in, which just made me like it even more.

Located directly under Bob and Friends (which is a fantastic furniture store, check that out while…read moreyour in the area) lies perhaps THE best print and design house in all of Auckland. If your into art and design with a point of difference then you will need to get down to Newmarket and check out endemicworld now. It's catching! The prices in here range from about $50 to up to $300 for some of the larger pieces, which for a completely original piece of art is a banging price. You can choose to either have the work as is, or in a frame. I like a little frame action myself. It's all New Zealand artists stocked in here all the time. Thats some homegrown talent right there. Appreciate! I love Cinzah Seekayem's illustrations (one of of Nzs top street artists) which are currently in stock at the moment. Go find your own favourite.

Ignore the designer coffee cart at the entrance and the furniture store upstairs; descend into one…read moreof the best places for New Zealand prints and posters in Endemic World's current store on Ponsonby road. Everything from full sized posters to mini prints to frame or send as cards to extra special friends. The staff member their proffered to show me additional work and street art on his laptop of some of the artists I was admiring. His knowledge of the artists and of the stores product was impeccable. The brightly lit basement store has prints from graphically designed posters to graffiti to New Zealand nostalgia to stencil art (some especially cool examples include iThink and Cinzah). Anything not on display or stocked in multiple drawers (not dissimilar to a museums entomologist drawers) can be reprinted in a few days. Do check out this handpicked selection of art from New Zealand and international artists.

This was a beautiful shop! Such a lovely place to buy some New Zealand made items to remember my…read moretrip by. I will recommend this trip to everyone I know!

Mixt Art and Design is one of my favourite places to find great Kiwi inspired gifts and unusual but…read morebrilliant wee retro knick-knacks and decorations. Fantastic embroidery, sculptures, platters, vases, pillows, books and wall decals are just a few of the funky finds that Mixt offers. I recently became obsessed with the wall decals they stock - brightly coloured and incorporating my favourite things - animals and flowers, the decals are also reusable so you can move them around your room without worrying about ripping the paint. What's not to love? Another great thing about Mixt is the price. Though most of the products Mixt stocks are made locally, everything is still really reasonably priced and you can feel good about supporting Kiwi creators too! Having recently relocated to the building right next door, the new Mixt store is spotless and funky and compliments the stock as well as the women that work there. Next time you're looking for that perfect gift, or want to liven up your room, make sure you check out Mixt!

What an awesome shop! This is a collection of quirky, fun and interesting pieces of furniture and…read morehome decor items that the owner sources from around the world. The pieces are a mix of French and, Asian and Bohemian, you'll find French chairs upholstered with bright coloured fabrics, Asian styled cabinets in soft duck egg blue with an almost tribal feel to them. They also have a great range of little wood stools and other interesting occasional pieces of furniture that would make for an interesting addition to your place. Home decor items include anything from large glass jars, vessels, cake domes and candles. It is a great place to come for gifts too and with the prices ranging from $20 to $2000, I also think very good pricing. They have some draws and cabinets that I would say are comparable to what Red Current stock but at almost half the price. The layout of the store is really funky too, organised chaos, a great store, something that little bit different.

Ponsonby road is an altogether dangerous thing, and with shops like Zoo Warehouse as tenants you…read morecan see why! It's a place where wallets come to die, die hard in fact. Like many of my discoveries in Auckland, I happened on this place rather by chance. I'm currently furniture/ knick knack shopping for my poor little empty flat so this store was a godsend. There are some really beautiful pieces, one set of drawers In particular which I narrowly missed out on! Ah regret! I did purchase a really fantastic wall hanging for my bedroom the last time I was in there however, and at $180 I thought it was pretty much a bargain, considering the size and quality of it any rate. If you have to save your pennies to purchase one of these individually crafted and lovingly restored pieces I suggest starting now as they go quick.

This store is well signposted out on Parnell Road and is located just out the back behind the…read morestores on the road front down a little laneway. It looks like a gorgeous little cottage or something from the outside, and the inside is filled with lots more gorgeous little and big trinkets for your home. While all the larger furniture items are well out of my price range, the littler stuff is well affordable. They have some awesome huge mirrors, wardrobes, side tables, bookshelves etc. The little stuff is just as nice though, there's some interesting wall hangings, and the cutest hot water bottles I've ever seen. One of them is shaped to look like a sort of misaligned teddy, and I'm so going back to give him a home when I'm next in Parnell. The only problem is they don't do gift wrapping, which when you're a store like this is kind of an essential.