Love this shop - it's the place to go for gift buying for that person in your life that seems to…read morehave everything. They carry a wide range of contemporary kitchen and homewares plus other gifts such as candles, keyrings and money banks. Sometimes difficult to push a pram around the shop, especially with all the fragile merchandise...I can't imagine how a wheelchair would fare in here!

I literally want to buy EVERYTHING in this store! BLOC is a collaboration of a number of cool…read moredesigners - kind of like a mini department store. There's beautiful, beautiful homewares, WORLD Beauty, fashion labels and even a cafe. I would even go as far as to say that BLOC has made me excited about christmas present shopping. Granted it's not the cheapest but some labels are more affordable than others (Citta, Father Rabbit) and thankfully, we have a small family!

BLOC is a super stylish department store w Citta design and Father Rabbit downstairs and Peppin…read more(children's clothing), 8 paws (dog clothing) and collected upstairs. There's also a delicious cafe in case you work up an appetite. I was lucky enough to go to one of the Bloc's special shopping nights with wine and cheese as well as discounts and goodie bags. As a marketing exercise, it worked. I explored the Blocs offerings fully and I now know where to go to get that gift for someone that is hard to buy for. The wide variety of things for the home, for the inner self and for the fur baby ensures that The Bloc will solve the gift problem.

Tessuti makes my heart flutter! They stock the most beautifully curated range of homewares, often…read moreby designers i've never heard of. Most of it is out of my price range but a girl can dream, right? Ok so, i'll admit today I actually splashed out and bought a Joska & Sons brass shelf that i'd had my eye on for a while. I'd never heard of him (Joska) before but he is furniture designer out of Lyttleton who also makes the most gorgeous wood & brass lamps. Tessuti may be too expensive for a regular splurge but it's a wonderful place to get wedding, engagement or birthday present for someone special. Not sure what to get? The Storm & India teas are beautiful or go if you need something more masculine, the Opinel knifes are a crowd pleaser! After all, you can never have enough good, French knives!

I always put Tessuti in the 'window shop' shop basket, you know - a lovely shop to look at but one…read moremustn't look too closely at the prices lest something should break. Or someone should cry (me). But recently I was waiting for my coffee next door and I went in, and was actually quite surprised by the pricing. Yes, it is high-end, high-quality stuff and at the luxury end of gifting and homeware. But some of the pieces were more reasonably priced than I first expected. I set my sights on a cute little white porcelain stag, set up in a lovely glass dome, and both have gone on my birthday wishlist.

Ran in here on a Sunday afternoon to grab a present for a one year old. Not the cheapest place to…read morego but the range in here is special and gorgeous and The Garden Party are a passionate supporter of Kiwi-made products. All the bases are covered and this is where I would prefer people shop for me : ) You won't find any of these items stocked at The Warehouse or K-Mart and I am happy to pay more for the local designer items - they are really beautiful. There's funny stuff, cool stuff, pretty stuff, home stuff, kids' stuff and more. Oh yeah and garden stuff. There's art and jewellery and a range of special cards. After a quick browse I asked the nice lady for some help and we settled on Baa Baa Smart Sheep, an award-winning book about poo by Mark and Rowan Sommerset, along with an Alphabet Wall Chart featuring such child-genius words as Astrophysicist. Not everything is crazy expensive (these two items weren't) and in future I'm going to try and get here for all my gift purchases because why wouldn't you? Everything about it is better - no plastic crap from China and the pleasure of giving something just a little bit different.

More than anything else here, the fact that you can always find friendly and helpful service in a…read morePonsonby gift store astounds me. I have consistently been greeted in a cheery fashion by the staff at The Garden Party, whether browsing or gift hunting. And this is certainly a great gift shop to browse in, combining the fancy gift stores of Parnell with some great Kiwi flair, so they don't have the tacky "New Zealand souvenir" feel. A fantastic store, showcasing New Zealand talent, nostalgia and humour; a brilliant shop for impressing friends overseas with something other than postcards of Cape Reinga. A big hit are tea-towels designer by Melina Martin and the Lynskey sisters (yes, cool tea-towels).

I call shops like this "fancy lady shops " which is funny cos some of the stuff in there I'd seen…read morepreviously at Kmart . Perhaps there is a glut of similar items in the world ? Anyway whatever ! There was a very nice set of pillow cases and some lush throws for your bed . If I win lotto maybe I'd come here and be all like in the film Pretty Woman scenario saying "big mistake , big mistake "! But not really .staff were nice , maybe shy ? Although to be honest all I could afford was a soap . But with the money I spend on soap I should buy a lotto ticket . Ce la vie !

I'm a big fan of Macy home. Sure, it's expensive but they've got a beautiful mix of unique decor…read morefor your home. Just last week I bought some beautiful painted ceramic pots and blush pink candlesticks. I'm also pretty obsessed with their gold hanging planters at the moment... seriously, I could go nuts in this shop! When I was in my early 20's I loved their jewellery but I think my tastes have changed over the years! If you need a gift for someone who is into home decor and likes that Scandi look, look no further!

The Homestore is a great addition to Sylvia Park and aside from being a huge fan of their tea…read moretowels (check them out, they are seriously great), its my favourite place to buy homeware. What I love about this place is that there's always something here that I know my mum will love. It could be a new cookbook or a new salad serving set, but whatever it is, The Homestore has it. It's also home to appliances, dinner sets and bathroom accessories. I'd like to think I become a little more domesticated after every visit, and i'm always sure to pick up something useful for myself. I'm an avid baker and they've got some great cupcake patty tins and some awesome cake decorating supplies aswell. If you're a party planner, they've got some cute decorations- think lanterns and garlands. A few days before Christmas last year this place was so busy, and in my haze of last minute Christmas shopping I found some comic relief in the lady who served me at the counter. I never got her name but she was hilarious. We didn't speak about much in particular, but I just remember laughing and joking with her about the perils of Christmas shopping. Just being able to have a normal conversation that wasn't about what I was buying was quite refreshing. I bought a few glass items and she made sure to double package them (I was carrying a lot of stuff already), so they wouldn't smash on my way out. She was so thoughtful and pretty much made my night! I really do love The Homestore- the ultimate stop for anything your home needs.

I've been in this store 5-6 times over the past 6 months as I love the stock however I have never…read morebeen greeted while in there. Often I am just browsing however today I went in planning on spending quite a large amount of money for a birthday present. I spent 10-15 minutes in store, first walking around and then looking quite hard at one shelf in particular. There were two ladies working and no one else in store yet I was not greeted or acknowledged in any way. I go into retail stores to get the personal interaction and staff knowledge about the items, since I can't get that service from this store I won't go back and might as well buy things online.

This Redcurrent is such a stunning store, it smells great too thanks to all the MOR, Ecoya and…read moreGlasshouse products, usually there are candles burning in store too. This is a fail safe gift store for females, so many pretty things. The range of kitchenware and tableware is fantastic and I am always surprised by how reasonable the prices are, some stuff is actually rather cheap. A wonderful array of ceramic and glassware items can be found amongst the shelves and birds must be in right now because there are bird candles, glass domes with birds on them and birds painted on ceramics, bird ornaments ... feeling like you need a bird something in your home now? I am. Redcurrent also sell Pashmina, the proper ones. They are beautiful and come in many lovely colours. There are a few other accessories, some leather goods and cotton scarves and jewelry. It is hard to walk out without something and if need be, Redcurrent offer a gift wrapping service.

I love Redcurrent and this was the first of their shops I ever visited…read more My ideal trip to Newmarket always includes ducking down Morrow Street to pop into Redcurrent and then go on to Zarbo for lunch. Don't ever go in unless you have money to spend though, otherwise you'll inevitably end up leaving empty-handed and pining after some little trinket you just can't imagine living without. Unless you are a little less dramatic in nature than me, that is. My favourite things at Redcurrent are their plentiful stock of both the small and large Glasshouse brand scented candles, which I reckon are the best ever. They also stay well-stocked of absolutely gorgeous mid-range jewellery, some really sweet gift ideas for babies and toddlers (including clothing and toys), and some extemely lust-worthy handbags. Redcurrent Newmarket is the perfect place to find a homewares-type gift or a not-too-guilty indugence for yourself.

This gift shop in Mairangi Bay gets a thumbs up for always having something new, you've got to be…read morequick if you see something. Beautifully stocked with decorative pieces for your home and things that ladies love - candles, jewellery, handbags. This is where I come for that special gift for a friend and maybe a little something for myself.

Even when I don't plan to have a browse at this shop I always end up stopping in for a quick snoop…read more The staff here cleverly arrange a display outside, which is guaranteed to catch your eye! There's funky cushions and tables and accessories and because of these things I'm always tempted inside. This shop isn't that big but inside is packed with lots of wonderful goodies. The prices aren't extremely affordable and I think it would be possible to find similar kinds of things elsewhere for a cheaper price, but if you wanted to treat yourself or a friend, or you were after something simply amazing and of great quality then head along to Spoilt and spoil yourself!