I have driven past this character house on Fred Thomas Drive many a time on my excursions out and…read moreabout, and actually did pop in many years ago to find that there onsite cafe was closed that day. However on this occasion they were open, and I got to attend a free pre school art class in the centre. Part of the summer community program for children in the pre school age range, my three year old and I attended a morning session for about half an hour, where we participated in weaving using different arts and crafts and decorating our pieces. I got to meet other parents with little children and also au pairs. Then after the fantastic class the children and parents, etc relaxed outdoors on the lawn with free toys from the community trust, just a great way to spend time with other mums with little children. Lots of space for the kids to run about and let of steam, and they even had a permanent play tee pee and swing. Inside the main building is a cafe where you can purchase food and drinks and sit inside undercover of the dining room, or deck, and even outside if it is a sunny warm day. Good to know that there are classes that you can enroll your children in from school age five, somewhere that creativity flows freely.

I recently had a friend exhibit some art work here and was quite impressed with the place. Its a…read morebeautiful old heritage building on Barry's Point Reserve in Takapuna so once you're there you feel like you're at a private estate in the country (ok maybe sometimes depending on wind direction you can hear the motorway traffic). I had previously thought it was just a gallery that local artists put their work in but its much more - basically a community centre only way more interesting. They have art classes for all ages and all sorts of free children's programmes during the summer. Also really cool is every couple of years they host a wood-sculpting event where you can go and watch sculptors create pretty large-scale art pieces from raw wood over ten consecutive days. There's a café onsite that caters and does functions and they have a few different rooms in the lake house itself that are available for venue hire too. This place is not just for the arty-farty!

The first time I saw this place, I walked past it wondering what an earth a Texan Art schools shop…read morewas doing in the NorthWest mall!? Maybe it had something to do with the 'Wild West'!? The window display sent that theory straight out the window - not a cactus in sight, a cowboy or desert-scape! Well, it turns out this place has nothing to do with Texas or Texan Art Schools - the name is simply a play on words: Tech n' Art schools. Apparently, if you say it really fast three times, you end up saying Texan Art Schools! Right, now that we've got that cleared up let's focus on what these guys specialize in! Basically, you'll find a nice range of hand-made pottery, jewelry, prints and other hand crafted items by New Zealand artists. Plenty of Kiwi motifs and themes to choose from, so an ideal place for a spot of souvenir shopping. Prices seem to be on par with other souvenir style arts and crafts stores.

Art Oasis is a cute little shop squeezed between the florist and bookstore out in Titirangi that…read moreshowcases the works of local artists. These works include anything from wall hangings, to wire scupltures, to prints, to jewellery, so an eclectic mix of local artistic output is what you'll be pleased to find here. They also offer art classes for kids, teenagers and adults, thus making it quite the "creative hub" of Titirangi as what they claim on their website. The lady was very helpful and chatty even though we said we were just having a casual browse; often be a refreshing change from typical sales drive shop assistants you often encounter. If you come here I would definitely recommend taking a look through all of the awesome prints they have on offer, a lot of unique local pieces that are pretty well priced.

This is an art gallery. It is A-ok, it does not stand out amongst the crowd I'm afraid, however it…read moreis what is inside that counts right? Inside this gallery, 2013, 1st March till the 16th March is an exhibition by a local artist called Stephen John Smith. The art is all abstract, which I have a love/hate relationship with. Some of it rocks my boat and some of it just makes me sigh. The gallery, to give it some more cred, also offers art tuition for adults, teenagers and children; plus it is situated in the very lovely Titirangi. It has potential. I will be back. Please note that the opening hours are seasonal and can change during school holidays.

I don't really know what I was expecting from this store when I walked in. Maybe a shop full of…read moreelephant crafts. Elephant shaped things? Are there any elephants in this store? The answer is no, I couldn't find any. On the bright side they do have some other nice things that aren't elephant related. Lots of little knick knacks and crafts all specially handcrafted by Homegrown artisans. Now that can't be a bad thing! It's a really good place to come if you are looking for a very 'kiwi' gift to send to friends and families overseas. And there's a whole lot of kauri/ wood ware. I mean a WHOLE lot. I think maybe they should rename it to something with wood in the title. It might be more reflective of the product they do actually stock.

An absolute nightmare…read more I was excited when I read the reviews and decided to visit. However, when I shipped over $500 worth of gifts it arrived poorly packed and completely destroyed. It has been months and they say they will reimburse me, but never followed through. Also found their exact merchandise for a fraction of the cost elsewhere. Feel completely ripped off. Do yourself a favor. Go somewhere else!