Words Liz French, Images Brydie Thompson
The recent arrival of Clover Design Store in Mount Maunganui’s vibrant main shopping street has been welcomed by shoppers who appreciate high quality homewares in an inspiring retail atmosphere.
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris, textile designer associated with British Arts and Crafts movement, said this in the 1880s. It still holds true today. Clover’s range is the perfect example; beautiful things that are useful and uplifting.
Fast fashion, fast food, disposable household items … if you are reading Nourish magazine you are likely one of the many who are ‘over it’. The team at Clover could not be further from ‘throwaway’. Everything you see on display is the result of the considered curation of functional pieces of enduring quality and timeless style that speak of today, tomorrow and forever.
The establishment of Clover was a considered process for these experienced homewares retailers. Mary Clark and her daughters, Rana Reuther and Emma Clark, have owned a store on Waiheke island for nearly a decade. When they all ended up loving living in Mount Maunganui, they studied the market while waiting and watching for the ideal place to appear, somewhere they could share their design ethos.
The space left by Gilded Edge has been transformed into a light, open, airy store where you feel drawn to a gallery of temptingly tactile treasures. The Clover team acknowledge the assistance of Colin Carmichael of Proform and his team for the fitout and Kathrine McDonald for her contribution to a cohesive interior which allows the stock to shine.
Clover is a passion project for this family who share a love of interior design, architecture and travel. While sourcing product has taken them to Paris and exotic places, they are just as excited to showcase local and antipodean design. And you will find examples throughout the store, all labelled with their provenance.
A Day in Clover
At Clover they appreciate that whatever your personal style, your home is your sanctuary and an expression of your individuality. Their mission is to help you enhance your own environment with pieces that provide lasting pleasure and practicality.
Take a stroll around Clover and imagine investing in quality that will sustain you for years to come. Sleep in soft natural linen and cocoon yourself with custom made cushions. Slow food looks and tastes better when your ceramics and cutlery have been crafted with care. Good wine deserves great glasses. Elevate daily experiences with beautiful candles you probably won’t find anywhere else, and other simple pleasures.
Clover encourages you to look beyond trends and choose homewares that have soul and appeal to yours. Fickle fashion has no place for products designed to last generations, in the timeless palette of earthy colours that complement each other in nature and in nurturing your home life.
In buying the best you will also have the best time browsing Clover Design Store. Enlist their assistance and enjoy a friendly family team delighted to guide you to the best expression of your personal taste. Or help you find the perfect gift, be it one that keeps on giving, or that is temporary but smells or tastes terrific.
If you can’t visit in person, or you later wish you’d bought that piece you coveted, Clover is also online and can ship your purchase lovingly packaged.
Clover Deli
By tucking a deli inside the front window, the Clover team also encompasses their appreciation of good coffee and fine food. They’ve got you covered, from a quiet caffeine and Danish in the morning to a filled baguette for lunch, cheeses and antipasto items to take home, artisan bread from local Just Bread, and a range of pickles and preserves, oils and sauces from prime purveyors.
Mary, Emma and Rana are delighted with the way their vision for Clover has been realised and with the response from people who live locally and who visit, notably many from throughout the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. “We feel that in creating a store that reflects our own values and our respect for the uncomplicated and classic, we have also filled a niche in the market for homewares that are both beautiful and useful.”
Clover Design Store, 159 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui
