ABOUT

Crushes is a concept store that celebrates conscious consumerism by selling quality wearable vintage clothing, alongside functional lifestyle goods from New Zealand makers and designers, that won’t break your piggybank.

The sunny and welcoming Karangahape Road store is a beautiful space where the product’s stories and values are as appealing as the goods themselves. Whether it is a coveted vintage piece or a product made by a local artist or Crushes’ own in-house brand, the goods at Crushes won’t cost or harm the earth. Recognising that slow is the new fast, Sarah and Rose’s ultimate goal is to handpick and create products that can be gifted, used and cherished for years, without ending up in a landfill.

MEET SARAH AND ROSE 

If you’re looking for some sort of sappy love story you’re probably going to find it here. Girl meets girl, platonic friendship turns into a double-breasted business partnership, and the rest is history.

ORIGINS

With a bit of spare time and lot of clothing overflow, Sarah and Rose found themselves in the perfect position to start something. The dream was to create some sort of craft market, stocking handcrafted goods and vintage clothing, which would be open all week. So they did it.

In 2011 they opened a small store, then called The Bread and Butter Letter, on New North Road. Two years on, Sarah and Rose decided to go bigger and better, and moved into a larger space on Karangahape Road.

Inspired to design and manufacture affordable New Zealand made goods, they started their own in-house lifestyle label, Crushes. In no time at all the love child grew into a full sized adult; Crushes became a major part of the store’s identity - so much so, they decided to change the store’s name to Crushes in 2018.

Crushes has grown to be a platform for ethical purchasing and a tool for self expression.

TEAM

It can be cliché to say we cannot do it without our team, but it is true. These fabulous women hold many roles and responsibilities that sustain and grow our businesses. They are also the welcoming face and presence in our store. We can proudly say that they are our muse, inspiration, support and friends.