It was probably the last place in the Wellington area where you could still buy spare knicker elastic but Haberdashery Plus, in North St, closed a few months ago and has now re-emerged as Heidi’s Sewing Room.
And Heidi is none other than the daughter of Beryl Griffiths, founder and owner of H-Plus for over 30 years. Now Heidi Jenkinson she began her involvement with sewing as a seven-year-old around her mum’s shop before moving on after school to industrial sewing at Relyon and then wedding dresses with Sassi Holford.
The old shop was nothing if not well-stocked but Heidi has made it seem very light and contemporary with her renovations and new ranges of wools, ribbons and cottons. “Mum’s very pleased that someone is carrying it on,” said Heidi.
“I hesitated for a while but my two kids Keira and Corey are getting a bit older now and I just thought I had to go for it whilst the chance was there.”
Friend and colleague Deborah Malan will be running knitting and crochet classes quite soon in the studio adjoining the main shop. “There’s now two generations who mostly haven’t learned these skills from the mothers, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of people out there who’d like to learn,” said Deborah.
Mon-Fri 9.30 -4.30
Sat 9.30 1.30