To celebrate the launch of our refurbished Christchurch flagship store - we held two exciting events.
We had the honour of hosting Rt Hon Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to open our store officially. A few days later, we proudly gathered dear friends, supporters, and press to hold our launch party. Join us in reflecting on a week to remember.
A Prime Ministerial Visit
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited us for a tour of the new store and workrooms next door and gave a rousing speech to our staff. Luxon spoke about living overseas for sixteen years and visiting our store during the holidays. "I'm a big fan of what you've managed to build here. You should be very proud; this is a world-class business from Christchurch, NZ, taking on the world."
The PM highlighted the benefits that working sustainably can bring, not only to the Earth but also to business. "When you put sustainability at the heart of your business, the economics of the business will take care of itself. It's good for business to put sustainability at the heart of what you do. When you do think about ethical supply chains and sourcing, you know you have also built very good business continuity practices when you hit supply chain disruptions. The fact that you're hunting out and removing waste from your systems and products is also good for your margin and bottom line. So, actually, sustainability and business can work together.”
We thank the Prime Minister for formally opening our new store and acknowledging our hard work. We take pride in being an NZ brand, supporting and advocating for our local environment, talent, and heart of our great country.
Launch Party Time
After the excitement of the Prime Ministerial visit, it was time for our Launch Party - and what a celebration it was. It was a delight to fill the store with the buzz and anticipation of our guests seeing the new design for the first time. While enjoying some beautiful locally crafted beverages from Greystone Wines and Cassels Brewery.
We heard from Peri Dysdale, our founder and CEO of Untouched World, Amy and Annique from Gezellig Interiors and Ben Scales from KiwiFibre. Peri explained, "The original Untouched World store and café opened on this site in 1998, and many of you here tonight have played a unique part in our growth.
We approached this new retail space much like one of our collections, with every detail thoughtfully designed to reinforce our brand aesthetic and values. We wanted to deepen our connection with the talented people who make our pieces. Now anyone passing can see for themselves that much of our collection is indeed made through the wall!" - highlighting one of our favourite parts of the new store- our new viewing window so that all visitors can see our talented makers at work.
A key highlight of the evening was from our Development Manager, Fiona Bretherton, who explained key learnings to create meaningful change. From the power of community and working with our friends Chris and Jo at Glenthorne Station—a ZQRX-accredited farm approximately 110 km from the workrooms, from which over 90% of our merino is sourced.
Fiona also spoke about the importance of using design for societal transformation, like our Project U tee made by women who were once marginalised and trapped by poverty and prostitution in Kolkata, India. "They are empowered with new skills in a dignified, caring environment, where they are paid living wages and have extra benefits for health and education. We believe meaningful change comes when we take time to think about problems and address the root cause through listening and collaboration."
Fi finished by discussing our giving programmes and waste reduction efforts to bring us into a fully circular economy. "To reach our goal of zero textile waste by the end of this year, we had to get very creative on how we could reduce, reuse and recycle our textile scraps. We now collect left-over knitwear pieces from our production runs, cutting them into smaller pieces, which we send to our local spinner. There, they are shredded back down and given a second life as a new yarn. The result is our one-of-a-kind Rubbish Socks. We are always looking for new ways to reuse what we have. There is always more to be done, but it is great to celebrate the small wins along the way while we keep moving forward."
Celebrating Locally-Made & Sustainable Brands
To celebrate the launch of our refurbished flagship store, we curated gift bags for attendees featuring local businesses that embody our dedication to sustainability. Thank you to our friends at Kovacs Design Furniture, Jeuneora, Cassels Brewery, Soul Studio, Purepods, Antipodes, Bennetto, Ecostore, Prima Coffee, Cleanery and Avenues Magazine!
A Heartfelt Thanks To our Community
Thank you again to everyone who made these events possible, including our collaborators, sponsors, and community. As Peri said when she closed her speech, "Together, we've proven that every person, every company, even parked at the bottom of the world, has the power to make a difference globally."
For more insight into our new Roydvale Store and our inspiration, read our journal entry on our design concepts for the exciting new renovation. We can't wait to welcome you to our new and improved store. We can’t wait to welcome you into the space soon!
