Brenzen Fuerst & Lize Immelman of Lelu Boutique, Kilbirnie, Wellington
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Welcome to My Wellington, a special blog post I'll write every now and then. I want to explore this beautiful colourful city of mine, beginning with my favourite places in Newtown/Kilbirnie (where I live) then stretching out to other parts of the city. I'm often asked by visitors to NZ about where to shop and what to see. So eventually I hope to have a collection of these posts to gather together. It's also a good way to celebrate our first 18 months-ish in this bustling community. Please note: the places I write about are 100% of my choosing. I'm not sponsored in any way, I just genuinely like them.
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Our first stop on the tour is Lelu, a sunny little shop in Kilbirnie village. Lelu belongs to Brenzen and Lize, who first met at antenatal group and decided to go into business together. The name of the shop combines Leonie and Luca, their two year old daughters, and the store is very much a tribute to the joy and love of small people. There's a wide selection of beautiful shoes and slippers, toys, books and clothing. Some of the pieces are handmade by NZ designers. Many others are sourced from Europe. Brenzen and Lize say they choose everything carefully: things they love, things their children love and things they'd love to give as gifts. It's a real 'aunty's store': I found many things I wanted to buy for my neices and friends' babies. I think my favourites were the woven doll-houses imported from France (you can see these below.)
Also at Lelu, Brenzen's partner Daniel (an animator and artist at Weta Digital, working on The Hobbit) is exhibiting a collection of joyful artworks inspired by toddlers and fatherhood:
Below are some photos I snapped on a sunny Friday afternoon at Lelu, but you can also visit them online.
Lelu: The Baby Boutique, 70 Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie Wellington 6022, New Zealand.
