Paul Dowie. Photo / Babiche Martens
For design store owner Paul Dowie, treasures can be simple - from the garden to enjoying a breakfast - or artistic and historic.
Paul Dowie and partner Rebecca Snelling opened new Ponsonby design store Douglas + Bec last year. The pair have carefully curated a range of modern design - lighting, furniture, jewellery, ceramics and more - from independent and international designers. Dowie talks us through some of his favourite design pieces, from
stools by Snelling and her father Doug, to quirky wooden sunglasses.
10 FAVOURITE THINGS
1. DS Stool by Workroom Design
Workroom Design's off-cuts stool. The latest batch has all been made from recycled oak. You can stack up to three and they also function nicely as your personal side table - ready for a steady flow of summer reading and cool, refreshing beverages.
2. The vegetable garden
I have fond memories of my father's and grandfather's gardens. Ripe gooseberries, baby peas, new potatoes - they grew them all. I still have a lot to learn but this year I planted the best of what we harvested last year: lebanese cucumbers, courgettes, four varieties of tomatoes, sage, basil and plenty of lettuce.
3. "Old money" paper weight
The first art/object piece Rebecca and I collaborated on. A customer recently gave one to her accountant - an excellent idea. These shiny, weighty objects never fail to draw you in.
4. Buck pocket knife
There's a couple of things I always like to have with me: one is my Buck pocket knife. I find myself using it nearly every day to do all kinds of stuff from adjusting screws to whittling a stick.
5. Worn out welcome by Tracey Black, etching
A charmingly clever etching in which the plate has been put under a doormat, scuffed with the strokes of feet, then printed progressively as the impressions build up. You can take many readings from its line and tone.
6. Breakfast
One day I made a breakfast I was so pleased with I took a photo of the result. Then, wishing my breakfasts could be so good every day, I decided to continue this practice. Not because my breakfasts are the best thing since sliced bread but rather to motivate me to make my first meal of the day count. I've started uploading these images to a site called paulsbreakfast.blogspot.com. I'm inviting people to submit and share their favourite recipes to egg me on (ho ho).
7. Sensitive Boyfriend handkerchief
My father was a hanky man and so am I. When my honker needs a blow, it's normally audible. That's why this handkerchief is so apt.
8. Crushed bowl by JDS Architects for Muuto
Muuto is one of our favourite overseas design companies. This piece in particular really appeals, for its delicate, paper-like aesthetic.
9. Inherited diaries
My grandfather, Douglas Dowie, served in the 14th (NZ) LAA Regiment NZFA. These memoirs not only offer me a real insight into what he experienced day to day, they're also wonderful bound historical objects which I will always cherish.
10. Shywood sunglasses
I have developed a real respect for wood. It's a wonderful medium that can be crafted into so many amazing things. I was thrilled, therefore, to find these wooden glasses from Oregon by Shywood - light, comfortable and even polarised.
