Designer Profile

THE BUSINESS | THE FABRIC

PROFILE Adrienne Page
Growing up on a rural farm in Kowhitirangi on the West Coast of the south island the normal role for females was to be taught home crafts such as knitting, sewing and cooking and as my mother was a dressmaker it was thanks to her guidance I loved doing all of them.
In my adult years being very creative I knitted wool jerseys for the many people who ordered them and also attended local markets to sell them. Finding I could not keep up I then learnt to use a knitting machine to make them quicker which was the start of my journey into being self employed. From then on and over the years I accumulated a multitude of skills and experience from setting up and managing various business ventures of which some were successful and others not.

ATLANTIS CRAFT MARKET Christchurch In the mid 70’s As well as myself, I found a huge need for crafts people wanting a place to work and sell their products at low overheads.
A meeting was held with interested crafts people and from this Atlantis market was set up. I found a suitable building and set up separate stall spaces which I then leased out on a weekly rental. There were up to 20 permanent tenants with casuals changing constantly. As well as managing the day to day running of the market I designed knitwear and employed an outworker to machine knit the wool garments which I would then sell from my stall within the market. The combined business’s sold and I moved to Golden Bay to live on a 10 acre lifestyle block fulfilling a dream I had had for many years.

RUSTIQUE In the early 80’s in Golden Bay I set up a small retail shop ”Rustique Knitwear” selling my own hand and machine knitted garments and also selling local arts and crafts on commission. I was approached by many customers who owned shops to supply them with my designs and it was then that I decided to expand into wholesaling as well.

The business grew to employ 3 fulltime machine knitters and up to 150 outworkers who would also machine knit and hand knit garments from the designs and patterns I would supply them with. I would travel to Nelson regularly to drop off wool and pick up completed garments which was a necessary part of the operation to monitor any problems that may arise. With the production side under control and a manager in the workroom I would travel around the country calling on my many valued customers and this also kept me up to date with what the tourist trends were.

In the mid 80’s I became a finalist in the ‘New Zealand Mohair Awards’ held in Auckland for two years in a row which gave me great exposure and confirmation that the garments I produced were at a high standard.

ADRIENNE PAGE I opened a retail shop in Nelson selling over-runs and samples being produced in the Takaka factory I also stocked other clothing labels and some local art and craft products to add to the feel of the shop.

RUSTIQUE VIDEO LIBRARY In the late 80’s I set up the first Video library in Takaka using the front part of the knitwear premises. With a large population of shift workers I could see potential so approached video stores in other cities and had leasing arrangements with them which stocked my library and kept my overheads down. This business became a stand alone business which I then sold. With a name change this business then became very successful and sold many times to then incorporate the land, two buildings and a Laundromat and at this point in time as far as I know it is still operating.

“WAX LYRICAL” This business incorporated my many skills to produce unique art sculpture candles as well as candles with pictures cut out in wax and placed in the mould before pouring. These became very popular around the tourist shops with the whale and dolphin design being very popular in places such as Kaikoura whale watch. .Making my own moulds using latex/silicone rubber, plaster, cast aluminium and fibre glass to produce these candles made it possible to specialize in whatever a shop or café required to enhance the visual effects and atmosphere of the place. This business was sold and I moved to Australia for five years.

I came back from Australia and imported clothing from there for a couple of years attending markets and festivals till supply dried up. Having a similar target market customer to this clothing I decided with my skills to find a way to produce it myself. It has been an exciting process to come back into an industry I knew so well and be able to find knitwear companies willing to work with me that once again I am finding great inspiration in the formal aspects of machine knitting keeping design construction to a few seams or sometimes none making the lettuce edge the prominent feature. My move to Auckland a year ago to cut down travel and be closer to suppliers has now lead to giving up most markets by setting up this website to offer to the many customers I have gained an opportunity to buy online and to also be informed when new designs are available.