Easy Street in Rawene

New Zealand-based designer Lise Strathdee’s company Outpost Hokianga, located in Rawene, is a “hip concept store that mixes fashion, books, art and fine food,” according to Time magazine. The notion that fashionable shopping takes place only in cities is outmoded thanks to the Internet. And so when Strathdee – who grew up in Italy and New Zealand and then worked in Milan with Romeo Gigli for many years before establishing her own design studio in London-stopped off at the tiny, rural community in search of a lunchtime snack during a vacation, she knew she’d found the perfect place to set up shop. “A general store for the 21st century,” describes Strathdee, Hokianga Outpost is thriving. Products include her own designs, such as cargo pants reimagined in opulent Chinese silks, innovative jewellery, and gourmet food, like pesto made by local producers and balsamic vinegar imported from a former fashion manufacturer in Italy.