From my early days of blogging I have been following the Father Rabbit journey, and watching in admiration as the NZ-based brand has grown from strength to strength. First launching their online store in 2010 and now with two Auckland retail stores under their belt, owners Claudia Zinzan and Nick Hutchinson have always remained true to the Father Rabbit ethos. Using a discerning eye and consistently searching out products that fit with the brand's core values has been integral to their success, and even more so as the market becomes increasingly noisy and crowded.
I recently caught up with Claudia to take a little look behind the scenes. From her first moodboard developed several months ago, through to the instore realisation of the concept, Claudia kindly tells us how Father Rabbit's beautiful Summer edit for 2014 came about.
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As a direct result of being immersed in social media and now having a bigger store (at BLOC) I have many product choices on my horizon, and receive lots of emails from beautiful brands. As such, I have had to be more selective within our Father Rabbit aesthetic. We've also sensed that we need to have a new or seasonal offering that works alongside our basics ranges, to help remain one of the leaders in the home wares offering in NZ. This a lovely challenge for me as a creative and helps me formulate a mood or palette for the season. It's really just a simple touch to my buying to make it as narrow-minded as possible, so that all the different ranges and brands are harmonious within the physical space.
Were there any standout products that served as a starting point for your Summer Curation?
I go along with some serious gut feelings about a direction and I usually have a deal-breaker key product that is so amazing, I can't not have it in Father Rabbit. This latest season it was the Basil Bangs Black and White Stripe Beach Umbrella and the Erstwhile Prints. I was also working with our selection of Christmas Decorations from Denmark that I had ordered months and months before, so I had to select products that filled the gap to create harmony among our signature brands that we carry.
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Summer inspiration from Boards by Blank, the Erstwhile Prints and Basil Bangs Beach Umbrella
Tell us about this season's moodboards...
The one below has a heavy nautical theme with sail boats and stripes, while the other one (at the top of the post) has lots of dark green botanicals, black and white stripes and geometric simple patterns. These moodboards correlate to different parts of the space. I really wanted a summer feel to the store, but was also aware of our Christmas theme. Often the two can clash in look, so I was very restrained with our Christmas palette... all red was banned.
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How did the collaboration with Boards by Blank come about?
At the same time as working on our Summer look I discovered my friend Jon Chapman Smith was on the sly setting up a boutique custom surfboard brand called Boards by Blank. They were just so understated and different, I had to work them into the store somehow, so we did a custom Father Rabbit design which features white with a black dip. Then he told me he was making these super well-crafted day bags aimed at people like him. Made in NZ from canvas and leather, they are not only incredibly functional they feature one of my signature colours of the season, bottle green. So that was perfect timing.
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What's next for Father Rabbit?
I recently caught up with Claudia to take a little look behind the scenes. From her first moodboard developed several months ago, through to the instore realisation of the concept, Claudia kindly tells us how Father Rabbit's beautiful Summer edit for 2014 came about.
Father Rabbit Summer 2014 Moodboard
Let's start at the beginning. How did you go about selecting products for the season?
As a direct result of being immersed in social media and now having a bigger store (at BLOC) I have many product choices on my horizon, and receive lots of emails from beautiful brands. As such, I have had to be more selective within our Father Rabbit aesthetic. We've also sensed that we need to have a new or seasonal offering that works alongside our basics ranges, to help remain one of the leaders in the home wares offering in NZ. This a lovely challenge for me as a creative and helps me formulate a mood or palette for the season. It's really just a simple touch to my buying to make it as narrow-minded as possible, so that all the different ranges and brands are harmonious within the physical space.
Were there any standout products that served as a starting point for your Summer Curation?
I go along with some serious gut feelings about a direction and I usually have a deal-breaker key product that is so amazing, I can't not have it in Father Rabbit. This latest season it was the Basil Bangs Black and White Stripe Beach Umbrella and the Erstwhile Prints. I was also working with our selection of Christmas Decorations from Denmark that I had ordered months and months before, so I had to select products that filled the gap to create harmony among our signature brands that we carry.
Tell us about this season's moodboards...
The one below has a heavy nautical theme with sail boats and stripes, while the other one (at the top of the post) has lots of dark green botanicals, black and white stripes and geometric simple patterns. These moodboards correlate to different parts of the space. I really wanted a summer feel to the store, but was also aware of our Christmas theme. Often the two can clash in look, so I was very restrained with our Christmas palette... all red was banned.
Father Rabbit Nautical Moodboard
How did the collaboration with Boards by Blank come about?
At the same time as working on our Summer look I discovered my friend Jon Chapman Smith was on the sly setting up a boutique custom surfboard brand called Boards by Blank. They were just so understated and different, I had to work them into the store somehow, so we did a custom Father Rabbit design which features white with a black dip. Then he told me he was making these super well-crafted day bags aimed at people like him. Made in NZ from canvas and leather, they are not only incredibly functional they feature one of my signature colours of the season, bottle green. So that was perfect timing.
Father Rabbit Summer 2014 realised in store
What's next for Father Rabbit?
We will soon have the next season moodboards for 2015 coming into effect, so they must also have harmony with previous seasons. We don't suddenly ship everything out of the shop each season to start a fresh, so they all need to talk to each other in some way.
As a brand we have grown up a bit and we are now in a position to develop our own products. That is the most exciting part of this journey.
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Father Rabbit Summer Nautical Theme realised in store
Huge thanks to Claudia for sharing so much with us today. For store locations or to shop online, pop over here.
Images courtesy of Father Rabbit
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As a brand we have grown up a bit and we are now in a position to develop our own products. That is the most exciting part of this journey.
Huge thanks to Claudia for sharing so much with us today. For store locations or to shop online, pop over here.
Images courtesy of Father Rabbit
