If you’re ever in need of an instant pick-me-up, head to Allium Interiors.
There, you can indulge in a riot of beautiful colour, shapes, and textures for the home, coordinated by a friendly, knowledgeable team that’s like family.
Shoppers at Allium are wowed by the latest designer fabrics, wallpapers, and furnishings, from luxury homewares to accessories and gifts.
Owner Jo Burrell says people often walk in and tell her that they love being there, because it makes them feel happy.
Allium has been a steadfast fixture in Newmarket for 22 years. Jo’s journey began when UK fabric house Designer Guild was launched in New Zealand, causing a sensation as a stream of avid followers poured through the door.
Everybody loved the bold, fresh colours, the florals and the patterns in beautiful fabrics, bedlinen, cushions, toiletries and accessories. They brought a sense of joy to people’s homes just when the New Zealand business environment needed it most.
“Designer Guild was different to anything else and people understood that it was a high-quality, timeless investment,” says Jo.
She and a colleague were working for a previous interior design store when a representative approached about stocking Designer Guild. The owner wasn’t interested but Jo and her colleague were besotted and quickly realised the possibilities.
Inspired, they branched out and establish their own business, Allium in Newmarket, with a clear vision to develop a store built around the Designer Guild colour palette, enlivened by gorgeous designs in furnishings, accessories, and gifts.
“We were very focused on Designer Guild at that time. I loved it.”
Ever since, colour has made a strong statement at Allium.
“Designer Guild was different to anything else and people understood that it was a high-quality, timeless investment,” says Jo.
“We were never Country Road beige.”
Jo is from an interior design background. Often customers would come into the store and buy a Designer Guild cushion, which would lead them to exploring other ranges as well. Jo enjoyed helping them access a wide variety of designer products to make furnishing a home easy.
The store gradually evolved and the all-women team grew with increased demand. Annabel has worked at Allium for 18 years now while Wendy has proved a valuable asset for over a year.
They have added new brands and products, from floor rugs and mirrors to wallpapers and everything else in between. They also built up their interior design service – a bespoke service where the key to success was responding to customers’ requirements. By listening to their customers wants and needs, they have grown with them.
Even though they expanded, they still offered the same friendly, personalised, one-on-one service.
“Our customers like that we spend a considerable amount of time with them. The store is not a huge, impersonal space. It’s intimate and they feel looked after.”
Rather than offering a scheme and saying, ‘this is what I think you should do’, Jo and her team often spend hours going through design catalogues to find inspiration for the client. Then they’ll go out and source samples, not just relying on what they have immediately available in store.
“We’re also all about creating environments for people that they actually love. We pride ourselves on not getting people to do what they think they should do, just because it’s the fashion.
“It’s about working closely with people to find their individual style, listening to the customer, actually hearing what they are saying and taking that on board, then doing what they ask for.”
Helping people is fun, Jo concedes, and she loves creating environments that her customers love.
Designer Guild is now a timeless mainstay with many different colourways and designs. Plus, they’ve added new brands such as Christian Lacroix and John Derian. Jo is delighted that she now has 20-year-olds who visit the store and tell her they still have their favourite Designer Guild baby quilt stashed away at home.
With Jo at the helm, Allium goes from strength to strength with her unique hands-on ability to carefully curate unique settings that ensure the store is as popular as ever.
“Whatever you want, you can find it here at Allium,” she says. “With a lovely, relaxed camaraderie that clients appreciate, we support one another and work closely on the various projects to make sure our clients’ homes are beautiful happy places that continue to give pleasure.”
