On the first floor of the Arts Centre of Christchurch, you’ll find Indigo & Provisions. Dominic Ellett, the guy behind this beautiful store, has curated a space fit for the bill. If you’ve been to the Art Centre, you’ll understand this is quite the undertaking - it’s a pretty good-looking building. Dom was kind enough to have us (and a few of you) over for coffee and toast, afterwards, we sat down with him for a quick chat.
Q:I’ve just arrived on the planet, what is Indigo & Provisions?
Dom: A physical and online concept store carrying brands with a great story and products of superior quality that are hard to find around New Zealand.
Q: What lead you to open Indigo & Provisions?
Dom: In 2016 I moved from Auckland to London with my partner who is from Christchurch. We stayed there for 2 years and during that time I visited some incredible countries and concept stores, I also worked in an amazing store called Meet Bernard which is where I discovered a number of the brands I carry at Indigo. Fast forward to 2018 we moved back to CHCH and that’s when I realised there weren’t any shops in NZ selling the brands I loved or showcasing the kinds of styling that I had grown to love. So I decided to open my own store and stock all my favourite brands and put a focus on storytelling and exceptional service.
Q: What’s your morning routine; what’s your favourite toast topping? Do you eat standing straight the breadboard, or sit down with a plate? Light or dark roast? Filter or espresso?
Dom: Scrambled eggs, sit down with a plate, dark roast, espresso but I drink a lot of filter in the shop thanks to the Moccamaster you guys kindly supply me with!
Q: Smooth or crunchy?
Dom: Crunchy every day!
Q: #1 Christchurch snack/meal under $10?
Dom: The cheese scones from Grain are a serious snack they are massive and loaded with butter and spice, highly recommend. We also have a heap of great food trucks in the city at the moment that I regularly hit up.
Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Dom: I’m not really a morning person so the fact that I love having my own shop and business doesn’t get my flying out of bed wide awake I still need a few hours to get going. But I do look forward to my first cup of coffee and the excitement of a new day which equals new possibilities.
Q: The biggest fashion cliché right now is:
Dom: Chunky sneakers/ Dad shoes. I feel like the amount of people who can actually pull these off is very small and mostly they look ridiculous.
Q: What’s on the horizon for Indigo & Provisions?
Dom: Next year will see us launch a number of new brands into the store that aren't available anywhere else, more collaboration pieces and in-store events. It’s gonna be a busy one!
Q: What’d you think the next ‘fashion trend’ - whatever that means - will be?
Dom: 90’s fashion and “vintage” has been trending for some time now and honestly I don’t think it’s going anywhere for a while but I’m keen to see some 50’s style trends make their way back in.
Q: Who do you look to for inspo/who do you look up to?
Dom: There’s isn’t really one person I look to for inspiration or look up to but instead I draw inspiration from many different sources. Instagram, books, podcasts, youtube just to name a few I check in with daily to learn more about business or brand building. Currently taking a lot of inspo from Valentin of I Love Ugly and from the guests on Sick Leave Podcast.
Q: How do you decide which brands/labels/items to stock?
Dom: I’ve got a checklist I generally work with for sourcing brands and choosing items from each brand.
- Does the brand or product have an interesting back story behind it that I can tell people about?
- Does the brand or product excite me, would I wear it or use it?
- Is the quality up to our standards, will it last a long time?
- Who else stocks this item or brand in NZ? If it’s easy to come by already I don’t need it.
Q: What question are you dying to answer that we haven’t asked?
Dom: Favourite brand you stock at Indigo & Provisions:
Currently 3Sixteen but may switch to Knickerbocker when we get them in March next year!
You can count on Dom, there's always a pot on. Drop by Level 1, The Arts Centre, 28 Worcester Boulevard to meet the guy behind this all or have a geez over here.
