Our Story

Pretty Things, Gentle Moments.

Artisanal is a proudly New Zealand-owned online gift and lifestyle boutique based in Auckland, bringing together handpicked gifts, home décor, keepsakes, books, accessories and feel-good finds from distinctive brands around the world.

But Artisanal didn't begin with a website. Our story started with a little store in Auckland and a love of discovering things that felt different.

Where It All Began

Long before Artisanal became what it is today, there was Merge Fashion — our independent fashion and lifestyle store in Newmarket, Auckland.

Merge Fashion 2015

Running our own store gave us a love for discovering products with personality, meaning and a story behind them. We began connecting with brands and makers from around the world and bringing their beautiful creations home to New Zealand.

Natural Life was one of those early discoveries. We first introduced the colourful US lifestyle brand to our customers in 2013, and seeing how people connected with its uplifting messages and joyful little treasures reinforced something we already believed:

Sometimes the smallest things can create the happiest moments.

And the journey didn't stop there. Over the years, we continued discovering more brands, makers and collections from around the world that shared the qualities we loved — thoughtful design, beautiful details, good quality and something a little different from the everyday.

From Merge Fashion to Artisanal

When Merge Fashion closed its doors in 2017, it wasn't the end of our journey. In many ways, it was the beginning of something bigger.

We took our years of retail experience, our relationships with international brands and our love of finding beautiful, hard-to-find products and brought them together under Artisanal.

What started with a handful of special finds gradually grew into a much broader collection, as we continued introducing distinctive international brands and products to New Zealand through both our retail and wholesale businesses.

Today, our collection is constantly evolving, but the way we choose products hasn't changed.

Handpicked & Hard to Find

We don't want to offer everything.

We'd rather find the things that make us stop and say, “That's lovely — we haven't seen that everywhere.”

From charming home décor and colourful everyday pieces to thoughtful keepsakes, books, accessories and little treasures, our collections are carefully chosen from brands and makers around the world.

Some are playful. Some are meaningful. Some are beautifully practical. And some simply make you smile.

That's exactly how we like it.

From Around the World, to Aotearoa

Part of the joy of Artisanal is searching near and far for things we think you'll love.

As part of Hauland Imports Ltd., we bring decades of experience in sourcing and working with brands from around the world. Those relationships help us bring distinctive collections to New Zealand, including many things you won't easily find everywhere else.

But behind it all, we're still proudly local.

Our small team is based in Auckland, New Zealand, where we hold our stock, pack your orders and send them to homes all around Aotearoa.

And yes — we still genuinely get excited when we discover something special.

The Little Things Matter

From the shelves of Merge Fashion in Newmarket to Artisanal today, our philosophy has remained remarkably simple.

We believe beautiful things don't need to be extravagant.

A little gift chosen for a friend.
A favourite mug that brightens the morning.
A few words that mean something.
A tiny keepsake that brings back a memory.
Something unexpected that simply makes somebody smile.

These are the little things that become part of everyday life, and the gentle moments we remember.

That's what Pretty Things, Gentle Moments. means to us.

We hope you enjoy discovering our collections as much as we enjoy finding them for you.

With love,
The Artisanal Team xx