Jul 26, 2010

Retail fits her lifestyle changeBy Rob MaetzigStuff.co.nz

Inglewood retailer Tania Riddell has a problem – she often gets so enthusiastic about various items in her shop that she really doesn’t want to sell them. Rob Maetzig profiles the owner of award-winning gift shop and gallery Hot Goods.

Walk into the Matai St, Inglewood premises of the increasingly popular gift shop Hot Goods, and chances are there will be laughter ringing out somewhere.

Part of that might be because customers are enjoying themselves as they browse through a very interesting selection of giftware and works of art.

And it’s also likely to be because business owner Tania Riddell and her staff can’t quite believe they are having so much fun in what is their first foray into the world of retailing.

What probably helps is that the staff aren’t really staff. They’re actually friends and family.

There’s Sandra Norton who is on the payroll but whose son lived and played in the same neighbourhood as Tania’s son, which means the two women are very good friends. And there’s Tania’s mum Heather Dodunski who isn’t on the payroll but is there to help more often than not.

And then there’s Tania Riddell herself, who spent most of her working life as a restaurant manager before she and her chef husband Kent decided to open a gift shop right next door to their previous business, Macfarlanes Caffe.

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