Heather Barrow is selling Ugg boots in a pop-up shop in Napier.
Heather Barrow is selling Ugg boots in a pop-up shop in Napier.
Heather Barrow’s comfort zone has shifted in the last few years, from leaping about as New Zealand’s first Zumba instructor to slipping into something a bit more comfortable. But none of this has happened by choice.
Heather and husband Clive were ticking along nicely, running two small businesses before Coviddelivered the first blow and changed the course of their lives, slowing both income streams to a trickle. Then the Cyclone Gabrielle dam burst, unleashing a torrent of disaster in the young family’s home district of Puketapu, and their lives were once again put on hold.
“We were surrounded by floodwater. The community had meetings twice a day to touch base. And then the Air Force turned up and said, ‘Women and children first’,” Heather says.
The family was given 10 minutes to get in the chopper, including two-year-old daughter Grace and their pet dog. After being evacuated from their Swamp Rd home, the family spent a couple of weeks in an Airbnb “kindly donated” by the owners. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
“We couldn’t work. And then my sister-in-law in Australia moved to England and sold us the rest of her Ugg business stock.”
A range of Ugg boots will be for sale in a pop-up shop in Emerson St.
Heather is now busy getting a pop-up store ready in lower Emerson St to try to sell off the genuine sheepskin boots and recoup some of their losses. She is also selling leather baby shoes, suede boots and children’s and adult’s Uggs.
“We have lots of kids’ and adults’ Uggs in a variety of colours and more than 20 different styles.”
More than 20 different varieties of boots are for sale.
She believes New Zealanders are very good at supporting small business owners.
“If people support us, it will help two small business owners recover from the hit we’ve taken since Covid and the cyclone. This is a genuinely beautiful product - they’re very attractive, warm and cosy. I’m excited to sell them.”
The Details:
What: Treat your Feet Pop-Up Shop
When: Opens Saturday, April 1. Will be open Tuesday to Sunday, from 9.30am onwards.
Where: 251A lower Emerson St.
Info: Huge range of styles, colours, Uggs, leather and suede boots. For more information, phone 027 812 5071.
