Go north, young woman

Verranda Young brings a wind of change to the North Shore.

Carol Young is taking fashion to the North Shore. Not that it's a fashion wasteland, but the bridge and beyond isn't exactly High St. So bravo to her for opening Verranda Young at Birkenhead Point. She's stocking mainly Australian designers, including Kirrily Johnston, Alice McCall, Mad Cortes, Cohen et Sabine, Sumakhi, Melanie Cutfield, plus New Zealand's own Trelise Cooper and New Zealand-born Hong Kong resident Yvonne Bennetti.

"I wanted all the labels that I love," she says, confessing to being blown away by Mad Cortes and Kirrily Johnston.

Young, who worked for Trelise Cooper selling her range to retailers, felt like a change and decided to get into retail herself. The North Shore site, with Government House stained-glass windows and a judge's bench for a counter, was perfect.

"I live up the road and I was sick of crossing the bridge," Young says.

Now there's a reason to make the North Shore a destination and not just because you fancy a swim at Cheltenham Beach. Shopping will always take precedence over swimming.

Verranda Young is at 6 Rugby Rd, Birkenhead Point, ph (09) 418 0052.