Words Lucinda Diack     Photography Thomas Law

No matter where you encounter Jaimie Webster you are automatically treated like a long lost friend and welcomed into her world of fashion, interiors, art and all things beautiful. As owner-operator of Jaimie Boutique in Ponsonby, Auckland, she is an energetic and fascinating force.

Surrounded both in the shop, which she owns with her mother Di Armstrong, and her home, by things that inspire and radiate a sense of intrigue, it is little wonder that she brings a smile to those around her as she breezes from one thing to another with little effort. Living with fiancée and renowned jazz musician Nathan Haines in a restored Ponsonby villa, Jaimie laughs as she remembers how things just ‘fell into place’. “Sewing has always been in the blood, and while I was working at fashion boutique store Scotties they offered me the chance to produce my own clothing line, and I just couldn’t say no. It all came about organically and like it was meant to be.” With a background as a photographer's assistant and a model, and growing up with parents involved in the ‘rag trade’, it came as little surprise that she found herself not so many years later with her very own boutique store in Ponsonby.

Open for just over three years the store sells Jaimie’s own range of women’s clothing as well as items from other timeless female clothing designers like Vivienne Westwood. The store offers something different to every individual through the door with an interesting mix of postcards and cards reminiscent of bygone eras, art, coffee table books, the odd intriguing piece of furniture and more recently Jaimie's design cushions, as well as various other homeware items that have caught either Jaimie or Di’s eye.  

To read more from this feature see Issue 34. Available from 0800 2 homestyle.