Storehouse Cafe & Homeware

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Located in an industrial area of Taupo on a street full of warehouses and car yards, the unassuming facade of Storehouse is easy to miss. Look closer and you’ll notice the hanging pots, table and chairs, bicycles propped against the door and a reassuring Kokako coffee sign. Owners Brad Dellar, his wife Melissa and friend Sam King stumbled across this space early last year, and fell in love with its cool industrial interior with mezzanine floor, exposed beams and brick walls. It had just the kind of character they’d imagined when brainstorming for a creative space that combined a cafe with Brad’s restored mid-century furniture and homeware. And so Storehouse was born.

When Brad’s not busy in the café kitchen, you’ll find him in the workshop creating handmade wooden pieces, which he sells in the shop or online. ‘I like to make products and put them on our retail shop floor to get people’s opinions and suggestions. It’s a great way to test the waters first,” he says.

His range includes stools, plant hangers, a toy box and a swing made from quality materials like macrcaroa – “as opposed to just finding the cheapest option”, says Brad. If some of his designs have a kid-friendly factor, that’s because Brad designs with his six-month-old son Dash in mind.