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Aotearoa.co.nz
Blue hour Auckland city

About Us - History

Aotearoa.co.nz is a New Zealand online gallery of art and craft, and online gift shop. Owned and operated by Goina Thedinga, who lives in Devonport: a historic seaside suburb on a peninsula, just across from downtown Auckland.

Goina works with many talented artists and created the perfect job without even planning it. She just loves the variety that an internet related business gives. From digital photography to web design, from visiting local markets to surfing the net to source New Zealand art and New Zealand gifts…

Since Late Last Century

Aotearoa.co.nz started late last century while Goina was still working for the Auckland Visitors Centre. She visited a computer exposition in Auckland one day. At the expo she encountered the internet for the first time and felt that this was IT!

Early Days

Webworkshop, one of the first web design companies in Auckland, taught Goina the basics of creating web pages, starting with handcoding (until Macromedia software packages came out).

Webworkshop also introduced her to Adobe packages and very soon the first few personal pages were online. Including a bit of information about Maori culture and Maori arts and crafts. And info about Maori bone carvings and other Maori jewellery.

Our First Customer

One day, Tony S., from the USA, found these pages and sent us an email; he was looking for a bone carving on the internet and could not find any. Neither could we. So we started our Aotearoa.co.nz site with 12 bone carvings.

We added silver fern jewellery by Fronz, beautiful prints by an emerging artist,  and then our popular greenstone carvings.

We do have a great selection of New Zealand made art and gifts: ceramics, glass art, metal art, jewellery, Maori art, Maori jewellery, Kiwiana and more.

We will keep adding New Zealand art, crafts, gifts and other interesting products in ‘Pacific time’ and we will keep enjoying the wonderful New Zealand lifestyle.

New Zealand Made Gifts

So, if you are looking for New Zealand gifts online, you’ve found us!
Again, thank you for surfing in! Enjoy!

Enter our Aotearoa.co.nz shop here.

Aroha,

Goina Thedinga
Director
Aotearoa.co.nz