Deco 2 Retro

This little corner of Glen Eden used to be so desolate and depressing. In the past couple of years, all that has changed — Humbug Café being the first to begin the transformation, and now with Deco 2 Retro as an addition the area has taken a dramatic leap forward. Deco 2 Retro sells a whole range of household items — from large furniture pieces to smaller kitchen items, all loosely grouped together under the ‘retro’ label that seems to be the in thing at the moment. A lot of the things here wouldn’t look out of place in Eagle Vs Shark — they remind me of my parents house. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, its just not really my thing. The prices don’t seem too outrageous, unlike certain other ‘antique’ stores, and with their location so close to humbug, it can’t hurt to have a look round.

There’s a heap of «vintage» stores popping up all over the place, and most of them seem to orientate themselves firmly towards the «suckers» market, or, they sell one spoon bought for 50cents at the market for $ 10 to someone who doesn’t know where else to get them. Fortunately, Deco 2 Retro doesn’t aim towards this market: it’s stuffed full of great items, both big and small, and all at pretty reasonable prices. I probably also like it here because they sell several things that I have in my house so obviously they have excellent taste!
They sell quite a range of things, from furniture, through to kitchen items, through to games and toys. The owner is very friendly, and happy to tell you about any items you are interested in, or just let you pick up things and go «ohhhhh» if you prefer shopping like that.

I am a fan! Four stars in my opinion. This place is tiny and and in a strange little back street, but that makes it even more inviting. This is the type of find (along with super cool Humbug café next door) that makes Auckland, my new home, grow on me a bit more. I like retro household-​y gear, although my house holds little of it I still admire and pick up the occasional thing here and there. The art deco style is to my mum’s liking, nostalgic items that tell’s a tale; if she ever came to visit me in this land of the long white cloud I would take her here. I think she would particularly like the old metal toy cars that they stock quite a bit of and are in good condition. There is, as you would expect, lots of crockery, a bit of furniture, some unique furnishings and the odd little collector’s item that may be of interest. I like how all the little shops and eateries on this corner have worked in unison upon the business hours — everyone except for the dairy are closed on a Monday.