Mother-daughter team Kate Ellicott and Nicola Gruenwald introduce us to their Foxton bookstore.
Mewington’s first opened in July 2023 in a quaint but tiny shop on the main highway through Foxton. With both new and second hand books, plus an epic selection of games, it was a fantastic start to our bookshop venture. We had overwhelming support from locals and travellers, however we quickly outgrew the small space. So in early 2025 we secured a new store—6 times bigger!—joining the rest of Foxton’s retail shops on Main Street.
In our new space we’ve been able to let our creativity go wild, with our signature hand stenciled floor and themed children’s areas—Wonderland, Narnia and Peter Pan, and a Hobbit lounge for the fantasy and sci-fi section. Happily a coffee bar will be coming soon!
Books just make people happy
We have learnt that location is a vital part of our business. While we were originally on State Highway 1 through Foxton and highly visible to passing traffic, we were completely missing out on the foot traffic of the main shopping street a block over. Now we have relocated, the flow of customers has been well beyond our expectations and happily continues to grow, making the business sustainable. Having the synergy of other retail businesses around us is also very helpful, and it’s fantastic to hear that the other stores have been busier since we moved to Main Street.
This month we recommend getting your hands on a copy of Golden Enterprise by Phoebe H Li. It examines the history of Chinese immigrants to New Zealand from the 1860s to the 1970s, and is an important chapter of the country’s history that is rich in information and accompanied with stunning illustrations. It was also longlisted for the 2025 Ockham Awards.
There are so many fantastic children’s books in our store, but we want to shine some light on The Tractor has a Wobbly Wheel, and Tails of Tangleby Gardens. The Tractor Has a Wobbly Wheel by Manawatu author Tim Saunders is a ridiculously fun, rhyming story about a group of farm animals and their creative attempts to fix a defective tractor wheel. The illustrations by Carla Martell are bright and humorous, with delightful expressions that add to the story.
Tails of Tangleby Gardens is a beautiful collection of children’s stories, following rabbit couple Montgomery and Marmalade and their adventures with their friends. The book is packed full of child-friendly recipes relating to the stories, and with gorgeous art and photography combined, it is a real treat for children and adults alike to enjoy. The books are written by Christchurch author Sue Heazlewood (owner of the real life Tangleby Gardens!) and the second book in the series, Tails of Tangleby 2, won Best Children’s Book in the World in the Gourmand Best in the World awards in 2023. We highly recommend nabbing copies of these wonderful books for your children’s collection.
Another set of books we love seeing sell is the ‘First Signs’ books by Jenna Brockett, an independent author-illustrator who has created three board books for babies and toddlers with basic words in New Zealand Sign Language, Te Reo and English. Everyday Words, Everyday Words 2, and Animals give clear descriptions along with beautiful illustrations of useful first words.
One title that we are super excited to receive in June is A Beautiful Family by Wellington author Jenny Trevelyan. The book is brilliantly written from the viewpoint of a 10 year old girl, but it is definitely a read for young adult and adult readers. We had the pleasure of attending a launch lunch for this debut mystery/thriller/coming of age book, along with a reading copy that kept Kate turning the pages ’til the wee hours. The story is set on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand, during a family holiday at the beach. Secrets are subtly revealed, building a picture where all is not as it seems.
Recently we had a heartwarming interaction when a customer came in with a young boy who really enjoyed wearing dresses. We found a copy of My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart, which had both child and parent overjoyed to find a book that embraced this child’s clothing choices. It really meant a lot to the parent to have a book that their child felt such a connection with.
Only today a customer came into the shop saying that she was feeling quite low, and looking for books by her favourite author. We didn’t have any new books by that author in stock, but she was happy to fossick about in the second hand section and came away with a stack of six different books, and a big smile on her face. Books just make people happy.
Interestingly, the bulk of classic book sales is to folk in their late teens or twenties …
One of our best selling genres is classic literature, so we are always looking out for beautiful editions of the classics to put on the shelves. Interestingly, the bulk of classic book sales is to folk in their late teens or twenties, as they either discover the renowned titles or they have other copies and wish to add another edition to their collection.
Mewington’s is an evolving bookstore, and a huge amount of our focus right now is on finishing decorating the different areas, unpacking and embellishing. For the near future we are super excited to be organising bookish events; the imminent arrival of shop cats (putting more ‘Mew’ into Mewington’s); the opening of our tea and coffee space, because books and cats and coffee; and establishing a space for local artists to display their work.
Check out Mewington’s Book Shoppe at 24 Main Street, Foxton. You can find the store online at mewingtonsbooks.co.nz/, on Facebook and on Instagram.