Keeping our dollars local and our high street thriving
Keeping our dollars local and our high street thriving
How it started.
Shop Local, Shop Howick began in the first Covid lockdown, when Sense's biggest client at the time, Air New Zealand, stopped flying planes overnight. Our agency ad revenue disappeared with it, and we found ourselves with a team of talented people, no work, and no clear purpose.
We knew our local high street in Howick would struggle through lockdown. Many businesses had no digital presence to fall back on. So our team set to work building a free platform to support local businesses: a website where they could promote themselves, and a social media presence where the community could rally behind them. At the same time, local mum Kate Saunders was already developing a similar Facebook group, so we joined forces and the Shop Local, Shop Howick digital platform was born.
The purpose of the group when it started, and as it continues, is to keep the dollars flowing through Howick businesses, and keep our high street thriving. Our high street is the beating heart of our community and we want to ensure it continues to be for generations to come. The Shop Local, Shop Howick platform will always be a free advertising platform for local businesses and we encourage all local businesses to use it!
How it’s going.
The Shop Local, Shop Howick movement has grown exponentially since those early Covid days. Once lockdowns lifted, the website became defunct, but the Facebook community kept growing, shaping the fantastic online community it is today:
13,200 members
4 dedicated admins
Approx 100 new membership requests every month
Thousands of comments and reactions each month
Positive vibes only!
It's a space that fosters real belonging and connection, something we all need and thrive on.
Meet the Team
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![Sarah Kavanagh]()
Sarah Kavanagh
Co-founder and Admin
Sarah is passionate about helping local business, through both her Social Media agency and her volunteer work. She has sat on school and industry boards, as well as volunteered at her kids grassroots sports over the years.Originally from London, she has called Howick home for the last 15 years, where her and her husband Shane are raising their 2 kids.
Sarah loves Howick Village life and feels privileged to give back to the community through the Shop Local, Shop Howick initiative. She runs her business; Sense, The Social Agency from Howick, with her local team, servicing businesses across the whole of New Zealand. However, she LOVES working with the local businesses in Howick Village and seeing them thrive.
She is often found working from The Apothecary or Urban in East as she feels more inspired in a cafe environment than her home office!
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Maree Peary
Admin and owner of Style + Soul
Maree is the owner and Creative Director of STYLE + SOUL, an East Auckland soft furnishings, upholstery and home styling business built around her love of fabrics, colour, texture, beautiful homes and helping people fall in love with their spaces again.She works from home in Bucklands Beach, and absolutely loves the lifestyle and flexibility that comes with running a local business.
Maree loves working locally, shopping locally, recommending local businesses and supporting the wonderful people who make our community what it is.
Maree says “Howick feels a little like our own village, with its fabulous independent shops, cafés, restaurants, tradespeople and business owners. I love bumping into people I know, discovering new local businesses, collaborating with other business owners and being part of the incredibly supportive network we have here.”
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![Gemma Brown]()
Gemma Brown
Admin
Gemma has been on the small-business rollercoaster, having previously owned her own business, so she know first hand just how much goes on behind the scenes, the good, the stressful, the exciting and the “what on earth am I doing?” moments!She became part of the Shop Local community through her own business and loved meeting other local business owners, sharing ideas and supporting each other.
These days Gemma works at Habitat for Humanity, where she gets to do work that’s all about helping people and making a difference in our community.
And she also gets to be one of the admins of the Shop Local Facebook page, which basically means she gets to help shout about the awesome businesses in our Howick community!
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![Maddy South]()
Maddy South
Admin
Maddy hails from a small village in the UK called Liverpool… She and husband David moved to New Zealand with their three kids just over eight years ago, quickly becoming part of the Howick community through schools, events, local business and, of course, the beaches!
With a background in small business, Maddy founded her wedding and lifestyle photography brand, Mad Panda Photography, in 2005; the same year her first child, Will, was born.
A firm believer that business is better when we support one another, Maddy loves being part of Shop Local and building a stronger local community.
She’s passionate about wellness, water and keeping business sustainable from both a human and environmental perspective, and alongside Shop Local is involved with Molecular Hydrogen, mental health and music through Brightside Productions. Dance mums may know her from Hawkins Theatre, while she can usually be found getting her year-round high-tide fix at one of our local beaches.
A word from our founder…
“The Shop Local Shop Howick movement is a fantastic example of what can be acheived when a community comes together. When we started, we had no idea how big or strong this movement would be, we simply knew we had to do something. We are so proud of what we have created and will continue to grow this platform to add value to our local Howick businesses, to keep the heart beat of our village strong.”