The tale of Father Rabbit
Climbing the stairs to handbag heaven
Sarah Daniell talks with the founders of Father Rabbit, Claudia Zinzan and Nick Hutchinson, about connection, community and things that last.
When most parents of a new baby are focused on just that – navigating the strange, often surreal new path that has no map – Claudia Zinzan and Nick Hutchinson decided they’d launch a business.
Tony was born and so too was the story of Father Rabbit, a small family business selling covetable, beautifully curated homeware. The exquisite vase or print, the knife handcrafted in Spain since 1917.
The business, like the son, is now a teenager and the parents of both take a pause to ask, how did that happen? Claudia, an interior designer, and Nick, a film technician, planted the seed of an idea they shared and they have watched it grow into something real and tangible. “When we had Tony,” says Claudia, “Nick was working in the film industry and got lots of days off and I was on maternity leave. I think Nick’s father said something like, ‘Why don’t you think about a side hustle, so that if something happened in the film industry or whatever, it could generate some income for you?’”
They came up with a plan for a “selectively” curated general store.
“This was back when we thought we were very discerning,” laughs Claudia. “But the idea was along the lines of, if you’re going to buy one set of wine glasses it should be ‘this’ one. Really definitive, but under the character of Father Rabbit.”
Nick built a simple website and they took some nice photos in the backyard. “There wasn’t a big grand plan,” says Claudia. “We’ll sell some beautiful things – specific and curated – what we like, I guess.”
Starting with an online store operated from their “tiny” house, they didn’t take a proper salary for the first five years, instead focusing on building the brand. Then the quiet idea started to make some noise.
“The customers’ reaction to Father Rabbit was really strong and quite surprising to us,” says Nick. “He was created as a nostalgic character who had very strong values and people really connected to that. I think people thought we were like Father Rabbit and we were like, no no – we want to be like Father Rabbit but we, like everyone, are not perfect and mostly disorganised and chaotic.”
Father Rabbit represents all of our good days. When you find the rockstar car park, when the washing doesn’t blow away, when things line up.
“We all know that Father Rabbit,” says Nick. “We’ve had family members or friends we aspire to be more like, with particular values, rituals and nice things, and we have condensed them into one character.”
Nick and Claudia got to work, carefully sourcing treasures for others to treasure.
It was all about small, incremental changes, says Claudia. Then around 2012, when Facebook Business was launched, things really kicked off. Their community of followers responded to the concept of a few good things that last, but also in a way more personal and visceral, to Father Rabbit the character.
“Suddenly we had this engagement with our customers. We had cakes being delivered to our house and people would hand-drop stuff, like lovely flowers or a CD of music for Father Rabbit,” says Claudia.
From low-key neighbourly gratitude to proper business adulting: four shops in Auckland, including one in the Mt Eden’s Bloc.
“We had to get rid of the shop in our house and that’s when we opened the Mt Eden store in 2013,” says Claudia. “We were on
the coattails of Città and BoConcept and we knew that they had customers coming there.”
Customers appreciated fine and functional things, but were also concerned with questions around sustainability, like what happens when you choose one great kitchen knife? It lasts.
“A lot of our products come from experiences with people,” says Claudia. “You go around to someone’s house and it’s like ‘god they had good sheets’. Or you go to someone’s for dinner and they have that really sharp knife. It’s a collection of those memories
and experiences of when something was done really, really well and how much more enjoyable that experience was for you.
“I feel good that we have brands that are long lasting,” says Claudia. Like the handcrafted Pallarès Solsona knives from Spain. “I know exactly where they’re from, where they are made and the family we are buying them from – and I know it’s sustaining their lifestyle. And we can tell that story and know those knives will last a lifetime.”
Father Rabbit is also an incubator for and supporter of Aotearoa makers and start-ups. “Take Real World skincare. I know it’s a New
Zealand company, I know the effort they are putting into making their products. We know a lot about where our things are made.
“We are still stocking some of the products that we started with 14 years ago. Enamel wear, Scent of Home candles and the wooden spoons.”
What began at home has flourished at their home at Bloc.
“The road works around Normanby Road are all mostly done, the City Rail Link is a year away,” says Nick. “That area is establishing itself as a home, furniture, interior design hub – Città, ECC, Tim Webber, Simon James, lots of fabric houses. It ticks a lot of boxes for people who might be refurbishing their homes. Architects and designers come here."
In an age of mass consumerism, the notion of buying something good, once, is a principle to hold on to.
“Also I think part of the Father Rabbit experience is shopping in a non- stressful environment,” says Claudia.
“Take Christmas, for example. All the gift wrapping, that festive vibe to your shopping. Rather than storming around a mall, you’re coming into a mini department store where you should be able to tick off a lot of people on your list. We have a big emphasis on summer and holiday and the beach, which makes great gifts like towels and sunscreen, but also kitchenware.”
Elevated everyday objects. Beach chairs and chilly bins, big picnic mats and wine coolers. “We are all about summer and holidays at that time,” says Claudia. Someone might come into the store and want only to buy that one special Christmas decoration or a beautiful card.
“So that one decoration becomes a memory of that Christmas,” says Nick.
What has sustained Father Rabbit, and Nick and Claudia, goes beyond profits and margins, though arguably those are important.
“I don’t think we set out to be retailers. I never feel like this is work. We genuinely feel so much love for the products and brands we have, the look of the stores, the staffs’ joy when a new product comes in – that’s what sustains us,” says Claudia.
“Putting aside challenges,” says Nick, “it’s quite hard not to be in the moment. It’s a family. There’s real joy in working for yourself. We’re
a little business, we have four stores and you think that must be a big operation, but it’s not. It’s a little business. There are a lot of little businesses out there with similar challenges and goals,” he says.
“We co-exist,” says Claudia. “And it's really important to support these businesses because if we don’t they will disappear and we’ll only have big mall stores.”
One of the great pleasures of shopping in a lovely place, she says, is service and recognition. “You’re spending your hard-earned dollars. The value, on every level, goes right back to the customer, they’re valued as people.”
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