People passing 109 Church Street may have noticed a rather impressive new tiled shopfront where a once-closed and tired-looking building has been given a new lease of life.

The transformation is the work of local businesswoman Louise Luscombe, who purchased the building about a year ago with a dream of opening a homewares and gift shop in Ōpōtiki.

After two years of planning and extensive renovations, that dream became a reality on October 21, when Luscombe officially opened the doors of Two Sisters and Co.

“It is great to be finally open after about two years of planning, and the finished result is all thanks to two amazing local builders who did an incredible job with quite a challenging site,” she said.

The project has involved more than simply giving the shop a facelift. The rear of the building has also been developed to accommodate two treatment rooms, separate from the retail space.

Beautician Katy Hata has already moved into one of the rooms with her Gloss studio, while the second is available for the right person.

Luscombe said the studios had been designed to provide a private, professional, spa-like environment, with a separate entrance at the rear of the shop and plenty of parking.

“I have wanted to open this shop for quite a while and about a year ago I bought this building to renovate because I thought if I don’t do it now I might never do it.”

It also marks a significant change of direction after 17 years as office manager at Ōpōtiki ITM, where she has left partner and business owner Garry to fend for himself at the timber yard while she turns her attention to the new venture.

Luscombe said she wanted to create a welcoming retail space offering quality homewares at reasonable prices, with an emphasis on smaller New Zealand suppliers alongside a selection of products sourced from places such as Bali and India.

“It has been a big project to get the shop looking just right, but I really wanted it to be a nice space to raise the bar on the main street for smaller shops.

“My aim was to sell quality homewares, but not at exorbitant prices, focusing on small lines from New Zealand as well as a few selected products from places like Bali and India.”

The range is deliberately varied, from handmade soap through to larger statement pieces, such as an Indian gate, with plenty in between.

Luscombe is also happy to help customers find something special for a particular corner of their home, whether it is a unique furnishing or a one-off piece they are unlikely to find elsewhere.

“We have a lot of one-off pieces and definitely no bulk buying, so there is always something new coming in every week or so.”

While one customer has suggested the shop is “too posh for Ōpōtiki”, Luscombe sees things differently.

“I disagree. There is no reason why we can’t raise the standards in the main street and in our homes. Hopefully locals can find something unique here to do just that.”

Two Sisters and Co. is open six days a week, generally from 9.30am until around 5pm, with Saturday trading until about 1pm.

Luscombe encourages people to pop in, have a look around and see what is on offer.