It's been another fantastic year for Tinch, thank you so much to our lovely customers, suppliers and supporters. Helen is due to go on Maternity leave early December as our 4th baby is arriving near Christmas.

We've been inundated with demand this Christmas season, thank you so much! If you're still waiting on a parcel it WILL arrive as soon as possible as we're working through all of our remaining orders as fast as our hands can go! The online store has been updated to only display items that are in stock and ready to send - so if you still need something for Christmas, shop away and it'll be on the courier very soon. We just can't take any more custom orders, or made-to-order designs this year.

OPEN STUDIO day Sun 9th December 10am - 4pm.

Oamaru locals have one last chance to shop direct from the studio! We would love to see you here for a catchup and a shop if you're in town - complimentary gift wrapping of course! Eftpos available.

Until we can reopen later in 2019, after a much needed break with new baby & family time, please shop with our stockists. You're always welcome to email anyenquiries; info@tinch.co.nz

Helen and family xxxxxx

As well as owner/operator of Tinch Design, Helen is the curator/coordinator for Dunedin Designed collective Store, Guild. Helen and colleagues have been working hard to present a 'taster' of the Dunedin store in Oamaru for 4 weeks in the Christmas lead-up! In store you will find a selection from the Tinch Design range, and garments, jewellery, art, homewares and accessories from other local designers. 22 Tees Street Oamaru, next door to Estella Hair Studio, across the road from Tees St Cafe.Opening preview Fri 12th Oct 5-7pm. Open Tues-Sat 10-4 until Nov 10th 2018.

#guildpopup

Happy New Year! We are into our 8th year of business, how awesome! A few minor changes to our services;

We'll be producing designs in batches and updating the website with stock availability more regularly. In the past, everything was made to order. Hopefully this will speed up turnaround time for online orders!Made to order services are still available - please contact if you'd like to order something that isn't available online. Custom design commissions are also welcome.Turnaround time can get slow during School holidays - apologies for this, but please always contact if you need an order to arrive by a set date. Family first and all that!Some designs will be retired this year to make way for fresh new ideas and products...Follow on Instagram for news updates & occasional special offers

Please get in touch if you have any enquiries at all!

Cheers, Helen x

This has to have been the highlight of our year. You might've visited our Oamaru home and studio through the glossy pages of Your Home & Garden magazine recently! We feel very privileged to have been asked to share our home and work story in this way.

We hope you enjoy the read, please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or comments, it's been lovely to hear more about our home's history, and thoughts and impressions from readers.

For us, and the children, it was quite an experience! xNZ Your Home & Garden, Christmas Issue 2017 | Pages 55, 76-84.

You may also have been among the 300+ who actually visited our home recently! We opened our home and studio as part of a home & garden tour for a school fundraiser. It was a great day for all, and a huge success of a fundraiser. Thank you to everybody who came along, it was so nice to meet so many supporters right here at home!

We have since decided to open the studio by appointment, so if you're in or passing through Oamaru - get in touch to make a time to visit.

x Helen and family x

A profile in the Business Section of the ODT details Helen's work and life journey in Otago, New Zealand...Read the full article here

Another first for me!

Through Guild in Dunedin - I'll be running a fun, casual Sunday session on making your own Christmas Crackers! It's a level-up on buying our popular Christmas Cracker kit-sets, in that you get real time help and extra fun ideas for jamming your crackers with personality and pop!

You can also pick from a range of pretty papers for decoration, and Tinch magnets as cool locally made loot to stuff them with! And who doesn't love a joint crafting session in a pretty shop with nice music and creative company..

To book email: popup@guilddunedin.co.nz

See you at Guild, Sunday 26 November from 11am...

This is a first for us! We're opening our home, and the Tinch Studio to the public as part of a North Otago Home & Garden tour! There are NINE seriously unique, amazing and inspiring properties in the line-up, including interiors, gardens, creative studios - and several of them are of National significance! Tickets are available from Oamaru Paper Plus, Kakanui School, or if you contact us we can organise them for you too. It's a fundraiser for our tiny rural school. Come on over!

Just a quick post - to say the website is back up and functioning for online orders!

Today is my first official day 'back at work' after 18 weeks maternity leave.

Tinch is my small, home-based design business; it's our 2nd baby in order of birth date, but by emotional hierarchy, it's really number 4. I'm now a Mum to 3 super cool kids, and I'm incredibly fortunate and proud to be self employed, into my 7th year of business, with the ability to work from home; juggling my creative endeavours with 8 year old girl, 3 year old boy, and a new baby girl. (More of theTinch Story story is here). Although my home studio is based in picturesque North Otago town of Oamaru, I frequently work from Dunedin City where I also help to manage and curate the running of Guild.

Needless to say, things are busy (and I love it)!

In the next month or so, as I re-adjust back into working-life-after-leave, I hope I'm able to upkeep my usual standards of helpful and timely service for our online orders and queries. The website just has some products available at the moment, not everything yet, and I do hope to introduce some fresh new designs as things settle... If you need an answer or an order fast, please get in touch! I'll do my best not to drop anything I'm juggling! We'll properly celebrate re-opening with a bit of a sale soon, so keep an eye out.

This year I'll try to open up a bit more about the behind the scenes of work-from-home life on Instagram, if you're interested follow me here @tinchDesign.

Thanks so much to our long term supporters who all help to make this family business tick; suppliers, stockists, customers, friends and family - it's very much a community thing; self employment while parenting!

Helen & co. x

Sorry to mention the C-word in September!

But, Helen's finishing work soon, so the Tinch web stores and ordering services will be closed until 2017 -- so here's the best (and last) chance to order Tinch pressies for Christmas...

The deal:

- 20% off storewide, including custom orders

- Just get your pre-order form in by Sat 1 Oct 2016

- You'll be sent an invoice to pay by Sat 1st Oct

- Your pressies will arrive sometime November, guaranteed sorted for Xmas!

Browse the website to make your picks, then fill in the order form. Easy!

> Here's the pre-order form

Pre-ordering really helps us to streamline workload, these last few weeks are going to be crazy!

Really appreciate your support as always!

Helen x

So, heres the thing.

We're expecting our 3rd baby soon!

This will quite drastically affect the busy season for us, and will need to close for orders mid-late October, until sometime in the New Year.

For those new to Tinch, this is a very small family-run business, where I (Helen) designs, and produces everything -- down to the packaging.. It's a labour of love, and has helped support our family for 6 years now, (which we're extremely proud of!) The business is based between Dunedin and Oamaru - where our new home is. It's the incredible feedback and support from our lovely loyal customers, and the inspiration drawn from our growing family that drives the range, so it's fundamentally important to us that we can sustain this little business through maternity leave.

We hope to stock up some new retailers around NZ in advance, if you have a favourite local store that you'd love to see Tinch at, please let me know? And if any of our stockists are reading, pretty please order for Xmas ASAP!Helen@tinch.co.nzIn Dunedin, GUILD will have a steady supply of the Tinch range to last the Christmas season.

It's going to be different this year, not rushing out beautifully wrapped gifts throughout November & December, so apologies for the inconvenince, and really hope we have your support in ordering extra early this year! We can keep in touch on Instagram, I use that more than FB recently @TinchDesign

This image: I caught a glimpse of my shadow as I walked downstairs in our new home recently... the handwriting is our 7 year old daughter's - who helped to create our interactive ABCs wall sticker set. She's super proud. Helen xxx

Happy New Year!

The tinch online store has just reopened for the year, and to celebrate we have a $10 Bonus* for you!

Use code HI2016at the checkout, and your bonus $10 will automatically be put towards your order. Easy!

*Spend $30 or more on any tinch order, and get $10 off. Only until Sat 23 Jan.

As always, keep in touch on our Facebook Page. If you're decorating, or have recently installed or rearranged your tinch wallsapes - show us a pic, we'd love to see!!

Let's make it a great year!

Helen

Well, this year has been positively bonkers for tinch - in all sorts of wonderful ways.

The year's not out yet though, so let's celebrate with FREE SHIPPING on all orders, worldwide for the rest of 2015.

Note last order dates for Christmas deliveries:

Australia: Monday 7 December

New Zealand: Friday 18 December

Rest of World: we can't guarantee they'll arrive for Christmas now that it's December, but you'll get them soon after no doubt.

Remember, Dunedin locals can find lots of tinch products at Guild, 45 Moray Place, Dunedin. Helen occassionally works from there too, so if there's something you'd like to order, and collect from the shop - just ask!helen@tinch.co.nz

And finally, we've been in the midst of a major home & studio relocation these last few months. Thank you for your support and patience while turnaround time hasn't been as super promt as usual!

The 5th Annual Great Tinch Colouring Contest is ON! As always, the entry page features designs from the tinch wallscape range. This year I was going for a school-holidays feel; it's all about friends, play time, time out, dreams, mess, and adventures!

You have 'til the end of the winter holidays to make this your own, and colour it!

There's stacks of prizes to win, and it's fair to say everyone who enters finds this fun and inspiring.

Grab your colouring gears, and the whole family, and enter!

Open worldwide, and to all ages - yes grownups included! The annual contest is about creativity and good, old-fashioned colouring fun for absolutely everyone.There's 3 main categories; Littlies (anyone under 12)

Grownups (anyone over 13) Collaboration (any 2 or more people of any age sharing an entry)LOADS of prizes! - As well as prizes for each category, there's a Grand Prize of $100 tinch credit!

- Every entry goes in the draw to win one of several spot prizes

- We always also give away a 'peoples choice' prize, to the entry that gets the most likes on Facebook

- AND our lovely favouriate local Dunedin cafe has offered TWO $20 vouchers, so if you're a Dunedin local, tick the bonus prize box on the colouring sheet to be in to win those too.How to enter:

1. Download the colouring page from here or here

2. Print it!

3. Colour it!

4. Submit it! to competition@tinch.co.nz by 5pm Mon 20th July

We add every entry to our Facebook page, here's the entries from previous years:

2014 Kereru & Fantail in the Kowhai

> 2013 Mid-WinterScape

> 2012 Illustrated Alphabet

> 2011 Up Up & Away! > 2011 ChristmassyGood luck to all, we can't wait to see your masterpieces again this year!

Tinch now does greeting cards! They feature photographic reproductions of original, handmade tinch designs.

Blank inside, for your heartfelt message, and suitable for lots of occasions.

The best bit? They're sized perfectly to fit some of our smaller gift sets inside FLAT! That is, you can send a card with a little 'something extra' slipped inside, so it's not just a card, its a gift. Keeps postage costs down, especially when sending overseas or travelling.

The perfect in-card gifts are: mini bunting magnets, mini icecreams, single feathers, heart sets, lucky dip heart magnets, or lucky dip restickable hearts

There's 6 designs to choose from, but I'm already working on new options.

Want to suggest which designs feature next on the cards? Get in touch! Choose from:

Hello fantail

Fabric Love

Gold Fabric Feathers

Fabric Feathers

Hello Lovebirds

Kereru in the Kowhai

There's photos of custom orders to show you, come look!!

>> Gallery of custom orders

We've worked on so many special, custom orders over the years, but never really had one place to keep them all for customers to see. But now we do!

Hopefully they've give you an idea of the types of things tinch can do for you, we're all about customisation.

It's just a start, there's dozens more projects to add... what do you think?

Get in touch if you're after a custom order!

H x

Introducing a new range of shining, shimmery, a-little-bit-special magnetic & restickable sets. Metallic gold, luxe, textured, cool!

Wall Bling$29 - add a fringe of wall bling to accent an edge!

Fridge Bling$29 - add a fringe of bling to the fridge!

and Heart magnets$14 - a sweet set of 6 little heart magnets in two-toned metallic gold fabrics

Wall bling as seen in store at GUILD, 45 Moray place Dunedin

Come in store and note how often these get changed around!

Happy New Year (is it too late to say that!?)

We've had a fab Dunedin summer, a refreshing break, I'm full of new ideas and aspirations for 2015, so it's time to reopen for business!

The wallscape range will change a little this year. Some older designs will be retired, we'll keep producing the popular ones, and introduce some newbies!Custom orders for restickables and magnetics are always welcomeSpecial requests for magnetic sets for School Teachers' whiteboards are also welcomeBulk orders are welcome; heart magnets make beautiful wedding favours, and many of the magnetic range make unique, customisable business to business giftsWe'll look to supply a few new stockists this year around the country, and possibly overseasI am offering design services to small businesses (something I've always done, but not publicly promoted)I'll be based in-store at Guild once a week for the duration of 2015, no more hiding away in my private studio!

If you have any enquiries at all, please just get in touch!

Email helen@tinch.co.nz

---

In exciting local news, tinch is part of a society of local Dunedin designers, and we've opened the doors to our beautiful shared retail space in the centre of town, just this week.

This means for Dunedin tinch customers, you can collect your online purchases in-store (save on shipping!), and have the opportunity to meet in person which is lovely for liaising about custom orders.

The store is filled with a stunning array of locally designed wares including fashion, perfume, jewellery, cosmetics and homewares. It will evolve a lot from month to month with new contributors, so do pop in regularly and spread the word!

GUILD | 45 Moray Place, Dunedin

Don't miss out on your tinch parcels making it under the Tree!

Please check these last-order dates for guaranteed Christmas delivery.

Remember, we're more than happy to send parcels direct for you, gift wrapping and a gift card to include a message from you are complimentary!

Any Christmas delivery questions?

Email info@tinch.co.nz

Top selling at the moment are our Christmas Cracker Kit-sets!

Buy a kit to cater for as many people you'll have at your Christmas party, and it comes with all the bits and bobs you'll need to make your own pretty crackers like these.

They even include tinch heart magnets or stickers to pop inside!

Just $4.50 a pop, snap to it!

OPEN JUST 4 DAYS!

We've teamed up with a colletion of other Dunedin Online retailers, to bring our wares to a joint shop for 4 days. We've stocked the shop with all sorts of tinch goodies, with lots of special deals to be had. I'll be popping in and out to re-stock, if there's something in particular you want to see in store, just get in touch. There's nothing like seeing the range in the flesh, do pop in!

Your Christmas shopping is sorted. Discover awesome Dunedin things that you don’t normally find in the shops, as the best of Dunedin’s online retailers go 'offline' in this 4-day shopping event. Shop for Dunedin’s unique fashion, design, homewares, jewellery, wellbeing brands and vintage, all in one place. This curated event in the historic Moray Quarter is not to be missed. Store hours: Thursday - Sunday 10 - 5pm

We've been using our restickable EveryDates & EveryDays decal sets as props in our baby boy's milestone photos this year.

They're so easy to whip out, stick up, rearrange, and then change again for next month.

They're not just for spelling out the day & date, you can spell all sorts of messages with these, we even used them on Fathers Day!