And just like that…

It’s Autumn again!!!

And we have been open for one whole year!

Happy Birthday Flora Fauna!

Seeing the cycle of seasons complete themselves in Queenstown has been a real pleasure, and a somewhat cathartic exercise. A great deal has happened this year, both personally, professionally, locally, globally. I feel optimistic about the next cycle, as we open up our border to the world again and finally come to terms with how we can live with this stinky old virus.

And right now is my absolute favourite season of all, Autumn. Some people get glum in Autumn – the days get shorter, the sky is darker, the air gets colder. For me, the air is crisp and fresh and full of promise. The dark night sky is full of stars, and one cannot deny the beauty of the changing landscape – first of all the array of colours as the trees change and lose their leaves, and then the gradual hibernation of life ready for winter. And the sunsets! We have also been treated to quite a lot of Aurora Australis activity this Autumn, which leaves you feeling amazed and very very small. The image below was captured from my balcony, just on a phone!! Nature is a beauty.

The little wunderkammer has been ticking along, slowly but surely in a very quiet Queenstown. The school holidays are upon us so hopefully we’ll see some more people in town – locals and tourists alike. It’s always such a lovely interaction I have with visitors to the shop, so that in itself keeps me going.

As always, I am constantly finding new marvellous products and objects to stock so the shop is crammed full of beauty at the moment. It’s a real delight coming across a new artist, book or jeweller to add to the collection. Make sure you check out our ‘new product’ category on the website regularly!

We have some beautiful new stationery products from Insight Editions – a company who works with ‘Roots of Peace’ to ensure that for every tree used to make their beautiful products, two are planted in its place. These lovely notebooks and card sets are illustrated with vintage etching style drawings inside and out. They can be found in our new ‘stationery’ category.

Butterflies seem to be the favourite at the moment, my supply almost can’t meet the demand – they literally fly out the door excuse the terrible pun! All the beauties I source, die naturally in butterfly farms where I imagine they are fed on a diet of milk and honey! Currently on the way from The Netherlands I have an array of stunning butterflies in large bell jars. I have included images below as they aren’t currently on the website. They range in price from $550 to $2500. These will get snapped up very quickly (two not pictured have already been already sold) so if you see something you like please do get in touch with me – meredith@florafauna

I hope this seasonal newsletter finds you all well, and happy, and warm!