A Wellington story in gold

When Christine Douglas looks back at the early days of the Village Goldsmith, the story begins with a young couple who wanted to do something in a very Wellington way: make beautiful things for people who appreciated them, involve their family, and be the very best at what they did.

Ian Douglas, then 23 and not long out of his jewellery apprenticeship, decided it was time to run his own business. He announced to Christine one day — herself just 21 and a newly qualified physiotherapist — that he had resigned and was going to set up his own shop. They chose Kelburn village, which in 1981, was one of the few places in New Zealand open on a Saturday morning. At the time, Kelburn was a destination shopping experience, full of boutique shops, restaurants, butchers and delis. It was the perfect place for a young jeweller to be discovered.

The family pitched in to help them get off the ground. They filled the shop with borrowed jewellery to sell on consignment, and in the pre-share market crash days, business was good. Ian’s ambition wasn’t just to be successful.

"He said, 'I want to be the best jeweller in New Zealand,'" Christine recalls. "That has always been at the forefront of our minds." For Christine, the best marker of success is genuinely fulfilled, repeat customers. She never wants anyone to leave the shop feeling pressured to buy something they don’t love or can’t afford. Wellington is a small city, and the team is always mindful of creating a legacy of enduring relationships with their customers, staff and community. Happy customers show Ian the rings he made them forty years ago, still delighted with their purchase.

Being a Wellington business has played an important role in the long-term success of the Village Goldsmith. Christine believes Wellington offers something unique: customers who value creativity over convention.

"Wellingtonians are creative. They're not afraid to step outside the traditional stuff," she says. "They like discovering new, interesting things. They trusted Ian to come up with something that was a little bit different."

Customers often arrive without a specific design in mind and let Ian create something they love. This freedom enabled Ian’s skill and artistry to grow, alongside the capital’s own creative culture.

Christine emphasises that a successful business requires more than creativity, and credits the combined skills of Ian, herself, and their third director, Chris Benham, with making the Village Goldsmith the success it is today. A business, like a community or a city, needs a mixture of people to make it really hum.

A constant theme for the Village Goldsmith has been making what their customers want and accepting that this will continue to change. They want people to be proud of the jewellery they buy, to wear it and pass it down to the next generation. They also want to build a resilient and lasting business.

Their resilience has been tested throughout the decades. When the share market crashed in 1987, Ian pivoted from making special-occasion, bespoke pieces to making engagement and wedding rings. He has continued to adapt to changing markets and global and local shocks ever since. Through it all, the team has remained pragmatic.

"There'll be ups and downs all the way along," Christine says. "We can't say, 'Well, when it gets back to normal.' We have to recognise, 'This is where we are now. We have to live with what's here now.'”

Christine sees this resilience not only in the Village Goldsmith, but in Wellington itself and its creative community. "I think Wellington is small enough that people can easily connect, but big enough to have enough people who are really creative and skilled," she says. "We have a great arts scene and creative people." More importantly, she believes Wellington has a culture of discovery. "People just like doing interesting things."

Forty-five years later, the business they have built succeeds on every front. Ian and Christine still run the Village Goldsmith, along with Chris Benham, from their stunning central Wellington showroom. Together, they are creating a legacy that fulfils their original ambition: to be the best.

Rapid-fire Wellington round with Christine Douglas:

Favourite Wellington café or restaurant? Toto.

Favourite Wellington walk? From Northland through the Botanic Garden into the city, or from the shop to the Band Rotunda via the City-to-Sea Bridge.

Favourite way to switch off? A walk and a podcast.

Podcast recommendation? Acquired, a business podcast.

Morning person or night owl? Morning.

Coffee order? Flat white.

Beach or bush? Bush. Though in Wellington, you're never far from either.

Wellingtonian you’d love more people to know about? Hayley Horan, the new CEO of Business Central and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. She is a human dynamo, always thinking of a positive angle for Wellington.