Hello everyone!
I have a special interview for you today. This is Vanessa and Warren of Two Squirrels Vintage in Christchurch, New Zealand. In February, 2011 their two gorgeous vintage shops, Tete a Tete and Two Squirrels Vintage were completely destroyed by an enormous 6.3 magnitude earthquake....along with a huge portion of the city and surrounding areas...here is their story.
....I am so happy to have connected with these 2 lovelies over the internet, what an inspiring pair you are Vanessa and Warren!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
Amy.
1. When the earthquake hit in ChCh did you know right away "this is huge", was there a realization that damage was going to be so major?
Being in the CBD it left you with no doubt this was a BIG earthquake! HUGE!!
Vanessa - There was a huge bang, I was on the street and the ground was shaking so violently I could not stand. Even now when I think of it my heart beats quicker. After the dust settled in front of me were collapsed buildings, injured people, screaming, crying and sirens.
Then the horror of being separated from Warren became the worst part of the experience. I was sure Tete a Tete would be in a bad way. Once we were reunited we went into the cashel mall to check on friends and Two Squirrels. It was a war zone. Scary.
Warren - I was in our Hereford st shop Tete a Tete when it struck. Tete a Tete being upstairs in an old wooden building was like being in a cardboard box with someone shaking the hell out of it and being thrown around like a rag doll. When the shaking finally stopped we had to wait for the doorway to be cleared of rubble, the cafe next door had collapsed in front of ours. We were very lucky.
2. How long before you were able to visit your shops? I can only imagine how hard that must have been.
We tried for weeks and weeks to get in. It was long days waiting at the cordon (the entire Christchurch CBD was cordoned off behind wire fences guarded by the army). Meetings phone calls emails utter frustration! It was soul destroying and you just felt numb.
Ten weeks after the quake we got access to Two Squirrels vintage in the Cashel Mall for 60 minutes only, this was the one and only time we got in before it was demolished. Fourteen weeks after the quake we got access to Tete a Tete Vintage on Hereford st for 60 minutes, a week later we got another 60 minutes and thats its! One year on we still haven't been allowed back in.
3. Did you salvage much vintage inventory once you were able to get in?
We lost a lot, pretty much all our fittings and a huge amount of stock. The hardest thing is when you think of the very precious items that were irreplaceable.
4. How soon after the quakes did you realize your shops would remain closed, did you immediately put plans in place or did it take a while for you both to decide how to move forward?
Things were very stressful in the weeks after the big quake. Lots of sleepless nights, after shocks all the time. We had a car trapped in the city for eight weeks, no house keys, no job, no income and no shops. As the weeks went by in was very obvious the shops would not be re opening. Insurance was and still is a nightmare! After 6 months of hell we opened the 'Nest' our we pop up at home. This was open for 6 months until red tape and insurance for operating at home became to hard to deal with. We then opened our online Etsy shop. But now once more we are in transition again…
5. I had a little cry reading your blog posts about the support you had from friends and customers after the quake, you did pop up shops?
After 6 years of building wonderful relationships with our amazing customers we were very humbled by their loyal support for us over this very trying time.
6. Do you see another brick and mortar shop in the squirrels future?
The Squirrels have decided to close the book on the vintage journey. We are going to start a NEW adventure!!!
7. Is ChCh still very, very different, what are other retailers up to who lost their shops?
There are so many who have lost so much but have been amazing at pulling up there socks, opening up new and exciting pop-up shops. Christchurch is so different with many beautiful buildings gone. It really is going to take many years for it to be a vibrant city again. We both really miss the inner city we fell in love with. I think the strength of the people here is incredible, they will rebuild.
