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A new surf, skate, street apparel store has opened in Warkworth.
Summer Sessions is the latest venture of Matt and Natasha Craig, who opened Matakana Beach Outfitters (MBO) in 2013.
“We think Warkworth is well and truly ready for a store that offers an Auckland shopping experience,” Matt says. “The town is a lot bigger and more modern than it is given credit for, and deserves a modern retail experience. Not everyone is walking around in gumboots and swanndries anymore.”
The new store, opposite Winscombe Mall, carries a range of casual clothes for men and women, as well as children’s lines.
“We’re also catering for the ‘tweens’ with a stylish range of clothes especially for them. The brands include kiwi lines Federation, ilabb and RPM, as well as the international surfing brand Volcom and Rip Curl.”
Sessions will also stock boards, SUPs and skate gear, and surf accessories such wetsuits, wax and leashes. However, MBO will remain their base for retailing and renting watersports equipment.
Before moving to Matakana, Matt and Natasha ran a surf school in Playa Flamingo, a tourist spot on Costa Rica’s west coast.
While Matt is a former Karekare lifeguard, who headed for California on a lifeguard exchange programme when he was in his early 20s, Natasha was raised in New York.
She moved to the west coast to pursue her love of whitewater kayaking and the couple met at the 2001 Gorge Games, a watersports festival in Oregon. After a whirlwind romance, they were married on Waiheke Island six months later.
While they loved their time in Costa Rica, they say the move back to NZ and Matakana wasn’t a hard decision.
“How could we not love it with places like Goat Island, Omaha, Ti Point and Tawharanui on our doorstep?”
