My Account
One of Mahurangi’s longest-serving retailers celebrated 36 years in business this month. Clothes designer Tracey Paton (pictured) started Shadze of Lace while a stallholder at the Victoria Park market in Auckland.
A move to Leigh brought the business north and for the past 24 years she has had a shop in Warkworth – first in Neville Street and now in Elizabeth Street. At one time, Shadze of Lace was supplying 73 shops around NZ, as well as exporting to the United States.
Tracey continues to design her range herself and she personally chooses all the fabric she uses. She puts her longevity in the rag trade down to the timelessness of her styles and the quality of the finished garments.
“I’ve been designing clothes my whole life and I still love it,” she says. “It’s a lifestyle, not just a business. This little shop is my absolute happy place – I love interacting with customers.” Tracey thanked her partner Grant Sneddon for handling the administrative side of the business, and Pauline Saunders and Clare Ellison for their help in the shop.
