Interview and photograph by Florence Noble.
Among the racks of dreamy prints and fluid drapes at Juliette Hogan, Lily Teteina enjoys the ever-changing landscape of visitors to the store.
Are you from Auckland?
I was born in Auckland, but moved down to Gisborne when I was eight years old, did most of my growing up down there, and only moved back about year ago.
How do you get to Britomart?
I catch the train from West Auckland.
What do you do here?
I work at Juliette Hogan as a full-time sales assistant.
How did you get into it?
Coming out of high school, I worked in retail. Moving up here, I definitely wanted to go into the fashion side of things so I worked at Seed Heritage in Ponsonby, then Country Road in Newmarket. I feel like Juliette Hogan was a step up for me, so I came here to Britomart.
If you could do any job in the world, what would it be?
Probably a fashion designer. I think it would be a pretty cool job. Women’s and men’s clothing. I think fashion is a really good way to get your personality across. The way you dress and your style. That’s why I love it so much
What’s your idea of fun?
Probably just hanging out with my friends. Going out for brunch and concerts.
What music do you like?
Anything and everything. Literally. I love jazz music, rock music, rap music, R ’n’ B, hip hop, indie, alt, pop, all of it. I’m really into music.
Whats your favourite thing to spend money on?
Clothes.
Have you got your eye on anything to buy at the moment?
Juliette Hogan’s new Spring/Summer 2019 collection. There are so many pieces that I’m just dying to try on and hopefully get my hands on.
Where’s your favourite place to eat around here?
Easily Amano. Their little bakery section is great. Their spicy fried chicken sandwiches that they toast in their little pizza oven thing are to die for. Easily my favourite.
Where’s the best place for a beverage?
Talulah. I really like going there. It’s really nice upstairs, nice and exotic.
What’s your favourite hidden Auckland City spot?
Britomart?
Haha.
No, but I feel like a lot of people that I know don’t come down here that often, and they don’t know too much about what’s going on. Like on Saturdays, they have the markets with fresh produce, and heaps of good food. I never came down here before I worked here. And I wish I had, because it’s such a nice place to spend time.
What’s the best thing about working around here?
The diversity of people. I’m lucky enough to sometimes bounce around the Juliette Hogan stores, and recently I’ve worked in both Newmarket and Ponsonby, and I feel like they’ve got their set customer base, but at Britomart you get a bit of everything. You get travellers from all different countries, people who work around here, mums and young people, it’s so diverse and that’s what I like about it. No day is the same.
