Today I wanted to share with you one of my favourite brands I have followed for a long time and one of the most talented and lovely designers I know- PIA! PIA Boutique is home to a beautiful collection of garments and accessories and their especially loved signature frill dresses- perfect for bridesmaids or guests to wear for a wedding! Everything is New Zealand made, and there are some gorgeous colours and prints you will fall in love with! PIA has just opened a new store in collaboration with Foss and Kruger in Osborne Street, Newmarket in Auckland. I stopped by to take a few photos. The fit-out is beautiful and filled with even more gorgeous clothes!

Designer Pia and her husband Jonny are actually talented wedding photographers too! (Talk about a creative power-couple right?!) Make sure you pop in to check out the new PIA store or shop online here. Read on for a bit of inspiration and advice from the lovely Pia xx

Please give a brief description of how you started out and what has brought you to where you are today?

At university for my final assignment I focused on digitally printed dresses – the response for those was overwhelming. So straight out of uni, I decided to take the bold step of focusing on PIA for a year, as I felt that would be the best time to do it. I didn’t expect to be still doing this 3 years later. A lot of things have brought me to where we are today… to name a few, Jonny my husband has been my number one supporter, business partner and encourager. Our pattern maker at the time had been pushing us as he really saw our potential in the New Zealand market, the Miromoda Show at New Zealand Fashion Week, our own show at NZFW… I’ve been extremely blessed with support from friends, family and of course our customers!

What/Who inspires you creatively?

I am a creative, that’s just the way my brain is wired. I find inspiration in anything and everything, it could be from a leaf I find on my driveway, to a girl I see crossing the road in an epic outfit. I love to do a lot of research in magazines, blogs and online and then put my PIA spin on it!

Describe what a typical day looks like for you.

We usually love to go to the gym in the morning, grab a coffee and go to our workspace in Parnell. Check my emails, write a to do list for the day. Have a meeting with our staff. My days can be completely different one day to the next, it could be picking up fabric, looking at new incoming fabrics, driving between stores, picking up bits and bobs, designing, drawing and researching. I love my job and feel so lucky to be able to do a job that inspires me daily.

Three words to describe your brand?

Bold, beautiful and feminine.

Do you have any advice for brides-to-be?

Don’t let the little things that don’t work out bother you. It can kill the process that is meant to be fun!