FR News

I was thrilled to discover WineFriend by word of mouth. At home in Titirangi, liquor outlets are controlled by the Trusts and so you can’t pick up a bottle from the supermarket when you swing by after work. And where you can purchase it, the offering is usually sub par or very expensive.

This has all changed for us thanks to WineFriend’s subscription service. We really enjoy our wine delivery each month and we’ve had the opportunity to try beautiful and unusual wines that we would never have usually picked. WineFriend select the wines for your case based on the tastes and flavours that you enjoy the most. As a wine amateur, this really got me thinking. And as a result, I thought wouldn’t it be great to offer a Father Rabbit edit of boutique bottles based on trying new and interesting wines outside my comfort zone.




It was a hugely enjoyable experience working with WineFriend’s resident wine experts Yvonne and Debbie. They presented nearly 30 wines across a range of varietals - a very rare opportunity indeed! I was so surprised to learn what flavours I actually liked through this tasting. So as the person who only ever drinks Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, I was trying and enjoying all sorts! To be fair I can’t always tell you why I’ve liked the wine and it was very hard to pick out only six bottles. It was really exciting to try wines from unexpected regions, smaller producers and varietals that I hadn’t heard of before. We have picked wines that talk to the autumnal Easter season. Daylight savings has gone and the quaffing of rosé has pulled back.

 

We celebrated the launch of the WineFriend x Father Rabbit | The Autumn Edit with a beautiful evening tasting at The White Room in Parnell in late March. Each guest had the opportunity to try all six wines with Yvonne’s expert guidance as how to taste wine properly, which notes to look out for and how the wines would be best paired. Much like myself, I am sure there were plenty of guests that would say that they stuck to certain wines out of habit. One of the ideas that we most enjoy about the edit we’ve created is that it’s perfect for entertaining as there is absolutely something for everyone in the case. So even if you’re not the biggest white wine drinker, you can trust that we’ve picked out some beautiful bottles that you can impress and taste along with your own guests over a long Easter weekend dinner.



In the case you’ll find a Te Kano Estate Central Otago Pinot Gris 2017; a bottle of softly spiced, quince and feijoa-packed perfection that we felt had ‘Autumn afternoon’ written all over it. The Providore Luminaire Central Otago Blanc de Noir 2018 is a fresh, floral, softly spiced white wine with a hint of natural sweetness. The Gisborne Marsanne Viognier 2017 from The Hunting Lodge invites you to think apricot, jasmine, mandarin pith and lemony loveliness. The Bronte Nelson Pinot Noir 2017 is chock-full of cherry and raspberry liquorice, a touch of cough-drop complexity, and buckets of florals to back up the fruit. There is also the Cypress Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2016. It’s a smooth, mind-bendingly meaty, leather-edged rascal, showing raspberry, cherry, and redcurrant characters, extra licks of spice, and a fine-grained, gripping finish. And finally, there is a ‘Wild Card’ bottle of Italian wine. WineFriend’s ‘Wild Card’ wines allow you to discover new varieties and styles that you may not have tried before.




I have thoroughly enjoyed the guidance and sounding board that Yvonne and Debbie have provided. Their expert palette and in depth knowledge of vineyards and winemakers alike is truly invaluable. We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved together and we really hope that you enjoy these delicious wines this autumn.   

Claudia
xx

You can purchase the WineFriend x Father Rabbit | The Autumn Edit from Father Rabbit. And you can visit our friends at WineFriend here.

We’re so proud to have launched the first phase of our new look website in June. We were a little quiet about it at first and we wanted to make sure our customers were enjoying the new easy navigation and the improved product listings but now we’re ready to show it off. Redesigning the website has been a big team effort for the Father Rabbit head office and we couldn’t be more proud. In this blog post, we’ll take you through some of my favourite new features.

The main aim of this redesign was to simplify the large navigation menu at the top. It was getting a little crowded with our expanding lists of categories and we felt like it was increasingly difficult to find what you were looking for. We took a step back and planned how best to divide our collections of products. It became clear that Father Rabbit, as an online store, can easily divided into four spaces: Home, Baby + Child, Wardrobe and Gifts.



By separating each of these categories, we had a little more room to play with. Under ‘Homewares’, for example, we have ‘Dining’ and here you can quickly access our three staple dinner sets: bone china, the Mason range from Robert Gordon, and the Perla ceramic range. Similarly, now when you’re shopping across our wardrobe, we’ve created categories for women’s clothing and accessories and our hero brands.



We were also super excited to give our product listings a little spruce. Our first thought was that the product name needed to be clearer as well as the text in the description so we made both of those larger and easier to read. We’ve also added in a dedicated space for finding those all important product dimensions and care instructions where necessary. As well as a space to note our delivery times and returns policy. It was really important to us to get this essential information in the right place for you. We have added the related products feature and recently viewed items.




In each of our clothing and footwear listings, we also now have a handy pop out brand specific size guide. That way, you can find your size easily whether you're shopping our Commoners t-shirts or our Veja sneakers. This soon will be activated across our baby and children’s clothing range too.



We also now have a handy link at the bottom of the product listing to shop the rest of a product’s brand or range. So if something takes your fancy, you can see what else you may like.



We’ve had product reviews available on our website for a wee while. They’re a really great way for us to get feedback from you as our customers as well as being a really neat way to share your thoughts with other shoppers. We’ll occasionally send you an email to ask for a product review on a recent purchase. Otherwise, if you’re browsing the website and you want to add a review to a Father Rabbit buy that’s well loved in your home already, you can simply add your feedback there and then - we’d love to hear from you!



In addition to the nitty gritty of the product pages, one of the biggest motivating factors for redesigning the website was so that we could design and create more content for our Father Rabbit Co-op. The Father Rabbit Co-op is our blog and resource space on the website. Which is where you are now reading this post! Our aim with it is to bring together tried and true ideas for the home and recipes that should never be forgotten. It is also a space where we can introduce you to the talented people that make and create the things throughout our homes. Over the past few months we’ve been sharing stories from some of our hero brands as well as debuted our FR Projects. Most recently, we took you through my pantry and I shared some of my favourite pantry organisation tips. We’ve got big plans for this space so keep an eye on it! And please, feel free to comment on our any of our posts. It’s so great to have this new way to interact with our customers. 



Redesigning this website couldn’t have been possible without our amazing team including Charlotte Pecover (our E-Commerce Manager) and friends of Father Rabbit, Lucy Slater and our web developer Natalie Leigh. They’re the clever cookies who re-worked the navigation and the product listings and got it all up and running just as we wanted it to.

Coming up in stage two are wish lists, gift registries and more filters. If you have any suggestions, please get in touch! 
Xx Claudia