Flotsam & Jetsam Auckland

There’s something about this photo of Cameron standing at the entrance of Flotsom and Jetsam.  While editing the photos for this post, I had the urge to turn it to black and white, to somehow pay homage to the history of this shop front, just as Cameron does on his website, using an old photo from the original shop, Steptoe & Son. It then went on to become Lord Ponsonby’s Antiques, and just last month, opened its doors to Flotsam and Jetsam after outgrowing its old premises.

Originally from Hamilton, Cameron, who has always collected things, opened a café in Ponsonby, Auckland, named after his grandmother, Agnes Curran.  There he mixed selling coffee along with the chairs people were sitting on and the decorations around them. Because of the limited space, he decided to move on to open Flotsam and Jetsam in Richmond Road, Grey Lynn four years ago.

I told him that I was a little embarrassed that I had to google the meaning of Flotsam and Jetsam to find out that it’s actually an old nautical term now used to describe odds and ends.

“Yes, I find a lot of people aren’t sure,” he said. “Some think it’s a solicitor’s name. I had one little girl who came up to me in my old store and told me that my shop is named after Ariel’s pet from The Little Mermaid, which I thought was sweet.”

Cameron then went on to tell me that he found the name after watching a short documentary about an island off the coast of the Netherlands, that ends up collecting vast amounts of things that are lost at sea due to it’s surrounding tidal system. The film was called, Flotsam and Jetsam.

When you walk around the rooms of Flotsam and Jetsam and chat to Cameron, you can tell that he loves the story that each piece of furniture or object in his store holds.

Until recently, most of his stock has been sourced from New Zealand; “A lot comes from the South Island and people also bring stuff in that they think I might want to sell, which is really nice.”

“I always thought that we had enough junk here that we didn’t need to bring in more from around the world. But having said that, I am now moving into that area as well.”

He is about to receive his first full container from the States. “We used to travel and would bring things back with us that I wanted – that’s what this shop was all about, filling it up with things that I’d put in my house. This last trip was completely different, it was specifically to purchase things and it was quite an interesting experience.”

I’m really struck by how everything is displayed in the store, and I can’t help myself taking mental note of the decorating style, which Cameron attributes to his partner Gavin. “I’m really good at putting things together when it’s new and I really love having all of these windows to display and work with. But it’s my partner who has that eye for decoration. He will notice when it’s looking a bit tired and completely rearrange things.  When it all comes together, it looks like a new store.

I point out the colourful bowls displayed at the front. He tells me that a friend of his makes them. “They’re actually the bottoms of old gas bottles, which was an idea that came from a shop in Australia. “It’s amazing that with technology today you have laser cutters to create beautiful lines rather than hacking away. It’s such a great idea and a bit of a manly present I think.” I tell him that I’m not so sure about that, I think it’s a great girl’s present too – I can picture one perfectly on my benchtop filled with fruit!

What would Cameron’s favourite thing in the store for the moment be? “I think the factory moulds are pretty amazing. It’s incredible how people used to make things that can now be such gorgeous decorating pieces.”

I couldn’t agree more with Cameron. My husband, who took the photos, brought one home with him! They are three-dimensional pieces, sometimes a mixture of wood and metal, with vintage colours and would look stunning hung on the wall, or resting on a piece of furniture.

I draw his attention to the old stencils he has hanging, “ Oh yes, most of these came out of the South Island. They must have been from an old sheering shed,” he then pulls one of them out which says “half bred” giving us a good laugh.

I mention how they are just perfect with the vintage sign trend. “It’s really lovely,” he replied. “But I think all of this goes back to those things that have completely changed where people don’t hand paint signs anymore. However on our trip to New York, we saw that there are these massive billboards on the side of the buildings that are now being replaced with hand-painted ones, I guess things tend to go full circle.”

Where does he think the trends are going? “I think it will go back to older stuff again. I’m actually selling a lot of Victorian furniture at the moment.”

What would he say is the most important piece in a house? “The dining table, I’m obsessed with that. Also table lamps – it changes the ambiance of a room and you don’t need an electrician! I really like things that are interchangeable – I love to rearrange.”

Cameron has a great selection of table and hanging lamps in the store. I particularly love the Jieldé lamps and the industrial hanging lamp he has in the front window.

I told Cameron that I think that the old photos he has, have turned out to be a bit of a trademark for Flotsam and Jetsam.

“I just love discarded photos, it’s kind of sad that people throw them away as trash.”

He goes on to tell me about a shop that was once on K road not far away from his store that sold second hand clothing. “There was this room out the back named ‘photos with no names’ or something similar, where a collection of random wedding photos from junk shops were displayed. I think other people’s family photos are much more interesting than mine,” he said, “People don’t do photos like that anymore, dressing the kids up in good clothes and taking them to the supermarket to have their photos taken. I think most of the ones I have here are American, where it was a big deal. That and old postcards; I love them, each of them has a story on the back.

Thank you Cameron for opening your incredible store to us today.

If you’re in Auckland, make sure you pay a visit to Flotsam & Jetsam on the corner of Ponsonby Road and Williamson Ave to say hi and get some inspiration. You can also keep up to date with new stock on its Facebook page.

 All images copyright to melchesneau.com and G Chesneau