An interesting and little-known fact is that many of the truly magical places in the world are often disguised to look like something else entirely. This is true of Mrs. Hopes Second Chance Emporium but believe me when I say it is one of the most fabulous places in the world!
If you ever find your way to New Zealand you should include a trip to a tiny town in the North Island named Featherston. Nestled on the main street between an artisan cheese shop on one side and a book store on the other is Mrs. Hopes Second Chance Emporium.
It is run by Mrs. Hope who likes to tell anyone who will listen that it isn’t really her surname at all. She needed to change her name at a certain point in her life and decided to pick an aspirational name – Hope. She explained that she chose it because she had survived nearly two years without a shred of it to be found.
After an epic battle her hope was finally restored. She met an adorable man later in life who understood the price she had paid for her name. He too had spent time in the hopeless regions of his mind and so he insisted on changing his surname when they were married so that they would forever be Mr. and Mrs. Hope.
So why is this tiny shop in a very small country town so magical you might ask? Many visitors on their way to other places will stop to stretch their legs, give the dog a place to pee or get takeaways and while on the Main Road they will stumble upon the tiny shop - at this point they fall into two categories.
There are those who open the door, take one look, one sniff and then turn on their heels and exit. And there are those who walk in the door and exhale with pleasure knowing they have found a place where treasures and fairy dust have combined and they spill out of every drawer, cupboard and display unit because Mrs. Hopes Second Chance Emporium is a second-hand store.
Things that have had a life in one place find their way to this tiny shop and then they sit very patiently waiting for their next owner to walk through the door.
Some things are brought by shoppers on the same day they are put on a shelf and others linger for years waiting to be claimed – but they are all claimed, Mrs. Hope is very particular about that.