The Company
The Studio of Tableware is regarded as New Zealand’s leading tableware specialist and offers you an unrivalled selection of quality tableware including dinnerware, cutlery, glassware, table linen, gifts, cookware, kitchenware and jewellery.
The selection offered encompasses a wide variety of tastes, budgets and desires. The Studio of Tableware offers world famous brands from Europe, Scandinavia and the UK and many of these are exclusive to The Studio of Tableware in New Zealand.
Our specialty is quality tableware and gifts for:
- Your residence, apartment and holiday home
- Equipping luxury yachts and motor vessels
- Business and corporate presentations and incentives
- Boardrooms and hospitality areas
- Wedding Registers and gifts for all occasions
Our Philosophy is . . .
To provide products of high quality and excellent design.
To support these products with in-depth knowledge and superior service delivered with imagination and enthusiasm.
To ensure that our clients are offered competitive pricing.
To show by example that ‘We don't just set the table . . . We set the standard’.
Meet the Team - The Studio Directors:
Jocelyn Wilson:
Jocelyn started her first business, Living and Giving, in the early Seventies. The business had a forward thinking approach and brought many innovative ideas to the New Zealand retail scene. Customised gift wrapping, instore cooking demo’s, mailing lists for client information, but with an emphasis on red hot customer service.
Jocelyn visited the European Trade Fairs in 1980 and was thoroughly impressed with the European ‘salon style’ Table Top stores. Small boutique operations with a departmental concept, dinnerware, cutlery, glassware and kitchenware refined with ‘brand positioning’.
In 1981 The Studio of Tableware opened its doors and was met with general acclaim by the more discerning shopper. To this day the concept of Quality, Design, Selection, prevails and the byline ‘New Zealand’s Leading Tableware Specialist’ still holds good.
Not long after opening The Studio of Tableware Jocelyn sold Living and Giving and she has concentrated on The Studio concept ever since. Today The Studio of Tableware has adopted a three pronged approach.
- OTC: (over the counter) sales from our spacious Mt Eden showroom with large off street car parking facilities.
- OnLine: sales, a web based shopping facility.
- Projects: For the larger commercially based quotable project with the ability to offer competitive pricing considerably better than retail.
Jocelyn had the original inspiration and she is still very much a hands on working director of the company.
Graham Syder:
Graham is Jocelyn’s life partner and he too has been in the table top industry for over 40 years. His background was originally in importing and distributing home ware with the emphasis on quality Tableware. His company represented many famous manufacturers.
Graham became a co-director of The Studio of Tableware more than 25 years ago, he’s very much a backroom person and his function involves importing and marketing with a general over view of the whole operation. His capacity as a manufacturer’s representative and importer of table top products gives him an in depth knowledge of The Studio’s core product range.
Sarah Mabin:
Sarah has been with the company for over 20years and has worked in every conceivable capacity within our organization. She has done a double degree at Otago University and has graduated in Marketing and Consumer and Applied Sciences. She is a co-director of The Studio of Tableware.
Sarah has overall responsibility for our IT system and has been in charge and responsible for the development of our two websites. One www.thestudio.co.nz is an E commerce site giving clients the ability to buy a selection of our collection online. The other www.thestudioprojects.co.nz is an information site aimed at the commercially larger and quotable projects.
Sarah also takes time to work as a Consultant in our retail showroom; she is directly involved in much of our buying and staff training. Her knowledge of the industry is vast.
Overview:
Overall we’re a mixed bag, a pot pourri of diverse skills. Collectively we total over 130 years of experience in the Table Top industry. There can be no doubt we all have a passion for our chosen industry. We all believe that good design endures, there’s no substitute for quality and there’s still a place for old fashioned customer service.
We’re proud to bring you The Studio of Tableware ‘New Zealand’s leading tableware specialist’ and its subsidiary The Studio Projects.