Hello, my dear Frankies! I hope everyone has survived that wild weather over the last few days! I gotta say it was nice this morning waking up to the complete silence of no wind and no rain. Hopefully it stays like this and we have a glorious long weekend! This week’s newsletter has a proper main-character moment: Max from Café Queen and the wild story of the café fire - plus the even better part…Queen reopening and coming back stronger than ever 💜 I won’t spoil it here because the feature is...
7 days ago • 8 min read
Hello, my dear Frankie’s 💜 Another hot, beautiful week in Franklin to kick off the year. Which reminds me - how are the New Year’s resolutions going? Still live and kicking? Or already hiding under the couch with the Christmas decorations? 🤭🤭 If you’re not feeling the whole “new year, new me” thing, here’s a goal I really love: be more creative in 2026. Somewhere along the way to becoming an adult, a lot of us stop doing playful, messy, “just for fun” things. We get efficient. Predictable....
14 days ago • 6 min read
Hello, my dear Frankies! 💜 We’re back!! And is it just me, or does 2026 feel like it’s going to be a big, fun, fulfilling year? Definitely the kind of year where everyone’s a little braver, a little more inspired, and suddenly doing the things they’ve been talking about for ages! Maybe I’m feeling extra optimistic because I’ve spent the first few days of January catching up with some absolute local legends who are kicking off brand new projects. Deb (yep - Framed Hair Deb!) is right in the...
21 days ago • 7 min read
Hello, my dear Frankies! The Christmas countdown is officially getting serious - exactly one week until the big day! 😅🎄 And honestly…while we’re all out here trying to finish work, buy the presents, sort the food, and make everything feel a little bit magical (without losing our minds), I thought it’d be fun to step into the shoes of someone on the other side of Christmas chaos. This week you’ll meet Ash - a total local legend who runs Creative Addictions and has been absolutely run off her...
about 1 month ago • 8 min read
Hello, my dear Frankies! I'm not going to say much this week, because I really want you to check out this week's features on our amazing locals. There are heaps of gorgeous local experiences you can gift to your loved ones this Christmas - support local AND give your friends and family memories they'll never forget ♥ Let's get into it! R. and the Frankie Team xx Best local experiences to gift this Christmas 🎄✨ Give them a story, not more stuff 🎁 This week, we’ve rounded up local experiences...
about 2 months ago • 13 min read
Andy Kean from Kean Kreations! Hello, my dear Frankies! Christmas has well and truly hit us here in this beautiful corner of the world! And so we've put together an extra events list this week, full of all the big Christmas events popping up. Make the whole of December feel magical instead of stressing out and only getting to enjoy the Christmas spirit on the 25th! (That's the idea anyway - we all know we're going to be stressing no matter what!) This past week, we've been lucky enough to...
about 2 months ago • 10 min read
New and pre-loved designer clothing Hello, my dear Frankies! Christmas is coming in hot! Last weekend we popped into the Your Local Creatives Christmas Market at Your Local Coffee - and wow it was such a spark of inspiration. Walking around reminded me just how many insanely talented makers we have right here in Franklin. I came away determined to do as much of my Christmas shopping locally as possible, and I met some brilliant creatives you’ll definitely want to follow. Creative Addictions -...
2 months ago • 8 min read
Hello, my dear Frankies! SO, we just put our Christmas tree up this week, which means it's officially time to bring out the Christmas spirit! Despite the craziness, this really is my favourite time of the year 🎋 This edition turned out to be quite long - there's a lot of cool people doing cool things in our little section of the world! First, we talked to Anni from The Home Inspo & Design Store, and WOW! That place is cool!! And how cool we have it here in Franklin?! Second, it's definitely...
2 months ago • 13 min read
Hello, my dear Frankies! Franklin is blooming and buzzing this week! We’ve got two gorgeous features: the annual Waiuku Flora Fest - think roses, floral magic, and clever green-thumb inspo - and the Beauty & Wellness Expo in Pukekohe, where you can sip, shop, and glow your way through an afternoon of demos and treats. And because Christmas is peeking around the corner, the event calendar is about to go full sparkle. Markets, concerts, community days - ’tis officially the season of “add to...
3 months ago • 6 min read