03 Magazine: July 07, 2023

LEFT & OPPOSITE: Photos: Pippa Marffy
FOLLOWING PAGE: Photo: Dana Johnston
“Jodi and Donna have also been incredible to bring on board and
help with our growing orders – and live close enough to home
(Kurow) for a morning visit before the shop opens!”
Then there’s the worms. Jessica Flora’s fabric offcuts and paper scraps,
along with coffee grinds and food scraps from the cafe across the road,
are fed into Jess’s on-site worm farm, the rich composting results of which
are then used in her vege garden “to continue the cycle nature intended.”
“Caring for Mother Earth has been deeply embedded in me from a
young age,” says Jess, “so it only makes sense to look after the soil that
gives us the resources to live and thrive in”.
And the freshly grown garden produce ties into yet another circular
element of the brand – supper clubs.
The host of a popular London supper club in a former life, Jess has found
a way to cleverly work the delicious community-focused concept into her
current enterprises by hosting shared dining experiences around New
Zealand at the launch of each collection to date.
“I originally hosted a supper club for 35 people when I lived in London,
and absolutely loved the whole process,” she says.
“It felt like a natural fit for me to join the
supper clubs in with Jessica Flora. It was
a way to bring in my love of cooking, and
I’ve always loved hosting people around a
table and sharing my creations in the kitchen
with friends.
“And it also ties in nicely with our footprint
as it allows us to bring in the waste aspect
and incorporate that into the worm farm
with the fabric scraps.
“I hosted quite a few last year – I’m yet
to put on one this year, potentially I will in
Kurow and Christchurch around August –
but I would book out a venue/house in a
region and put on an event where I cook a
three-course meal for 15–35 people, and
they get to shop the range and sip cocktails
and champagne.”
Connecting to her customers and
community might not be as straightforward
as if she’d set up in the big smoke, but so far
the rewards outweigh the challenges.
“Given that we are so rural, we are very
remote. So it is hard to connect with likeminded
people in the industry at times. But
thankfully it has been overridden with many
highs over the last two years. Winning Best
Emerging Business at the Waitaki Business
Awards last year has been a highlight along
with opening the shop and hosting our
supper clubs around the country.”
The heritage storefront of In Good
Company, an elegant classically columned
facade that faces onto the town’s main street
and connects to her studio/workroom at
the back, is the final piece of Jess’s pretty
business puzzle.
“My partner Matt’s mum owns the most
amazing cafe and lodge across the road,
Waitaki Braids, and acquired this building too,
which has accommodation behind the shop
to extend the lodge.
“Matt’s whole family were amazing at
helping get it set up last winter, sanding and
painting to lift it up and give it the fresh feel it
has inside now.
“It was built in 1846 I believe, and what is
super cool is the building was first used as
a tailoring and merchant store – so it feels
special to bring it full circle.”