Located within an iconic heritage building, the Mountaineer Hotel, Deadly Ponies Queenstown has drawn inspiration from its historic surroundings, like the new signage above the front door, which mirrors the hotel's original signage.
“Steve [Steven Boyd] and I worked hard to create a warm and unique space, taking inspiration from the region’s elements by incorporating a lot of natural wood and colour,” said Liam Bowden, Creative Director and Founder of Deadly Ponies.
“A store in Queenstown has been on our radar for a long time. It’s a place we love to visit and has an international feel. It was also crucial for us to find a location that we felt fit with our other spaces, and that’s been quite a process.”
With its diversity of tourists and global appeal, establishing a presence in Queenstown has provided immense potential for the Deadly Ponies brand. The Mountaineer Hotel, unique to the region’s history, made Boyd and Bowden fall in love almost immediately with the large windows and exposed stone.
As with all of its other spaces, the duo was involved in every detail, with this being the first store they designed in-house. Boyd, who grew up in the South Island, could call upon one of his oldest friends, Dave Ewan, a local builder, to help with the fit-out.
Deadly Ponies Queenstown has been designed to reflect their passion for the arts with works and collector's pieces worldwide. It is an accumulation of ideas and colours that feel interesting and inviting. The space includes many bespoke furnishings and natural and sustainable materials that celebrate local artists from Aotearoa.
“For us, It was essential to create a space that could continually evolve, just like a home. We chose to include pieces that held significance to us, like an original 1950s watercolour by Steve’s late grandfather, Douglas Badcock, a celebrated Queenstown painter.”
They have also worked on two new pieces exclusive to this store, the Mountaineer Blanket, a tribute to the Mountaineer Hotel location, and a limited Shearling capsule, a fun play on the cosy Queenstown elements.
This store is an evolution of the other stores that interior designer Katie Lockhart developed. It features handwriting built over the years, with a few differences.
A large oak recess has been created to display the colours within the collection, alongside a custom ottoman crafted from Deadly Ponies Calf Nappa leathers and Santa & Cole light fittings from Spain.
One of the more colourful pieces in the store is the New Zealand hand-tufted wool rug, made especially for this location from a piece by artist Anoushka Akel.
The aim was to create points of interest within the store beyond the leather offerings that the brand is known for.
“Our spaces are a collection of treasures, with elements and bespoke pieces that customers can rediscover whenever they visit.”
In terms of sustainability, the approach to the stores has always been similar to those with the bag designs, focusing on creating something that will last, using natural, reusable materials and letting them shine.
“Our Queenstown store incorporates a lot of wood and stone, natural materials that will age beautifully if looked after,”
Deadly Ponies Queenstown is a warm and inviting escape during winter, allowing visitors to wrap themselves in the Mountaineer Blanket and sit by the window to read a book.
