8 stores · curated ORBIS register
Auckland CBD
Trading since the 1980s, Real Groovy is billed as New Zealand's largest record shop. The Auckland independent sells vinyl, CDs, music, books and merchandise.
Best for Vinyl records and music from an iconic indie store
Auckland / New Zealand
The Binding Studio is run by Louise James from her home studio in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland.
Best for Custom hand-bound commissions and antique-press bookbinding from a credentialed binder
The Binding Studio is run by Louise James from her home studio in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland. James began bookbinding in 2001 under binders Anna Caithness and Helen Everest, later worked as a Bookbinding Technician at AUT University's Art and Design School from 2009 to 2013, and established The Binding Studio in 2009 — a documented practitioner history rather than an anonymous storefront.
The studio's stated services span custom commission bindings, hand-sewn and bound books produced on antique equipment, custom-made boxes, bookbinding tools and materials for sale, and bookbinding workshops and classes. Its own framing is direct: "The Binding Studio keeps the traditional ideals of bookbinding alive, whilst adapting them to stay relevant to today's design world," with James adding that she is "driven by new ideas and the opportunity to be experimental within bookbinding" while maintaining client and student relationships alongside the commission work.
As one of a small number of dedicated artisan hand-binderies documented in Auckland and Wellington — a scene that also includes The Bookbindery (family-run since 1979) and the newer Wellington Centre for Book Arts — The Binding Studio's combination of a named, credentialed binder, antique equipment, and a service list centered specifically on binding and boxes (not general stationery) supports treating it as a genuine dedicated craft business.
Christchurch
Smith's Bookshop was established by A. D. Smith in 1894 and remains a fully independent Christchurch bookseller. It now trades from the Tannery Emporium at 3 Garlands Road in Woolston with more than 40,000 new and secondhand titles listed by category. The stock leans to rare and out-of-print books on New Zealand, from regional history and te ao Māori to farming and the arts, with international titles and children's books alongside.
Best for Secondhand and rare books
Smith's Bookshop anchors its identity in Christchurch rather than treating New Zealand books as a small regional shelf. A. D. Smith established the business in 1894, and the shop states that it remains fully independent. Its current home is the Tannery Emporium at 3 Garlands Road in Woolston. The catalogue contains more than 40,000 new and second-hand books arranged by subject, with rare and out-of-print material given particular weight. New Zealand regional history appears beside te ao Maori, natural history and the arts. Farming, fishing and hunting sit alongside literature, children's books and international titles. That structure explains the shop's practical value: it can support a narrowly local search without becoming only an antiquarian specialist. The bookseller also says it helps source hard-to-find titles, which connects the depth of the catalogue to an active service. Smith's is therefore a strong address for readers building a New Zealand collection, researching Christchurch or looking for a title that ordinary general bookshops no longer carry.
Nelson / New Zealand
A locally owned independent bookshop on Trafalgar Street in Nelson, Page & Blackmore stocks new fiction and non-fiction and runs a loyalty scheme and events. Titles can be browsed in-store or bought through its online shop.
Best for Books, bookshop
Cuba Street, Wellington
Iko Iko is an independent, family-owned gift store at 118 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, selling accessories, books, home decor, stationery and toys. It stocks both its own designs and curated brands including Jellycat, Baggu, Frank Green and Sonny Angels.
Best for Independent gift and homewares store
Otaki Village / New Zealand
Books & Co is an independent bookshop in the heart of Otaki on the Kapiti Coast, with a strong children's selection alongside fiction, non-fiction, puzzles and games. It runs an Odoo web shop for direct online orders and stocks gifts from blankets and mugs to soaps for shoppers in store.
Best for Bookshop, children's books, gifts, puzzles, games
High Street, CBD
An independent bookshop at 19 High Street, with the little Unity children's shop on Vulcan Lane. A fixture of Auckland's literary life.
Best for Independent bookshop browsing and NZ titles
Hawke's Bay, Napier / Havelock North
Wardini Books, at 16 Te Mata Road, Havelock North, with a second shop in Napier, stocks fiction, children's and young adult titles, non-fiction, books in Te Reo Maori and cookery titles alongside stationery. The shop features staff-curated picks and offers click-and-collect and pre-orders.
Best for General and te reo maori bookshop
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