About us
Kapiti Hobbies, started off as 'The Hobby Corner', a Hobby Department within our Pharmacy.
You may think it odd that a pharmacy would have a hobby department, but a number of events led to this occurrence...
Scott and Tracey Bowman purchased Paraparaumu Beach Pharmacy in June 2015. They were both local to the town and had worked for other pharmacies in the region for a number of years. Owning their own business was an opportunity not to be missed.
Prior to this, Paraparaumu town had been serviced by both the local Toyworld franchise and an independent hobby store called Kapiti Models. Sadly due to a variety of reasons, both of these stores closed down, leaving no outlet for hobby supplies in the Paraparaumu area.
Scott had been a long time gamer himself, participating in games on the local scene, and attending local tournaments and also blogged extensively about his war-gaming hobby. You can find Scott's blog here; (www.scottswargaming.blogspot.com) . Sadly Scott doesn't have as much time as he used to, to maintain the blog, with now being so busy running Kapiti Hobbies, but hopes to get back to it at some point in the future.
Frustrated at not having a local supplier for his hobby, and looking over the Pharmacy he had purchased, he saw an opportunity; a corner of the store was not operating as well as it could, and it seemed the perfect place to site a small Hobby section, or Hobby Corner as it came to be known. Making contact with a number of suppliers the first shipment touched down, and in May 2016 the Hobby Corner came into being.
The hobby corner then rapidly grew from humble beginnings, with a large customer base starting to follow the store; local friends and gaming acquaintances coming first, and then a wider audience soon followed.
Scott continues to enjoy running the hobby corner, and helping with prize support, at various events and locations throughout the year.
Being a hobbyist and gamer himself, Scott also has a wealth of knowledge on the subject and can help and advise with your hobby needs in store.
Finally trying to widen the appeal of his hobby corner, Scott embarked on building this website, but having found the entity "Hobby Corner" had already been secured elsewhere in the world, a renaming and re-branding exercise found "Kapiti Hobbies" was a suitable business name and thus Kapiti Hobbies was born!
Scott continues to source new products and has converted a side office into an additional 'Hobby Room', so come on down and check out Kapiti Hobbies at Paraparaumu Beach Pharmacy, it's a veritable "Alladdin's cave" of hobby goodness! You'll be surprised how much we have on hand, in stock, under one roof, probably the best range in the Lower North Island!
If you're in the Wellington, Waiarapa, or Manawatu area, come on by and check out the best little hobby shop in your corner of the world!
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