Forged in fire

Tiny Anvil as a business was forged out of necessity. Director Paula Schultz was working with the Papakura Business Association to find a solution for their beautification project, which was built around large scale plantings.

“The Association was looking to carry out a project to beautify the business district, which led us to look at large, steel planters. We simply could not source what we wanted locally, so we began searching for a fabricator offshore who could reliably provide a product to a high standard. Without a relationship in place this can be a difficult task, so that in itself was the first hurdle.”

“The order for the Papakura Town Centre was large enough that we really needed a container, but not large enough to fill it, so we took a leap of faith and filled the container with our first retail order. That was the genesis of Tiny Anvil and we now work closely with a manufacturer.”

A self-professed avid gardener, Paula was very pleased with the quality of the planters and saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market for reasonably priced, quality products that would appeal to the commercial and retail residential markets.

“We now have a range of planters available in weathering steel, as well as powder coated galvanised steel. We design each item and with Tiny Anvil 3mm steel is standard, which is what makes our product hard wearing. At 3mm, the weathering steel, or corten, will pretty much last forever, while the powder coated galvanized product won’t rust through creating a very robust product.”

It must have worked because Paula says that since setting up the business in 2018, she has had enquiries from other community organisations and commercial enterprises, as well as homeowners looking for high quality steel planters and other accessories that they simply can’t find elsewhere on the market.

“I now field enquiries from all over the country, from business associations and commercial developers looking to make bulk orders, through to homeowners who only need one or two items; I’ve been really pleased by the response.”

Tiny Anvil has extended its range and now offers a variety of fire pits and bowls along with decorative steel screens.

“The screens are a new item and we are expanding the standard offering currently available on the website to include more sizes and patterns. In the meantime, we also have a custom-made service, where people can contact us with a design and we can have it made up for them. That is no problem for us and it now accounts for a good proportion of our business.”

The company has a showroom and warehouse in the south-Auckland suburb of Papakura, which Paula says is open by appointment. All products are also available through the website. Standard products can be shipped almost immediately, however, with custom orders there is a turnaround time of around 10 weeks.

“Currently, our products are available only through us, however we are open to exploring future retail options through other businesses and have explored the pop-up store concept with an eye to opening one in Auckland in coming months.