Our story

As these things tend to do, the concept of The Duo started as discussions the Matakana based sisters would often have on their commute into Auckland city.

The idea became a reality in March 2020 when Covid first hit. Covid was a real awakening time for us, it gave us time to think and gain some perspective back, instead of just rushing from one part of life to the next we both realised we needed balance back in our lives.

I remember quite clearly, in week 3 of the first lock down I felt this overwhelming sadness as the realisation set in I was missing so much of bringing our young family up. We had a wonderful nanny who seamlessly kept life together up North, meanwhile both Lyds and I were working everyday in the city in big jobs that required a lot from us. 

We began refining the business idea, we worked closely with an analyst to help us research and crunch data, and we leant on personal mentors and advisers to help shape the concept further. It was more than a year of working big days in the city then coming home and working through the night to bring us to this point. The notion that ‘if this was easy, everyone would be doing it’ kept us going, it was a good leveller.

There were a few principles we cared deeply about and these were the driving force behind The Duo. 

We wanted to provide the New Zealand market with quality, luxury products and gifts that supported and promoted the makers, their values and the stories behind their craft. 

The stories piece is key, the more we spoke to the amazing creators we work with, the more we realised how much passion and commitment went into their craft - we wanted to be a platform for helping deliver these stories to the consumer. 

We’re both perfectionists so it was incredibly important to us we had a business that delivered on a need to provide exceptional and bespoke customer experiences - every day. Our offering had to be about making people’s lives easier. We both knew how time consuming, especially in the corporate world, the Client and staff gifting process is, but also how important it is for building and maintaining working relationships.

So here we are today, a luxury digital gifting platform that caters for all corporate gifting requirements (loyalty and acquisition programmes, staff and client gifting) but also a place anyone can come to find those perfect gifts for the moments that matter (weddings, births, graduations, birthdays).

We appreciate your support.

Lydia and Jess Xx