03/06/2026
Hello to you all and if you’re new around here - welcome! Now’s as good a time as any to catch you up on my business journey to date and share a few pics of the store’s evolution and a wee glimpse into home!
Let me introduce myself; I’m Becky Lee, the owner and operator of The Cushion Couturier boutique and workroom in Christchurch NZ.
I live with my husband Phil and my two teenage sons in a 1950’s bungalow. My best friend Kate bought the house next door 18 months ago – we put a gate in the fence immediately and refer to our combined properties as the Weston Road Pā. To complete the picture there’s Willow, the “pā dog” who moves freely between the two households seeking the tastiest treats on offer. If you ever get the chance to live like this - I can highly recommend it.
Post-divorce about 13 years ago I hit the life reset button. Originally, I qualified and practised as a Naturopath, then slipped into event management, before my heart demanded I scratch a creative itch and steered me into the interiors industry.
I worked in an entry level role, got to know the industry, re-trained and then took the first leap and started my interior design consultancy in 2017. Eventually I had to acknowledge that I wasn’t getting the creative satisfaction I had hoped for out of the work; so to help fill that void I re-connected with my lifelong love of making and started sewing cushions.
An idea started glimmering away in the back of my mind, about a place where I could put all my skills and experience to use and work every day with my true passions - textiles and colour. And so, The Cushion Couturier was conceived.
The Cushion Couturier is a special little place; it’s been described as an Alladins Cave, a treasure trove, a visual symphony, a colour bomb and recently a lovely woman said that she felt like she had stepped through a mystic portal into another land!
This all feels very meaningful because the move into retail 15 months ago was a massive leap into the unknown, but like many big life decisions there’s never a perfect moment, sometimes you have to trust your instincts and just go for it!
Thanks for following along!
Love Becky 🌸