Who is Aunt Jenny?

Aunt Jenny isn’t a character.
She’s a lineage.

It begins in 1934, when Walter Ashford began making wooden spinning wheels and toys by hand in New Zealand. Alongside him was his wife Joy Ashford, whose family believed deeply in self-reliance, making, and living well with what you have.

Joy was the daughter of Jennifer Rendall — a woman known to thousands simply as  “Aunt Jenny.”

Jennifer was a writer, maker, and practical philosopher. Through her long-running column Greener Pastures (published in the Home Journal for many years), she shared everyday wisdom on crafted living — spinning, growing, mending, cooking, and making do with care and creativity. She signed every piece simply

— Aunt Jenny

Her words travelled far beyond her home at Inch Clutha in the south of New Zealand, and her spirit shaped the family that followed.

Walter and Joy went on to found Ashford Handicrafts, building wheels and looms that would be used and loved for generations.

Their daughter, Gay Epstein, brought that legacy to Australia, establishing Ashford Australia in 1984, shipping Ashford products nationwide for over 25 years from a property called Past Times.

And then — it came to me.

I’m Rewa, Gay’s daughter, Walter and Joy’s granddaughter, and Jennifer’s great-granddaughter.

When Ashford Australia moved online, it felt right to bring the story full circle. In  2017, I chose the name  Aunt Jenny — not to look back, but to carry forward everything she stood for.

Aunt Jenny today is about more than tools.
It’s about trust, longevity, and living a crafted life.

If you’re restoring a wheel that’s decades old, or choosing your very first one, you’re part of the same story — one that values making slowly, choosing well, and using your hands with intention.

And if you ever need help, advice, or encouragement —

Just ask Aunt Jenny.

Aunt Jenny the home of Ashford products Australia wide.