Described by her creator and possible alter-ego Anthea Lawrence as quirky, retro, modern and fun, she also ''doesn't take no for an answer''.
Aunt Tili is a homeware brand developed last year by Mrs Lawrence, a Cromwell fashion designer and mother of two.
Since she developed the Tili Jar, a product which she described as ''not just a jar and a stick'', it has been stocked by more than 100 retailers throughout New Zealand and is about to be taken to the Australian market.
The idea came about when Mrs Lawrence saw something similar overseas and thought it was ''very cool''. She made some herself, took them to a party and was heartened by the response.
She was now getting the jars made in China, as the cost of making the in New Zealand was prohibitive, she said.
They could be used for a variety of purposes, including filling them with candles, flowers, dessert, candy or buttons - ''anything you like'' - to using them as a wine glass.
Florists, wedding planners, cafes and retail shops were among the customers and they were used in the goodie bags of fashion label Lucabella during London Fashion Week.
The name Aunt Tili came from a brainstorming session, over a few wines, with friend Mel Kees. It was an abbreviation for the word utility.
In the future, Mrs Lawrence hoped to sell the jars globally, while increasing her range of homeware products, for which she already had some ideas.
Aunt Tili had taken over from fashion as her primary focus, although she was still designing clothing from her home.
After graduating from the University of Otago with a science degree, Mrs Lawrence headed overseas, where she met her future husband Trevor, on the way to London.
After living in Europe and Canada, the couple moved back to New Zealand in 2001 and she went to teacher's college in Christchurch, before her husband got a job at the Clyde dam and they moved firstly to Omakau for a year and then to Cromwell in late 2004.
It was while pregnant with son Ed, now 7 - the couple also have a daughter Isla, who is nearly 5 - that she struggled to find maternity wear and designed the Belleze belly tube.
Sewing had always been an interest, which she had inherited from her mother, and she started designing clothing and selling through fetes and markets.
Several years ago, she and friend Claire Harper started the Festive Fete, which is now held at the Cromwell racecourse in early December.
Now Mrs Lawrence sells her clothing mostly through selected retailers and online.
Mrs Lawrence was fortunate to be able to work from home, where she had a showroom, and there was lots of ''cool stuff'' happening in Cromwell, she said.
''You don't have to live in the city any more to be doing anything on a large scale,'' she said.
