Time to change lanes.

from Avenues, June 2023

by Twenty Seven Publishers

TALKING THE WALK

Soak Time

Flora Explorer, based in Canterbury, produces handmade bath salts, including the Sleepy Time Herbal Bath Soak. This bath soak is a calming blend of Epsom salts, organic coconut milk, and colloidal oatmeal, combined with carefully chosen botanicals and essential oils to promote peacefulness and tranquillity. floraexplorer.felt.co.nz

PINUS CHAMP-US

Baguette Your Worries

Have you ever tried a chicken floss Báhn Mì? If you haven’t, you must jump in your car or on your bike and make a beeline for Ngon Ngon in Riccarton. This café serves up some classic café fare alongside a fantastic array of Vietnamese cuisine. The Bánh Khọt (savoury mini, crispy pancakes filled with prawns) is a must-try.

ngonngoncafe.co.nz

Marlborough’s Pinoli Premium Pine Nuts has been awarded Supreme Champion 2023 at the Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards. Founders Andy and Barb Wiltshire took a leap of faith with Mediterranean pine (Pinus pinea) – the tree that produces pine nuts – which takes eight to ten years for the first crop to be harvestable. The judges at the awards praised the nuts for their fresh taste, high quality, and consistent brilliance, achieved through careful monitoring throughout the growing, harvesting, processing, and packaging stages. In addition to winning the Supreme Champion title, the product was also named Farro Earth Champion. pinoli.co.nz

Nifty Thinking

Rosie Carroll started Nifty in response to the increase in fast fashion stores and to give young people a grassroots space to explore their style in. In 2018 she created The Nifty Markets. The flea market has been hosting second-hand clothing sellers and local makers ever since. After four years of running the markets and bouncing around different venues in the city, Rosie opened a brick-and-mortar space. Nifty is now a consignment clothing store in the big pink building on Cashel Street and has become a destination for vintage clothing lovers. The flea market is still run out of the building’s car park once every few months.