NZ Herald Viva 28th March - Wellington Feature

Visit Viva.co.nz

Wednesday March 28, 2018

TAKE ME TO

WELLINGTON

RIGHT NOW BOOK IN

Plum season

Good enough to eat right now — the lipstick, not the fruit we mean. Try Oriental Bay Plum from Antipodes for a shot of on-trend colour in your makeup look. The natural product from the biggest skincare brand based in Wellington is nicely moisturising, fragrance-free, vegetarian friendly and costs $37.

• Visit Antipodesnature.com

Whether you fancy yourself a cobbler or just love a darn good pair of heels, a trip to Wellington’s Shoe School could have just the amount of sole you desire.

Started by shoe-obsessed Louise Clifton, who first began teaching in Dunedin but soon migrated to Wellington, the wisdom-filled classes guide you through making a pair of shoes entirely from scratch. Not to mention you’ll be trotting home in your new custom designs. From her Newtown studio, you can choose from a five-day workshop where you can make anything from brogues to Mary-Janes, or a two-day sandal-making workshop. All tools and materials are included and Louise will have passed on so much knowledge you’ll be able to keep making fancy footwear at home too. Go to Shoe-school.com for a full workshop list and pricing.

Hell Nope

Nope means no. That’s the message behind this T-shirt from Wellington social enterprise Nope Sisters, headed by actual sisters Brittany and Johanna Cosgrove, who create merch for a cause. This embroidered soft cotton NOPE tee supports the #Icantkeepquiet movement, “because it’s black and white — sexual consent is vital and NOPE means NO!”. Twentyfive per cent of the profit from the sale of these T-shirts is shared with Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation, Wellington.

Visit Nopesistersclothing.com.

4

viva.co.nz

World’s best

The Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival programme launches tomorrow and we’re excited by the film line-up hitting cinemas across New Zealand from May to July. The festival will showcase the very best in architecture and design from around the world, including the first documentary on Australian architect Harry Seidler (pictured).

And don’t miss the doco on legendary fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez covering his colourful life in Paris and New York in the 1970s. The Film Fest comes to Auckland from May 3-20 and Wellington from May 24-June 10. Visit Rialto.co.nz.

Harry & Penelope Seidler House, Killara Sydney 1967 with Penelope Seidler.

Picture / Harry Seidler

FASHION & BEAUTY

15 In the details Introducing Kowtow’s new store 16 Creative pursuits Artsy, eccentric fashion in Wellington 18 Live like a local Four creatives talk about their beloved hometown 22 This is Wellington Is there such a thing as a Wellington ‘look’?

24 Funky town Head-turning pieces in abstract prints and bold hues 25 Where to shop Boutiques helping to define Wellington’s fashion scene 26 A tailor-made journey Sara Quilter’s natural beauty company Tailor 30 Out & About Things to see and do in the capital

FOOD & DRINK

31 Food court for the win Getting to know fancy food court Press Hall 32 Eating and drinking around Wellington Bars, cafes, restaurants and music venues 34 Class of its own Jesse Mulligan visits Rita 36 Choc-a-block Chocolatey Easter-worthy recipes

AT HOME

39 Portrait of a house The inside story of an iconic home 40 Design guide Makers of Architecture take Viva on a city design tour 42 The new minimalists Wellington designers with a pared-back aesthetic 46 Five faves Antipodes’ Elizabeth Barbalich shares her fave things 47 Design notebook Exhibitions, products and more

FROM THE EDITOR

In a time of full-immersion travel, visiting a city’s major attractions and touted icons is just part of the experience. The savvy traveller finds true satisfaction when they’ve rubbed shoulders with the locals in a hidden bar, eaten from a holein-the-wall sandwich shop, discovered a dreamy dress in a secret vintage store, or danced like no one’s watching to a band they’ve never heard of... For this week’s very special Wellington issue, the Viva team has done all of these things to bring you a just a slice of what a diverse and thriving city our capital is. Yes, the latest exhibition at Te Papa is a must-see and getting a table at Logan Brown will impress, but as this magazine reveals, there’s so much more to discover. Have fun. We did.

Amanda Linnell, managing editor

ON THE COVER: Dries Van Noten vest, $610, from Scotties. Gestuz shirt $360. Deadly Ponies silk scarf $230, Ingrid Starnes skirt $299. Ambra tights, $28, from Farmers. Karen Walker 9ct gold pearl drop earrings $1969 and matching ring $1079. Shot on location at The Green Parrot Café; Greenparrot.co.nz. Model / Faye Nielsen from Kirsty Bunny Management. Photographer / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas. Fashion Editor / Dan Ahwa. Hair / Michael Beel. Make-up / Ash McPartland for M.A.C Cosmetics.

viva.co.nz

5

RIGHT NOW FOLLOW @tinyportions

Rose Young’s miniature morsels have captured our eyes — and stomachs — since the arrival of her tiny artworks of food to Instagram in 2015. Since then, the Wellington sculptor’s account @tinyportions has continually supplied our feed with her detailed creations made out of polymer clay, proving that good things truly do come in small packages. #deliciousaf

MAKE IT RAIN

I SE E R E D

Here’s a little duo of fiery-red bags to warm your heart. The Radical canvas tote, $200, and the Color Me Bag number made from deer napa, $465, both from Twenty-seven Names, are the perfect zingy shade of red to welcome in autumn.

6

viva.co.nz

Local secret: In wet and windy Wellington umbrellas don’t really hack it. Luckily Okewa Rainwear has been arming drenched Wellingtonians with outerwear that keeps both function and aesthetic in mind.

Created by clever design duo Nick and Nevada Leckie, their locally made, seriously stylish coats and trenches are completely waterproof, seam-sealed and lined.

• Available from Okewarainwear.com and in Auckland at Theshelteronline.com

Proven PJs

Justine Vanstone and Christina Goss of Fog and Stone spent a year sourcing and sampling fabrics for their New Zealand-made pyjama range, giving each fabric the “sleep” and “wash” test. “One hundred per cent Egyptian cotton was the only fabric that came through with flying colours,” says Christina.

“It’s luxurious enough for a great night’s sleep and durable enough to wash again and again, becoming softer with each wash.” The pyjamas are made just five minutes away from their Wellington garden studio in Island Bay and the women pride themselves on the timelessness of their designs and the sustainably sourced cotton from which the garments are made. This John & Yoko set favours culotte and kimono-shapes instead of shirts and pants.

• John & Yoko, $278, from Fogandstonehome.com

Pictures / Pier Carthew.

Direction & Styling / Sarah Pritchard.

CAPITAL NEWS

Aesop fans will be able to get their fix of the Australian range in a standalone concept store coming to Featherston St, Wellington, soon. For now, try the ideal post-shower, post-summer skin salve that is Aesop’s Rind Concentrate Body Balm. It is made with citrus oils to refresh skin and nut oils to soften and hydrate it. The small tube size (pictured) is $47, or $129 for a 500ml bottle.

Visit Aesop.com/nz

BOOK CLUB

The Facts by Therese Lloyd Published by Victoria University Press, $25

Just Charming

Poet Hera Lindsay Bird has collaborated with Underground Sundae on a collection of zodiac charms called ‘Rising Star’. There’s an engraving for every sign, from “Neurotic homebody” for Virgos (pictured on the card above) to “Insecure socialite” for Sagittarians, and we love them all. HLB x US pendants, $234, from Undergroundsundae.com.

The follow-up to her acclaimed collection The New Animals, The Facts is poet Therese Lloyd’s latest release, which explores the end of a marriage. Her sharp, heavy and insightful words have garnered much praise, with poet Hera Lindsay Bird calling this one of her favourite New Zealand books.

“It won’t make you feel any better,” she adds ominously.

This honest collection is one best digested slowly.

viva.co.nz

7

RIGHT NOW

THE INSIDE SCOOP We ask Joseph Slater of Six Barrel Soda (Lukes Ln, Te Aro) to lift the lid on his favourite Wellington haunts.

WHERE’S THE BEST PLACE FOR AN EXCELLENT COCKTAIL? Forresters Lane has just opened in the old Motel spot. They have a rotating weekly cocktail menu with fresh ingredients or things they’ve canned and preserved, so you just get what’s fresh.

A BURGER? The fried chicken burger at Lucky is incredible.

Free-range chicken, steamed buns, magic “Lucky sauce”, it’s like uptown KFC. It’s dangerously close to Six Barrel HQ . . .

A FANCY DINNER? Last year the team from Nikau opened Rita in Aro, it’s a 28-seater with a set menu of beautiful food and real service. Date-night central.

FRIDAY-NIGHT TAKEAWAYS? Camel Grill is a dodgy-looking spot in the bottom of a strip club but they make the best falafel in town, hands down. Tommy Millions for pizza by the slice until late. Mr Go’s is more of a sit-in joint but the bao are world class.

A COFFEE? We’re pretty lucky for coffee here, I try to get around rather than have a regular spot. There are the places that have been doing great coffee for a while now like Customs, Lamason, Milk Crate, Neo & Peoples and my picks for the best new spots are Goldmine and Staple.

SUNDAY BRUNCH? In Petone Comes & Goes is amazing, they have an innovative menu and excellent coffee. Field & Green in Wellington make “European soul food” in a beautiful clean space.

The Pastrami Hash at Pickle & Pie won’t let you down either.

FISH AND CHIPS? I live outside of Wellington in Featherston and our local is Town & Country Takeaways. It’s a proper country fish and chip shop and they know their way around a fryer.

BATHING RITUAL

These pink and green clay probiotic cleansing bars are new from Sansceuticals.

Think pink to nourish skin with manuka honey and green with antimicrobial manuka oil to help gently restore skin’s barrier function. They cost $39.90 each, from Sansceuticals.com

Joseph Slater.

Lucky.

Goldmine.

Mr Go’s.

Bluff Oyster season is upon us and these lil’ fat suckers are just $10 a dozen – NO TYPO $10 per dozen. Available till 5pm everyday.

Book online or call (09) 394 7300 Bookings essential*

VIADUCT

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: *1 doz per customer. *When ordered with a main. *Until 5pm. *Subject to weather, availability and volume 100 doz max served per day

8

viva.co.nz

.co.nz Exclusive online content to discover Accessorise your heart out with our stylish edit of scarves for winter

Easter weekend calls for sweet indulgences — we’ve picked 12 recipes that deliver on deliciousness

Undergarments of Refuge

Elisha Watson is creating new beginnings through the delicacies of underwear. After volunteering with the Red Cross refugee programme, the Wellingtonian quit her full-time job as a lawyer to create Nisa: an organic cotton underwear line that gives jobs to women from refugee backgrounds. The cosy bralettes and briefs are all sewn from her Newtown studio, achieving her mission of creating stylish underwear while providing empowering employment to women in need. Nisa means “women” in Arabic — fitting for the “made by women, for women” ethos. Visit Nisa.co.nz

Our guide to the must-see events at this year’s muchanticipated Auckland Writers Festival

Special spots to enjoy a long and lingering lunch with friends this weekend

Herbal remedy

Part botanical factory, part herbal dispensary and all-round alchemists’ delight; whatever it is, we’re a fan of Wellington Apothecary’s natural range of products. The Sun, Wind and Sea balm is a soft and buttery consistency and promises to nourish skin while protecting it from the elements, $33 from Wellington Apothecary.

+

the best fashion, food, beauty, travel, design, culture and more

ABOUT US

Managing editor Amanda Linnell Deputy editor Johanna Thornton Fashion editor Dan Ahwa Beauty editor Janetta Mackay Recipe editor Angela Casley Eating Out editor Jesse Mulligan At Home design editor Melinda Williams Photographer Rebecca Zephyr Thomas Designer Lucy Casley Writer and fashion assistant Rosie Herdman Digital editor Shoba Pillai Writers Sarah Downs, India Essuah Features production editor Isobel Marriner Sub-editors Courtney Whitaker, Jill Stanford, Maureen Marriner, Sue Baxalle Picture researcher Ellie Hutchinson Editorial inquiries Ph (09) 373 6400 ext 36948, viva@nzherald.co.nz Advertising inquiries Sandy Kilgour, ph 021 489 819, sandy.kilgour@nzme.co.nz

Explore the southern skies museumswellington.org.nz Part of Experience Wellington.

Principal Funder Wellington City Council.

Photo © Mark Gee

viva.co.nz

9

ADVERTISEMENT

LIMITLESS LUXURY OF SOFITEL WELLINGTON

Nestled in the heart of Wellington, is the elegant and luxurious Sofitel Wellington. Surrounded by lush botanicals, and within easy walking distance of many of the capital’s major attractions, this boutique hotel blends the French ‘art de vivre’ with the vibrant creative culture of the bustling city.

On one side of the Sofitel Wellington a multitude of restaurants and cafes beckons, while on the other, views of lush hillsides and the Botanical Gardens abounds. Botanical inspiration is weaved delicately through the Sofitel’s striking modern aesthetic featuring rich floral patterned wallpapers, floral still photographs captured by Vicky Fulton adorning the lobby, and botanic inspired artworks in the rooms.

Sofitel Wellington is an elegant haven to relax and unwind. Amalgamating classic grandeur and contemporary style, extravagant rooms allow

guests to escape completely and immerse into a world of effortless elegance enhanced by Sofitel’s impeccable service. Each room is beautifully appointed in vintage gold and bronze tones with luxury experiences layered through the room with delightful elements surprising you on every corner: leather top writing desk with gold lined drawers, bespoke leather handles and the gold velvet lined wardrobes.

For a sophisticated yet intimate dining experience in Wellington, Jardin Grill is the place to be. At the heart of the Sofitel’s signature restaurant which pays homage to its French ancestry in its name ‘Jardin’ – meaning garden in French, is celebrated Executive Chef Roy Giam and his decadent menu crafted around the restaurant’s wood-fired grill.

Roy has successfully carved his way through Wellington’s gastronomic scene and brings a

vibrant diversity of culinary influences to Sofitel’s spectacular dining experience. He recommends you to savour the signature desert – Le Jardin d’eté – the summer garden featuring citrus, white chocolate, basil, mint and berries which artfully reinvents itself every season.

Discover the Green Room, a splendid contemporary haven set above with expansive views. Indulge in a meticulously crafted and botanic inspired Gin and Tonic collection or one of the many fine wines endorsed by leading wine writer John Saker.

Experience a total immersion in limitless luxury and a botanical haven in the hub of Wellington City at the Sofitel Wellington.

Visit www.sofitel-wellington.com Phone 04 472 2001 | Email h9051@sofitel.com

FASHION & BEAUTY

IN THE DETAIL “It is so lovely to open in the city where we first started 11 years ago,” says Kowtow’s founder and creative director Gosia Piatek of the new flagship store, opening today on College St. Designed in conjunction with architects Makers of Architecture (see their design guide to Wellington on page 40) and designer Rufus Knight, the fit-out is in keeping with the clothing brand’s ethical values. The store’s minimalist, modular look has been achieved using only sustainably and locally sourced materials. Interlaced wood mimics the weave of textiles, brass accents hint at stitches holding two pieces of fabric together, controlled cracks in the handmade tiles

by Gidon Bing are reminiscent of Kowtow signature prints, and furnishings are as simple as a button that closes a collar. “Everything has been purposefully selected and alludes to the softness and minimalism that is Kowtow,” says Gosia. The space “considers mindful materials, attention to detail and fine craftsmanship”, just the way Kowtow’s clothes are designed.

— Johanna Thornton • 29 College St, Wellington

Picture / Simon Wilson

Free entry

Major Exhibition Patrons

City Gallery is part of Experience Wellington.

Principal Funder: Wellington City Council

3 March – 15 July 2018

image Michael Parekōwhai He Kōrero Pūrākau mō te Awanui o te Motu: Story of a New Zealand River 2011 (detail), collection Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.

viva.co.nz

11

FASHION

COAST TO COAST

Stop for a breath of fresh air atop the band rotunda at Oriental Bay and take in the maritime views. For lunch, head to Beach Babylon for its famous potato rosti “or after Oriental Bay, take the scenic drive all the way around the coast to Lyall Bay for a late lunch at the Maranui, where they do a delicious brunch with the perfect view”, says Faye. “Then go for a stroll on the beach and watch the sunset from the sand of Princess Bay.” Issey Miyake top $1775 and skirt $2049, from No. 16. Nom*D scarf $110. Kathryn Wilson heels $269. Vintage earrings, $249, from Homage Online. Levante tights, $25, from Farmers.

12

viva.co.nz

CREATIVE PURSUIT Wellington native and rising star Faye Neilsen, fresh from walking the Richard Prince show at London Fashion Week in front of Her Majesty The Queen, returns to showcase an elegant mash-up of eccentric prints, bold colours and plenty of attitude Photographer: Rebecca Zephyr Thomas Fashion editor: Dan Ahwa

viva.co.nz

13

C’EST CHIC

Think (hot!) pink in this outstanding jacket

by Harman Grubisa — not for the shrinking violet. Liam top $149. Harman Grubisa jacket $749. Penny Sage jeans $375. Kathryn Wilson heels $269. Deadly Ponies silk scarf $230.

Vintage earrings, $99, from Homage Online.

BIRD OF PARADISE

(Pictured opposite page) Stop by iconic Wellington restaurant The Green Parrot and feast on homely meals served with white bread and butter, or sip an espresso with its charming owners, father-and-son team Costa (pictured) and Jimmy Sakoufakis. Established in 1926, the family-run restaurant counts politicians Winston Peters and Hollywood celebrities Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen as patrons. Greenparrot. co.nz. Jojo Ross top $280. Kate Sylvester pants $479. Deadly Ponies belt $170 and bag $845.

Gestuz heels $510.

14

viva.co.nz

viva.co.nz

15

ART & COMMERCE

The interiors at the Michael Fowler Centre remain unchanged since it opened on Wakefield St in 1983. The perfect example of late 1970s and early ‘80s aesthetics merging into one, the concert hall and convention centre’s gleaming exterior of silver, created by architects Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney, is an iconic Wellington landmark. Marni top, $995, from Scotties. Harman Grubisa pants $449. Gestuz heels $510. Company of Strangers gold bracelets $310 each. Zelda Murray earrings, $290, from Penny Sage.

16

viva.co.nz

THE CLASH

There’s method to the madness in a daring ensemble carefully thrown together. Magpie elements of embellishment and art prints combine for one standout look. Kowtow T-shirt $99. Dries Van Noten beaded top, $1400, from Scotties. Rachel Mills wrap skirt $409. Lucilla Gray scarf $290 and earrings $229. Deadly Ponies bag $695 and Deadly Ponies Gaga for Gala Bridle neckerchief $140. Ambra tights, $28, from Farmers. Kathryn Wilson heels $269.

Model / Faye Nielsen from Kirsty Bunny Management. Hair / Michael Beel. Make-up / Ash McPartland from M.A.C Cosmetics. Special thanks to the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency, Wellingtonnz.com. The Viva team stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel Wellington. To make a booking visit Intercontinental.com STOCKISTS: CompanyofStrangers.co.nz, Deadly Ponies (09) 216 5427, Farmers (09) 950 8340, Gestuz.com, Harman Grubisa (09) 963 6129, HomageOnline.co.nz, Ingrid Starnes (09) 557 4961, JojoRoss.com, Karen Walker (09) 309 6299, Kate Sylvester (09) 360 5283, Kathryn Wilson (09) 367 6865, NZ.kowtowclothing.com, Liam rubynz.com, No.16 (04) 384 3805, Lucillagray.com, Nom*D Nomdstore.com, PennySage.com, Scotties (09) 366 1664, RachelMills.co.nz, WynnHamlyn.com.

viva.co.nz

17

LIVE LIKE A LOCAL

OUR PLACE Zoe Walker talks to four creatives about their beloved hometown GUSSIE LARKIN

“A psychedelic teenage daydream straight out of a 1969 Women’s Weekly,” is how musician Gussie Larkin describes her style, a showcase of the best of Wellington vintage.

The singer, guitarist and songwriter formed the band Mermaidens with high school friends Lily West and Abe Hollingsworth in 2013, and the trio have become known in the local scene for their gigs and atmospheric, sprawling sound.

Their album, Perfect Body, released by Flying Nun Records in August, is a finalist for the Taite Music Prize to be announced in April. As for the band name: “It doesn’t take itself too seriously and we liked the mythological element”.

Based in Newtown — a neighbourhood she appreciates for its vintage stores and proximity to the South coast — Gussie credits her style and love of thrifting to her “very stylish and thrifty mum, who has always op-shopped”.

Right now, Gussie rates fellow local bands The All Seeing Hand, dreamy three-piece Womb, and Hans Pucket, and recommends San Fran on Cuba St for live music. “It’s got great sound, a legendary green room and one of the best balconies in Welly. It always has a great mix of local and international acts come through too.

“But if you want a truly divey experience Valhalla is the place to go. It’s mainly a rock and metal bar but has been known to host some big raves and hip-hop gigs too. The sound there is awesome and you’re bound to see something you weren’t expecting. Plus it’s Viking-themed!

The music scene in Wellington is very diverse. Being a pretty small place, there

isn’t room for bland “filler” bands that you tend to get in big cities. This means you get to play with acts from completely different genres — on one lineup you can have a punk band, a synth-pop band and a techno DJ. There are some fantastic female-led bands in Wellington and we’ve got to keep encouraging these acts so the scene is more diverse and welcoming to women.

I feel very lucky to have been brought up in a city that has so much art and music going on. I’m also grateful that my parents

took me along to whatever parties, gigs and art openings they were going to when I was a kid. That upbringing has definitely shaped my approach to engaging with arts and culture in this city. Maybe I wouldn’t do that as much if I’d lived in a more sprawling place.

the Saturday vege market at Newtown School, which is both a practical and social exercise as I always see people I know. Then I’ll slowly meander home via the op-shops, Death Ray Records and Peoples Coffee if I have some spare change from the market. My ideal afternoon is spent working on songs, although if I’m honest it’s usually spent on chores/life admin. In the evening if I’m not playing a gig I’m probably going to one.

18

viva.co.nz

Pictures / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

On a typical Wellington weekend , I head to

JACK CANDLISH

At Jack Candlish’s workshop up a nondescript street in Berhampore, there are wood chips, sanders, bake ovens and a groovy blue Volvo 240 parked outside. It’s here that the industrial designer comes each day to make his custom and sustainable surfboards, made using recycled polystyrene, New Zealand-grown paulownia timber and Entropy bio-resin — a coating more environmentally friendly than those usually used to make surfboards.

Jack launched his company Organic Dynamic from Wellington in 2015, having previously set up furniture design company Proffer (he still shares a workshop and equipment with them, but now he focuses full-time on the boards).

It was during that time that he began making his own wooden boards — the first of which he admits were very heavy, but got lighter as he refined the product and production process.

“I was starting a furniture business and didn’t have much money, so I would get old damaged boards for free or dirt cheap and fix them up.

“In doing this I realised how fragile the boards were and how toxic the materials are that are used to make them — which contradicted my appreciation for the coastal and marine environment.”

Jack lives with his partner Clair (who set up dance classes Shut Up and Dance) and their dog Devon in Hataitai, overlooking Shelly Bay, although he admits they don’t spend a lot of time at home. “We’re both very busy with our own businesses and if we aren’t working, we are usually at the beach.”

To relax, he’ll go wherever the waves are.

“Surfing is like meditation to me and it’s a really good way to recharge the batteries.

Wellington lacks the wave consistency to establish a rich surfing culture, but there’s a

good bunch of guys and girls who flock to the beach when the waves manage to find their way into the bays along the south and west coasts.

Most surfers who live here are accustomed to driving a few hours for waves and you can find some gems if you are willing to travel.

The people are what I love most about the city. Wellington is a great little city but it

does get bloody cold and windy in winter. The resilient characters who subject themselves to this on a yearly basis really love this place and make it great.

I’ve really enjoyed living somewhere where there are a lot of other creative people doing their own thing, which has given me

the confidence to pursue my own endeavours.

This city really fosters creativity and entrepreneurship.

You can’t escape the smell of roasting coffee beans, and there are some quirky shops and cafes around the place. But I think the coolest thing about Wellington as a city is the close proximity of everything. It offers a huge array of indoor and outdoor activities in a very small place and everything is easily accessible.

Continued on page 20

! viva.co.nz

19

LIVE LIKE A LOCAL

Sue Bowerman.

! continued from page 19 SUE BOWERMAN

One of the many fabulously dressed women of Wellington, Sue Bowerman is a champion of New Zealand fashion — her favourites include Zambesi and World. “My wardrobe is probably as eclectic as my house,” she says of her personal style.

A lifelong Wellington local — “I can’t imagine living anywhere else” — Sue’s unique home is in the southern suburb of Island Bay, which she loves for being close to the city as well as Wellington’s beaches. “It’s close to everything, and has a good community spirit.”

Now working as a celebrant, in a former life Sue ran her own school of design, helping young creatives to foster practical skills to get into employment. There she met thenstudent Kate Diana Spencer, who last year set up Project Fashion Wellington, which works with local emerging designers to help them

20

viva.co.nz

Matariki Williams.

develop a collection and label. Now in its second year, Sue is one of the project mentors, alongside a few other stylish and well-known Wellingtonians including Jaye Glam Morgan, designer Bron Eichbaum of the label Herriot, and Lucy Revill of Wellington website The Residents.

Sue believes such creative initiatives are important for Wellington as “not only does it give up-and-coming designers a public platform but it also draws on the huge amount of talent in the city — Kate has brought together a variety of professionals who teach the designers skills for business, media, and advertising. It really highlights that Wellington is the “Coolest Little Capital”.

I’m not one to keep an eye on the latest trends or styles . I really admire those who

just wear what they love and don’t give a toss what others think. And this is something I see a lot of in Wellington.

What I have always said about Wellington is that anything goes. You could walk around

with a peacock on your head and no one would take a second look! I have always loved how diverse and accepting the city is.

On weekends, I love taking my French

bulldog Graham for a walk down to the local restaurant for dinner or brunch. I spend a lot of time with my husband, daughter and friends. In the last few years I have become a marriage celebrant. This is something I love doing, and I enjoy spending my weekends with fabulous couples.

Wellington’s creative arts scene empowers women to be comfortable in their own skin. They are able to be whoever they are

without feeling the pressure to conform to the norm. I would also like to add that this isn’t just limited to women but applies to any gender or race.

MATARIKI WILLIAMS

As Matauranga Maori curator at Te Papa, Mataraki Williams has been closely involved in the opening of its new gallery Toi Art — an important moment for the museum and for Wellington’s art scene.

Having been in the role for 18 months, Matariki worked with Rebecca Rice to co-curate the portrait gallery, Nga Tai Whakarongorua | Encounters — the striking display that greets visitors as they enter the Turangawaewae: Art and New Zealand exhibition.

“One major takeaway is that different audiences read the room differently, but it is important to forefront the room with Maori understandings,” explains Matariki of their approach. “The room begins with a taonga Maori, the putatara (conch-shell trumpet) Te Umukohukohu, that has a known history back to the 1600s. The opposite wall features a powerful portrait of an unknown woman. We want visitors to know that the mana of these people and taonga endures, including those whose history we don’t know.”

Matariki, who now lives with her family in Island Bay, grew up in Tauranga, and recalls

that her first time walking into a gallery was at Te Papa as an 18-year-old. For her, the best thing about Toi Art is the diversity of Maori art on display, “showing the full breadth of paths that Maori artists have in front of them, and that they reflect the diverse realities that make up contemporary Maori society”.

It’s a huge privilege to be in this role and be surrounded by extraordinary thinkers and beautiful taonga. Most of my wider whanau lives up in the Bay of Plenty and I’ve always said that the collection storerooms are the only places that give me a similar feeling to sitting at my Nan and Koro’s table, listening to them talk.

I cried multiple times when I walked through the Pacific Sisters: Fashion Activists exhibition in Toi Art. It shows Maori and Pacific art in such a raw and empowering way. I’ve been privy to aspects of the exhibition from the inimitable Curator Pacific Art, Nina Tonga, who revealed that much of the research for this exhibition was firsthand. This indicates how little our arts are studied, researched and written about, and

it is so empowering to see a public display of this artistic history. My kids also love the exhibition and danced through most of it.

I’m taken aback by how much work is undertaken by local artist-run spaces like Enjoy, Meanwhile and Playstation. They’re

also precarious due to sector-wide financial instability. As a curator at a major institution, I’d say we have a duty to remain connected to these spaces. There’s also a lot of arts writing coming out of these galleries, and from Salient [Victoria University’s student newspaper]. Writing is an integral aspect of arts ecology. I’d say that emerging writers are producing a huge part of it.

This city is compact, and connected. It is

so easy to get to people, great food, and our harshly beautiful surroundings. I love how this city continues to surprise me with all that it can contain and produce, and that I never know what I will encounter when I open my curtains every morning.

Discover more of these creatives’ favourite Wellington haunts at Viva.co.nz/locals

LUNA $279 .95

STEP UP TO NEXT-LEVEL COMFORT WITH ZIERA. PILLOW WALK TECHNOLOGY AND MEMORY FOAM WILL SUPPORT AND CUSHION YOUR EVERY STEP.

CRAFTED FOR COMFORT

TOVA $259.95 TULIP $299.95 ZIERA STORES: ALBANY | BOTANY | EASTRIDGE | LYNNMALL | MANGERE BRIDGE | NEWMARKET | SILVERDALE MALL | ST LUKES | HAMILTON | TAURANGA | WHANGAREI | SHOP AT ZIERASHOES.COM

viva.co.nz

21

FASHION

CITY STYLE Is there a Wellington look? Zoe Walker explores our capital’s style

W

ellington style is… a man in a suit on a bike, riding along the waterfront.

It’s the woman having dinner at The Green Parrot, in red cateye glasses and a metallic leopard print jacket. It’s an essay in Salient about the writer’s weakness for denim overalls. It’s a 20-something in a vintage sweatshirt serving craft beer in Te Aro Valley, or ladies lunching in bold printed tunics at Nikau or Prefab.

It’s the young man walking down Cuba St, wearing a grey sweatshirt and carrying two skateboards.

As a visiting outsider, it seems easy to detect style tribes defined by pockets of the city: the creative arts, public servants, vintage-loving students and craft beer-drinking hipsters. But don’t tell the locals; they’d be horrified to hear their city be so narrowly defined.

Ask Wellingtonians to define their home’s look, and you’ll be met with words like independent, soul, edgy, unique, individual.

I suspect that they like to think they’re much cooler and more interesting than big city Aucklanders (although one does get the sense that it is just as self-conscious). Although a walk up Cuba St does offer a variety that you wouldn’t necessarily get wandering Ponsonby Rd — from architectural graduate Lydia Hamer in a pastel pink Marimekko dress to the bold streetwear of jeweller Brent Paye, or the rock ’n’ roll elegance of Chrissy O, the flame-haired owner of Wellington institution Hunters and Collectors.

“Our city culture is one that allows for a melding of styles and creative expression and it’s valued and respected, even if it is something we might individually never contemplate wearing or even like,” says Anna Ronberg, the owner and buyer of Wellington boutique No.16.

Brent Paye. Pictures / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

22

viva.co.nz

She’s lived in Wellington her entire life but has something of a global perspective on her hometown’s look; stocking high-end international brands like Dries van Noten, Acne and Junya Watanabe and travelling to Paris often. She would compare Wellington to London: “It’s that freedom we have here to be exactly who we want to be and that’s absolutely fine. No one judges, you can be who you want to be.

“You just can’t make judgements about anyone based on the way they dress in Wellington — you might find yourself getting it very very wrong.”

The city’s size means locals aren’t necessarily as stuck to their community, as say, the sprawl of Auckland.

“We are a small city embraced by a green belt and our suburbs all bleed into one another,” says Anna. “It means that the conservative, the students, the politicos, the marginalised of society, the young families and the city suits all are forced to engage with each other every day and that’s brilliant.

“We are seeing different characters and styles every day and we are unintentionally influenced by each other. It’s quite unique for a capital city to have such diverse groups engaging that closely every day. I think we are so lucky.”

Geography influences how people dress.

The city is compact, so people walk — you hardly see anyone wearing heels; comfortable sneakers and ankle boots are everywhere — and then of course, there’s the wind. There’s a reason why Wellington-based designers like Twenty-seven Names know how to do a good, proper coat (as opposed to a light overcoat often favoured by designers based further north).

“We don’t bother with heels because Wellingtonians walk everywhere,” says Lucy Revill of The Residents, a website that

Sandra McKie.

“It’s that freedom we have here to be exactly who we want to be”

— ANNA RONBERG

showcases locals and all things Wellington.

“It’s small yet flat in the centre of town, all the way from Lambton Quay to Cambridge Terrace. The size of the city means we go on foot; we often just go from an evening show on Courtenay Place to a dive beer bar on Leeds St so people tend to dress in a chic, yet comfortable manner which allows them to transition between many people and places.”

The influence of the arts offers another interesting perspective on how people dress.

You’re reminded, often, that Wellington is the country’s cultural capital, home to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Te Papa and more. That creative element shows itself in subtle ways: an appreciation for contemporary jewellery, plenty of tunics and bold prints. (Wellingtonbased artist Seraphine Pick created watercolours for the carry bags at No.16, while textile artist Marta Buda has worked with designers like Twenty-seven Names, Penny Sage and Sherie Muijs.)

At one time, it felt like there was a burgeoning Wellington fashion scene with the likes of Alexandra Owen, Starfish and Deborah Sweeney. Starfish’s Laurie Foon was a staunchly proud Wellingtonian, using her label to support and showcase community issues: most well-known, her Bypass My Ass T-shirt in support of local protest against the traffic bypass through upper Cuba St. In 1998 she shot her campaign against state houses in Lower Hutt’s Naenae, to reflect on what it was to be a New Zealander.

Things are much quieter now — Alexandra Owen closed her label in 2012, and Lela Jacobs moved to Auckland around the same time. Starfish closed in 2013, although Laurie is still an advocate for Wellington, working at the Sustainable Business Network and hosting a Wellington-focused radio show called B-Side Stories.

Chrissy O.

BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS 46 of the world’s best emerging designers in two incredible shows.

There are still, however, designers doing interesting things in the city but it is more disparate (blame the internet; young designers can build their own communities online, beyond the constraints of their physical neighbourhood). There’s Shark Week with its dishevelled, 1990s-influenced streetwear beloved by the student community, and Okewa Rainwear, championing the city’s signature: actually waterproof stylish rain jackets.

Anjali Burnett and Rachel Easting of Twentyseven Names have had their workroom on Ghuznee St for several years, before the area was developed into the creative hub it is today.

They often photograph campaigns around the city, and recently collaborated with fellow locals and craft beer champions Garage Project too.

Gosia Piatek launched her conscious label Kowtow from Wellington in 2007, and has quietly grown it to be one of the most interesting labels in New Zealand’s fashion industry right now. She continues to return to the city, splitting her time between a home in London (she loves Wellington’s proximity to the ocean, and its boutique cinemas). Today, she opens the brand’s first boutique on College St. All these labels, but in particular Kowtow and Twenty-seven Names, are part of what could be considered Wellington’s style today: fresh, practical, versatile and not overly concerned by location. Think of local boutiques like Ena or Caughley, stocking modern and minimal labels based in Stockholm, New York and Auckland, or even department store David Jones, bringing high-end brands like Valentino and Saint Laurent to the city. While the ‘new Wellington’ may feel a lot slicker, a diverse spirit stays the same.

“You are likely to find that the grungier street style guy drinking coffee on Ghuznee St is heading downtown later that day to KPMG to get investment in his craft brewery,” reflects Lucy of her hometown, “or that cardiganwearing Doris from communications in a public department is putting on a one-woman show at Bats Theatre where she will be covered in nothing but glitter.

“You always need to be nice in Wellington, because you never know what people do, how much mana they may have and who they know.

If there is one thing Wellingtonians don’t like, it’s being put in a box.”

IMAGE: Lisa Liu, University of Technology Sydney

Lydia Hamer.

iD D U N E D I N EMERGING DESIGNER SHOW M AY 3 & 4, 2018 iD FA S H I O N.C O.N Z T I C K E TM A S T E R.C O.N Z

See more Wellington street style at Viva.co.nz/Wellingtonstyle

viva.co.nz

23

THE EDIT

FUNKY TOWN

Abstract prints and bold hues evoke the creative spirit — we’ve mined some of the capital’s stylish boutiques for our favourite head-turning pieces.

Welfe sterling silver and topaz stud, $475, from Precinct 35.

Wilson Trollope Caroline Earrings Blue, $50.

Sharkweek socks $30.

Balenciaga leather bag, $2650, from David Jones Wellington.

Now or Never silk robe $399.

Ganni jacquard dress, $359, from Caughley.

Twenty-Seven Names silk jumpsuit $590.

Pom Amsterdam shawl, $150, from Harry’s.

Kowtow dress $399.

Veja trainers, $229, from Good as Gold.

SCARPA SHOES

Wyse London cashmere jumper, $389, from Designer Clothing Gallery.

STOCKISTS: Caughley (04) 384 4990, David Jones (04) 912 0700, Designer Clothing Gallery (04) 472 2122, Ena (04) 803 3882, Good as Gold (09) 376 4653, Harrys.nz, Kowtowclothing.com, Now-or-never.co.nz, Precinct 35 (027) 4653 188, Sharkweek.co.nz, Twentysevennames.co.nz, Wilson Trollope (027) 672 0040.

Stylist / Dan Ahwa.

HAPPY EASTER FERRACHI

CRYSTAL SYMPHONY

All the eggs in one basket New winter arrivals just in time for Easter

APPLEWOOD – THE KITCHEN SHOP

New AW18 in store now at SCARPA SHOES Shop 1, Ph: 358 4140 www.scarpa.co.nz

Shop 10, Ph: 358 3037

Celebrate Easter in style with our range of exclusive Easter-themed handmade gifts, icons, wooden and porcelain decorative eggs, Faberge style eggs, Easter decorations and accessories, and more!!!

Shop 11, Ph: 369 5623 www.uniquegift.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND FABRICS & YARN

MARBECKS

UENO EYEWEAR

DEVONPORT CHOCOLATES

Liven up your Easter by pairing up your favourite pink pieces!

Curiously cute handmade Easter treats.

Shop 7, Ph: 303 1627 www.uenoeyewear.vendecommerce.com

Shop 34, Ph: 377 1010 www.devonportchocolates.co.nz co.nz

Put a very special gift in your little one’s Easter basket - we have dozens of craft kits just for kids!

Open Easter Saturday 10-5 pm for last minute shopping.

Shop 28, Ph: 379 2415 www.nzfabs.com

24

Richard Quinn.

Jade Townsend fresh water green and white pearl and glass necklace, $475, from Ena.

viva.co.nz

A wonderful opportunity to buy these unique styles from France and Italy

25% OFF FRENCH CAST IRON Shop 16/18, Ph: 357 0088 www.kitchenshop.co.nz

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 1 Brilliant adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s best seller of a US totalitarian society 3 DVD set for $40

Shop 22, Ph: 379 0444 www.marbecks.co.nz

INSPIRED

Hop on in for your Easter Gifts Shop 12, Ph: 366 7747 www.inspiredauckland.co.nz

SHOPPING

Capital CHIC From vintage to luxury, Wellington is a walkable shopping dream. Zoe Walker visits the boutiques that are helping define the city’s fashion scene

CAUGHLEY, 57 Ghuznee St

Owner Rachael Caughley is a friendly and helpful face, with a great eye for brands of the moment. Offering a tight edit of men’s and womenswear, Caughley stocks pieces from up-and-coming local labels such as Wynn Hamlyn, Harman Grubisa and Georgia Alice alongside European brands such as Hope (from a former designer at Acne) and Cecilie Copenhagen.

Worth a visit nearby: Pop around the corner to Peter McLeavey Gallery, one of New Zealand’s most iconic and long-standing galleries now run by his stylish daughter Olivia.

VINTAGE SHOPPING, everywhere

Wellington is a vintage lover’s dream, with Cuba St icons Ziggurat and Hunters and Collectors still going strong after many years. Newer and more contemporary focused vintage stores Emporium and Thrift (sweater pictured right) are nearby, offering a playful, popular and relatively affordable take on vintage — the former focuses on 1990s streetwear (look for a cutout in the window of Aaliyah wearing Tommy Hilfiger).

Newtown, a 10-minute drive from the city, is worth visiting for its range of proper op shops — from Opportunity for Animals to Vinnies and the Salvation Army — for those who prefer to rummage themselves for secondhand treasure.

NO16, 16 Jessie St

Bringing a touch of luxury to the city, No16 stocks standout pieces from some of the world’s best and most interesting brands — Dries van Noten, Issey Miyake, Comme des Garcons, Junya Watanabe, Acne Studios and more. Formerly Scotties Wellington — the name and location changed in June last year — owner Anna Ronberg has continued the recycle concept, also offering secondhand pieces from high-end designers.

Worth a visit nearby: Local favourite Prefab is just next door, so you can take your time over lunch and people-watch post-shopping.

HARRY’S, 253 Wakefield St

Originally in Seatoun, this long-standing Wellington boutique moved to the city in 2016 and has become the go-to for local women with a preference for casual elegance. Expect beautiful tailoring, luxury knitwear and more from brands including Leon and Harper, Ingrid Starnes, Autumn Cashmere and Velvet

by Graham & Spencer. Also look for the inhouse label from boutique owner Liz Stringer, When Harry Ran Away.

Worth a visit nearby: The store is located behind the QT Museum Hotel, with the Hippopotamus restaurant worth visiting for dinner or Hot Sauce for a cheeky wine. If caffeine and brunch is more your vibe, head across the road to airy cafe Field & Green.

SHARK WEEK, Level 1, 230A Left Bank

Streetwear is a huge part of Wellington style, with Shark Week helping to define the city’s young skate and streetwear scene. The brand opened its own store last year, offering its distinctive doodle print T-shirts, socks, hats and stickers.

Worth a visit nearby: Pegasus Books is in the same laneway, well worth popping in for its wide-ranging selection of vintage books. For a completely different vibe, fun homeware boutique Iko Iko — which started in Wellington — is around the corner on Cuba St.

ENA, 30 Ghuznee St

A Wellington boutique with a relatively Auckland aesthetic, Ena stocks labels that represent New Zealand fashion’s new wave of minimal elegance: think Penny Sage, Georgia Alice, Paris Georgia Basics, Shjark, jeweller Natalia Peri and more. Clothes and accessories are complemented by a small selection of vintage ceramics.

Worth a visit nearby: This end of Ghuznee St has developed into a bit of a creative hub: the Wellington outpost for Auckland-based accessory brand Deadly Ponies is next door, while Hannahs Laneway is to the other side.

THE SERVICE DEPOT, 11 Ghuznee St

The Service Depot focuses on the darker, more artistic side of local fashion with the likes of Nom.d, Jimmy D, Otsu, Miss Crabb, Lela Jacobs and Herriot (the Wellington-based label who made the pants Jacinda Ardern wore in Vogue).

Worth a visit nearby: Ena is across the road, while the Whistling Sisters Brewery and Fermentery has just opened next door. Don’t miss cute cafe Milk Crate up the road, as well as design store Precinct 35.

GOOD AS GOLD, 120 Victoria St

Ruben Bryant opened Good as Gold in 2004 and has been at the forefront of a specific Wellington aesthetic ever since. Think practical streetwear for men and women, mixed with a sense of whimsy or weirdness, stocking local and international brands such as Lazy Oaf, Perks and Mini, Adidas Originals, Kowtow and more. The staff are some of the coolest you’ll find in the city too.

Worth a visit nearby: Popular music venues Meow and Caroline are close by, with gigs most nights of the week and affordable menus.

SMACK BANG, 17 Tory St

The owners of this charming store, which opened in October, decided to combine two of their favourite things: homewares and dogs.

As well as items like tepees and hoodies and edible treats for your good boy, they offer toys

Caughley. Pictures / Supplied

and accessories that you didn’t know your cat needed — like a cat toy shaped like a taco — and playful products for your home.

Worth a visit nearby: The dog-friendly Sunday Harbourside Market, with its array of fruit, vegetables and food stalls, is around the corner.

MADAME FANCY PANTS, 225 Cuba St

Another longstanding Cuba St store, Madame Fancy Pants has been on the strip since 2007 offering its distinctive range of gifts, accessories, clothing and more.

Owner Claire Terry also makes jewellery under the same name, available from the boutique.

Worth a visit nearby: Grab a pizza at Loretta, nearby on Cuba St and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

WILSON TROLLOPE, 1/115 Victoria St

Designer Annabelle Wilson is based in Wellington, launching her label in 2013 and opening her first permanent boutique at the end of last year. Expect simple and wearable pieces, made in New Zealand, that make perfect workwear.

Worth a visit nearby: This part of Victoria St is a little enclave of New Zealand designers, with boutiques from Juliette Hogan, World, Huffer, Augustine and more nearby.

viva.co.nz

25

BEAUTY

A Tailor-made Journey Sara Quilter makes skincare products that work using natural ingredients chosen by you, writes Janetta Mackay

F

rom curiosity to customisation, the path of discovery that Sara Quilter has followed is the one she is offering customers of her forward-thinking, green skincare brand. Tailor skincare uses a digital outreach programme to connect with a growing tribe of enthusiasts, dreamed up by its savvy, Wellington-based 30-year-old founder. But beyond the usual blogs and eco credentials — including distinctive blue-glass packaging, rather than plastic — Sara has come up with a business strategy that taps into the current mood for personalised service and solutions.

An online questionnaire leads shoppers to tailor-made versions of her key products; hence the company name. “Everybody is different and I wanted to be able to cater for that in some way, but make it scalable,” she explains. This casts Tailor as an early local adopter in the skincare realm of the customised approach. The trend also leaves customers with a sense their consumerism is mindful.

Sara has followed a path to becoming more self-aware and positive since the soft launch of her business in 2012. From stressed to strategising, the psychology graduate now

seems to have a lot of her priorities sorted.

Making skincare started as an interest, became an “obsession” and is now a fulltime vocation she passionately believes in. Along the way, Sara has moved from California, where she was working, to Taranaki, where she grew up, and then back to Wellington, where she had studied at Victoria University before heading overseas. She now lives in Lyall Bay, where she walks her dog on the beach and takes time out for yoga and meditation.

At the end of 2014, she made the “atbreaking point” decision to chuck in her busy full-time job in HR recruitment so she could focus more on Tailor. Juggling both had left her exhausted.

“I realised I was putting a lot of effort in and not getting the return and it felt very disheartening… but something kept me going.” Sara followed her heart, but used her head. “By taking that risk, it really did pay off.”

Tailor has now

VIVA & GH MUMM

Innovative new bottle design, same legendary cuvée

F

amed and favourite tipple for celebrating in style, Champagne Mumm have broken from tradition with their bold and innovative re-design of the classic Mumm Cordon Rouge bottle.

The same legendary cuvée as Cordon Rouge, now in a new innovative design, the Mumm Grand Cordon bottle has no front label, instead the famous Cordon Rouge red sash is indented into the glass itself.

Designer Ross Lovegrove has defined elegance by printing the gold logo and emblem directly onto the bottle’s surface. The elongated slender neck design assists the aroma development of the Mumm Cuvée.

Capturing an avant-garde spirit worthy of the Champagne House’s 189 year history, Mumm Grand Cordon is available now.

been picked up for wider retail distribution, but Sara keeps the business manageable, employing just a couple of staff. Outsourcing production to a Christchurch laboratory and contracting business expertise has allowed her to focus on developing the brand and her own skills.

She is studying for a Diploma of Cosmetic Chemistry to supplement the extensive research she already does into ingredients with more practical know-how.

A good digital strategist has been a boon for a business that first began on Facebook. “If you can’t afford the entire person full-time, then hire a part of that person,” she says.

Using apps and popular communication tools such as Messenger, which she says are fast replacing long-winded email marketing, is working well.

If that sounds like a marketer’s thinking, then, yes, that’s part of Sara’s skill set. It was while doing market research into the organic horticulture industry in California, that the skincare idea took root. Through thinking about soil health, chemicals and food, she began questioning the ingredients in her own skincare. “I started going, ‘how could I make my own skincare without these ingredients, is there a safe alternative which is natural,

what’s the ingredient’s function and role?’”

Sara wasn’t satisfied with simply switching to buying certified organic products — the science had captured her. “I’ve always liked making things,” is how she explains it. “The obsession was in unpicking what made a skincare product good, both in terms of functionality and the safety of ingredients, not even thinking I was going to start a business, just in making the products for me, just out of pure interest.”

When back in Taranaki, she set up a Kenwood mixer in her father’s garage and got to work. The clay mask she made went down well with friends, encouraging further experimentation. From there, it was to Wellington, where she feels most at home.

Drawing on what she had discovered about stimulating soil microbes, she pursued the emerging use of probiotics in skincare, launching Renew, a probiotic serum in 2016.

This won an innovation award from the national Society of Cosmetic Chemists. The encouragement of receiving an endorsement “because it works rather than simply because it’s natural” spurred her on.

The serum contains a vegan probiotic lysate, also used in the fermented drink kefir, which she says helps stimulate skin renewal.

It’s promoted for its anti-ageing and antibreakout effect.

The tailor-made hero product is, however, the Your Blend Moisturiser. “I created it as a product to be blended for you, by you,” says Sara. The concept enables the mix to change with skincare needs or as new active ingredients are developed. “Cosmetic chemistry is just accelerating at such a rapid rate.”

Although Sara is fascinated by advances in skincare science, she has drawn a line around using synthetically developed peptides. She’s not against them, but believes their use would be counter to her natural brand positioning.

Founder of Tailor skincare Sara Quilter. Pictures / Supplied

“It’s about finding those ingredients that are still natural, but have that activity on the skin.” Her Gold Dust product sees users mix powdered vitamin C into their moisturiser to better retain the effectiveness of an ingredient that can degrade quickly in liquid formulas.

Tailor’s ingredients are a mix of locally sourced, plus those from overseas that Sara considers are evidence-based and that have an ethical supply chain. The bottom line for Sara, and what she says gets her out of bed in the morning, is “being able to help people heal and improve their skin, and therefore their self-confidence”.

• Visit Tailorskin.co

NEW

Choose your Clarins eight-piece gift, when you purchase two or more Clarins products, one being skincare.*

31a Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland artisancollective.co.nz +64 9 302 2499

QUEEN STREET, AUCKLAND CITY, (09) 916 0806 & BROADWAY, NEWMARKET, (09) 909 9413 SHOP CLARINS ONLINE: www.smithandcaugheys.co.nz *Offer available until Sunday 1st April 2018. One gift per customer. Available while stocks last. Must be purchased in one transaction. Not available in conjunction with any other offer or gift set. Firming Gift pictured.

viva.co.nz

27

ADVERTISEMENT

A WEEKEND IN WELLINGTON A weekend away to our cultural capital can be just what we need coming into the colder months. With so many unique attractions, Wellington has a smorgasbord of hotels of every size for every budget.

GLASSHOUSE BAR AND GRILL AT THE THORNDON HOTEL BY RYDGES Kick back and relax while we serve you with some of the best that Wellington has to offer. We pride ourselves in serving fresh local produce and supporting Wellington businesses. Glasshouse Bar & Grill’s menu celebrates the best-of-the-season steaks, fresh seafood, wholesome sides and traditional desserts. Fresh produce, flexible menus and a variety of choices has quickly become the mantra at The Glasshouse. info@glasshousebarandgrill.co.nz , 04 473 2208 rydges.com/accommodation/new-zealand/the-thorndon-hotelwellington

Grand Mercure Wellington

BAY PLAZA

ACCOR HOTELS

Bay Plaza Hotel offers you one of the best locations and views of the ‘coolest little capital’! Just a short drive to the airport, rail and

Discover Wellington with AccorHotels and receive two complimentary return tickets on the Wellington Cable car and

PARK HOTEL

ferry terminals, a few steps away from the city centre and beside

full cooked breakfast by booking AccorHotels “Weekend Escape”

comfortable stay in the capital city. Whether you’re here for

the stunning Oriental Bay Parade, Bay Plaza offers a relaxed atmosphere and exceptional service in an excellent setting.

Package. From $179.00 per room per night choose from the comfort of ibis through to the luxury of Sofitel Wellington. Valid

business or to get away, for a while or just a night, we want you to experience a little of what this ‘coolest little capital’ has to offer.

reservations@bayplaza.co.nz, 0800 857 799 bayplaza.co.nz

subject to availability from 1 March – 31 December 2018 accorhotels.com

It’s simply too good to keep to ourselves. reservations@parkhotel.nz, 0800 260 5000, parkhotel.co.nz

BOULCOTT SUITES

JAMES COOK HOTEL GRAND CHANCELLOR

MERCURE WELLINGTON ABEL TASMAN HOTEL

Centrally located in Wellington, Boulcott Suites is a unique 5-star apartment hotel that has been designed and fully furnished

Located in the heart of Wellington, the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor is one of the capital’s leading hotels, delivering

Located in the heart of Wellington, offering quality accommodation with 73 spacious and well-appointed rooms at

with elegance and style. From studio apartments and spacious

friendly and professional service. The Hotel features 268

an affordable price. The hotel’s Standard Rooms have recently

single-level suites, to fully-equipped executive four-bedroom townhouses, Boulcott Suites is ideal if you want quality and

accommodation rooms, two restaurants and bars, and a complimentary in-house gym. Guests have the option to unwind

been completely refurbished with a contemporary new look & the Superior Rooms have been freshly painted. Wi-Fi, Sky

space with extensive in-room amenities. All apartments have fully-equipped kitchens.

at the in-house day spa or to upgrade to the Executive Club Lounge, featuring sweeping views of the city from the 26th floor.

channels, room service and 24-hour reception included. The hotel also has an in-house restaurant and bar, Bistro 169, which is

customerservice@villagegroup.co.nz, 0800 50 80 25

reservations@jamescookhotel.co.nz, 04 499 9500

open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

boulcottsuites.co.nz

grandchancellorhotels.com

resabel@primehotels.co.nz , 04 385 1304, primehotels.co.nz

Centrally located for work or play, Park Hotel is a contemporary 4-star hotel with everything you need for an enjoyable and

COPTHORNE HOTEL WELLINGTON ORIENTAL BAY

INTERCONTINENTAL WELLINGTON

QT MUSEUM WELLINGTON

Overlooking the stunning Wellington Harbour, Copthorne

Adjacent to Wellington’s waterfront, InterContinental Wellington is the most centrally-located and experienced global five-star

Overnight with Te Papa Package: We here at QT Museum Wellington love art, design and human curiosity so much

Hotel Wellington Oriental Bay is the perfect base to explore

hotel in New Zealand’s capital city. Along with the largest heated

we turned our hotel into a museum as well as a luxurious

the city, being situated only 10 minutes away from Wellington’s shopping, commercial, and entertainment centre.

hotel pool, guests can indulge in our award-winning cuisine in Chameleon Restaurant or perhaps be pampered in the luxurious

playground; making sure there isn’t a boring space in sight. We have several neighbours that share our own love for the artistic

All rooms feature a balcony with stunning views of the harbour or city. During your stay visit the award-winning One80

Spa InterContinental. Guests can spend time with our renowned concierge team whose tips and insider knowledge help travellers

hunt and there is no one more appreciative than the brilliant minds at Te Papa. Spend the night with us in stunningly designed

Restaurant. Savour beautifully crafted dishes, all served with

discover the arts, events, shopping, and culinary cultures.

QT room, with breakfast for two and we’ll have two tickets for

views to dine for. copthorne.orientalbay@milleniumhotels.co.nz

reservations.wellington@ihg.com 04 472 2722

you at check-in for the Te Papa Taonga Maori tour. reservations_qtmuseumwellington@evt.com, 04 802 8900

04 385 0279, copthorneorientalbay.co.nz

intercontinental.com/wellington

qthotelsandresorts.comwellington

CITYLIFE

WEST PLAZA

QUEST ON JOHNSTON

CityLife Wellington, located in the heart of the city, offers a range of one and two-bedroom suites. From romantic getaways to indulgent

Stay with us in the heart of vibrant Wellington City. Experience the welcoming, friendly atmosphere that’s made us a landmark

Quest on Johnston is an 18-storey purpose-built serviced apartment complex right in the heart of Wellington’s central

shopping weekends, family holidays to business meetings,

hotel. Enjoy spacious, comfortable rooms and excellent facilities,

business district. Quest on Johnston apartment-style hotel rooms

there’s a suite to meet your needs. All one and two-bedroom suites have kitchenette, washing machine and drier facilities.

also a superb dining experience and service to match. Our central location is only a short walk to the capital’s highlights,

offer guests a relaxed and comfortable Wellington experience, perfect for short or long stays.

res.citylifewlg@heritagehotels.co.nz, 04 922 2800 heritagehotels.co.nz/hotels/citylife-wellington

making it the ideal place to explore the capital. reservations@westplaza.co.nz, 0800 731 444, westplaza.co.nz

questapartments.co.nz, 04 460 5100 info@questonjohnston.co.nz

RYDGES

OHTEL AND DUPPA BAR

CQ HOTELS WELLINGTON

Enjoy the Rydges Wellington Family Therapy Package! Have fun in our Leisure Centre, splash around in the pool, or relax in the

For a uniquely Wellington experience, try Duppa Bar on the ground floor of the boutique hotel, Ohtel on Oriental Parade.

Located in the heart of Wellington’s vibrant Cuba Street, CQ Hotels Wellington exudes character and charm, encompassing

spa or sauna. The Kids Games Room is hours of entertainment

As well as providing breakfast and room service for Ohtel

the very essence of Wellington. CQ Hotels Wellington is

(subject to availability), and kids under 12 stay and eat for free (*using existing bedding and breakfast only. Lunch and dinner

guests, Duppa Bar is a one-of-a kind venue for coffee, drinks and tapas. Try some Spanish recipes with Kiwi attitude! Ohtel offers

composed of the historic 3 Star Plus Comfort Hotel sitting alongside the modern 4 Star Plus Quality Hotel. The two hotels

not included). Breakfast for two adults and up to two kids is included in bookings, and Wi-Fi is available for all visitors.

spacious and elegant rooms with award-winning service in an inspirational environment.

share the CQ Restaurant, Bar & Cafe, fitness centre, heated swimming pool & spa. The perfect place to stay for your next

reservations_rydgeswellington@evt.com, 04 499 8686

rooms@ohtel.nz, 04 803 0600

visit to Wellington!

rydges.com/accommodation/new-zealand/wellington

ohtel.nz

info@cqwellington.com, 04 385 2156, www.cqwellington.com

OUT & ABOUT

WHAT’S ON

Any excuse will do, but these events make a trip to Wellington even more enticing.

WORLD OF WEARABLE ARTS

WOW asks you to “Leave Your World Behind” and soak in the impressive design, artistry and theatre of this spectacular show. Taking place between September 27-October 14, this year marks their 30th birthday with about 60,000 spectators expected to witness the magic over three weeks.

• Visit Worldofwearableart.com

WELLY ON A PLATE

The epic food festival that is Welly on a Plate surpasses our expectations year after year with the creativity of its events, pop-ups, competitions, special menus and collaborations. This year’s festival is set to take place from August 10-26, taking over eateries all over the city.

Stand by for an announcement of what’s on the delicious menu.

• Visit Visawoap.com

MATARIKI FESTIVAL

Last year, Wellington’s mayor announced the city’s largest fireworks display would be switching from Guy Fawke’s to Matariki, with the first celebration set for this year. Held throughout June, details for the expanded programme will be announced soon and will include theatre, comedy, music, bush walks and tree planting.

• Visit Wellington.govt.nz

DETOUR

Michael Parekowhai’s fascinating show Detour is one of five new exhibitions that have opened inside Te Papa’s new gallery Toi Art. To mark the opening, Kate Sylvester designed a hand-stitched waistcoat for Michael — a “reimagining” of Marcel Duchamp’s 1961 work Waistcoat [Betty]. “I’ve tried to stay true to the original but transform it into a uniquely Michael Parekowhai waistcoat,” says Kate. Other shows that opened with the gallery include The Pacific Sisters: Fashion Activists, objects by jeweller Lisa Walker, the colourful Kaleidoscope: Abstract Aotearoa and historical exhibition Turangawaewae: Art and New Zealand.

• Visit Tepapa.govt.nz

BEERVANA

Described as “Willy Wonka for beer lovers”, Beervana is a must-do for anyone with even a passing interest in craft brews. This time around, it’s being held from August 10-11 as part of Wellington on a Plate, and will give you the chance to sip interesting beers amid a buzzing atmosphere.

• Visit Beervana.co.nz

JAZZ FESTIVAL

Tickets for the Wellington Jazz Festival (June 6-10) have just gone on sale and it’s the best way to brighten a winter’s evening. Held at the beautiful Wellington Opera House, the acts are sure to be as diverse, fun, and awe-inspiring as ever.

• Visit Jazzfestival.co.nz

LUX LIGHT FESTIVAL

From May 18-27 Wellington will come alight with this sparkling festival showcasing the talents of those working in art, design and technology. After dark, make your way across town and soak in huge sculptures, projections and interactive installations.

• Visit Lux.org.nz

THE JIM HENSON RETROSPECTACLE

The organisers of The Jim Henson Retrospectacle have gone above and beyond to create a 21-day festival celebrating the art and imagination of the film-maker, puppeteer and artist, best known for creating The Muppet Show. There’s a fortnight of film screenings, puppet workshops and an epic concert featuring Brett McKenzie and the NZ Symphony Orchestra.

• The jimhensonretrospectacle.co.nz

MERINO SPECIALS SELECT SPORTSKNIT STYLES

ONLY $12/m SALE PRICE ONLY APPLIES IN-STORE

LIMITED TIME OFFER | WHILE STOCK LASTS WWW.THEFABRICSTORE.CO.NZ/IN-STORE-SPECIALS

EASTER HOURS

FRIDAY 30TH MARCH · CLOSED SATURDAY 31ST MARCH · OPEN S U N DA Y 1 S T A P R I L · C LO S E D MONDAY 2ND APRIL · CLOSED

139 Newton Road, Auckland · www.thefabricstore.co.nz Mon - Fri: 9.30 - 4.30, Sat & Sun: 10-4 · Tel: 3661991

30

viva.co.nz

FOOD & DRINK

CONSIDER US IMPRESSED

Wellington's inner city is abuzz with the arrival of its first upmarket food court, which has taken over the slickly redesigned space that once housed the Evening Post’s printing presses on Willis St. Named Press Hall in a nod to its newspaper history, the Warren & Mahoney-designed development involved removing a two-storey building in 2016 to create a stylish laneway area leading to a contemporary courtyard and the food court at the back.

The fit-out has been beautifully executed.

Think exposed beams, concrete floors and plenty of elegant wood, with a particular highlight being the green-and-cream lanterns over the central dining area and the slightly tucked-away Japanese-themed area occupied by sushi and bento restaurant Yoshi.

There are currently nine other eateries — three of which are in the laneway kiosk — with more in the works, including a teppanyaki restaurant and a rooftop bar that will be operated by the owners of Leeds St favourite Hanging Ditch.

Until then, diners have the choice of plantbased cuisine from Aroha, fresh pasta and Italian sweets from Fratelli, steamed buns at Bao Boy, Vietnamese street food at Nam D, some of the city’s best pizza at Tommy Millions, and more.

— Shandelle Battersby • Press Hall is at 78 Willis St and is currently open from Monday to Friday 7.30am-7pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. Visit Presshall.co.nz

Picture / Supplied

RESTAURANT BAR COURTYARD

viva.co.nz

31

FOOD & DRINK

Eat, drink and be merry around

THE CAPITAL It’s seriously challenging to keep up with the latest happenings when it comes to the Wellington’s culinary scene. Shandelle Battersby searches out some of its best bars, cafes, restaurants, live-music venues and out-of-the-way foodie finds BARS

WHERE TO MEET ON A FIRST DATE Golding’s Free Dive We love, love, love this

fun and friendly neighbourhood-style bar in the super-cool Hannahs Laneway precinct, which is a guaranteed good time. From the vibrant lighting, to the quirky decor, to the pizza on offer from Pomodoro across the courtyard, to the cute outdoor area, we’d be here every night of the week if we could. Behind the bar is, of course, a healthy craft beer offering, some rotating on the taps, and there’s a great wine list too. If your date isn’t impressed, drop ’em.

14 Leeds St, City. Visit Golding’s Facebook page

ALSO TRY Forresters Lane Bye bye Motel and hello

Forresters Lane, a welcoming bright space with a colourful cocktail menu that changes with the seasons. 2 Forresters Ln, City. Visit Forresterslane.co.nz Noble Rot This elegant wine bar — the only one in Wellington — has more than 500 wines on its list, 80 of which you can order by the glass, and a fantastic menu.

This picture and below left: Golding’s Free Dive. Pictures / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

6 Swan Ln, City. Visit Noblerot.co.nz

WHERE TO SPEND A LAZY AFTERNOON Heyday Beer Co The owners of this newish

beer bar and brewery have completely transformed a former tyre garage on upper Cuba St to a fun, sophisticated space with mint-green walls, a ping-pong table, a cool flamingo-clad feature wall and, best of all, a revolving range of limited-edition beers brewed onsite. If the sun is shining, try to snap up one of the tables out the front on the AstroTurf and watch the cornhole battles go down. 264 Cuba St, City. Visit Heydaybeer.com

IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD: PETONE Seashore Cabaret

Ekor.

We thought we’d died and gone to retro heaven when we set foot in Seashore Cabaret thanks to its bank of old pinball machines, vintage decor that could be straight from the carousel at Coney Island, and its fun booths. Set overlooking rugged Petone Beach, the former dance hall sits atop the Petone Rowing Club in the most unlikely of buildings, and is also home to the Good Fortune Coffee Co. Cue delicious aromas. Much like its Lyall Bay sibling, the Maranui Cafe, the queues here can be long, but staff work the line keeping everyone informed with the kitchen’s progress. If the weather is playing ball we’d advise nabbing a spot out on the deck. 160 The Esplanade.

Visit Seashore Cabaret’s Facebook page ALSO TRY: Comes and Goes Contemporary Asian fusion cuisine prettily embellished with edible flowers. 259 Jackson St. Visit Instagram.com/comesandgoeswellington

ALSO TRY Fortune Favours Another super-hip brewpub,

this one in a renovated heritage industrial building, which has its own gourmet meat and cheese bar.

Prefab.

32

viva.co.nz

7 Leeds St, City. Visit Fortunefavours.beer

Prefab.

CAFES

WHERE TO RELAX WITH A COFFEE AND THE PAPER Ekor Cafe meets bookstore meets toy and

gift store at this sunny inner-city cafe in College St which is also home to L’affare, Citta, Nood, Moore Wilson’s and a couple of stylish boutiques. The children’s section is particularly magical, with plenty to keep the small ones occupied while Mum and Dad sample the cabinet food and drinks selection.

17b College St, City. Visit Ekor.co.nz

ALSO TRY Loretta You can’t go wrong at this stylish

all-day eatery, which is known for its earthy tones and beautiful ceramics, and simple but well-rounded menu.

181 Cuba St, City. Visit Loretta.net.nz Milk Crate A stylishly cute boutique cafe with awesome coffee and fab food that’s a popular hangout for locals.

35 Ghuznee St, City. Visit Milkcrate.co.nz

BEST PLACE FOR A BUSINESS BREAKFAST Prefab A favourite of many Wellingtonians,

this spacious cafe has excellent service, a tasty seasonal menu, and a buzzing vibe. With its bakery items fresh from the oven and coffee roasted on site, Prefab serves as a community hub and an unofficial co-working space for many. We can’t think of a better place to log on remotely. Note that Prefab is closed on Sundays.

14 Jessie St, City. Visit Pre-fab.co.nz

ALSO TRY Egmont Street Eatery An all-day multi-level

eatery down an alleyway housed in a former industrial carpark, which has been cleverly refurbished into a modern, stylish space.

11 Egmont St, City. Visit Egmontstreet.co.nz

IT MIGHT GET LOUD Where you’ll find the best live music

San Fran Formerly known as the San Francisco Bath House, this Cuba St second-storey bar is numero uno for mid-sized gigs. Upcoming: Sepultura, May 12. 171 Cuba St, City. Visit Sanfran.co.nz Meow A cosy, hip venue that hosts smaller gigs and has a great bar list and menu.

Upcoming: Anthonie Tonnon, April 13. 9 Edward St, City. Visit Welovemeow.co.nz Hunter Lounge The trusty venue at Victoria University of Wellington, which has played host to many memorable shows over the years. Upcoming: Marlon Williams, May 19 and 20. Level 3, Student Union Building, Victoria University, 1 Kelburn Pde, Kelburn. Visit Thehunterlounge.co.nz Caroline An intimate live music joint above Dukes Arcade, which doubles as a burger bar. You had us at mac ’n’ cheese balls. Upcoming: Shaun Kirk, April 12. 1 Manners St, City. Visit Caroline.nz

Maranui Cafe.

Mr Go’s.

IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD: LYALL BAY

The Botanist You’ll find this organic vegetarian and vegan-only eatery opposite the pirate playground at Lyall Bay. Housed in a character building with a sheltered, sunny courtyard out the back and fantastic views of the sea and planes landing at Wellington Airport, The Botanist is a great place to settle in for an afternoon or evening of tap craft beer, botanical cocktails, vegan and organic wine and delicious healthy food.

219 Onepu Rd. Visit Thebotanistlyallbay.co.nz

ALSO TRY Maranui Cafe Eclectic beach cafe on top of the Maranui Surf Life Saving Club loved by the locals.

7 Lyall Bay Pde. Visit Maranuicafe.co.nz Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli Boutique and gourmet New Zealand-made deli fare. 200 Queens Dr. Visit Queens.co.nz Nice. Takeaway ParrotDog Brewery’s slick cellar door offers complimentary tastings and a 10-tap line-up of craft beers to take home.

60-66 Kingsford Smith St. Visit Parrotdog.co.nz

RESTAURANTS

WHERE TO MARK A SPECIAL OCCASION Shepherd Another gem in the Hannahs

Laneway precinct, Shepherd is the eponymous restaurant co-owned by acclaimed local chef Shepherd Elliot, and dining here is a very special experience indeed. The small menu is simply broken down into ‘begin’, ‘middle’, ‘accessories’ and ‘end’, and the cuisine features the best of New Zealand’s seasonal produce selected for its ethical values. Think shiitake glazed eel, horseradish sour cream, radish, beans, lime and fresh herbs or whiskey and honey parfait, grilled stone fruit, black tea honey and cinnamon crumb.

1/5 Eva St, City. Visit Shepherdrestaurant.co.nz

ALSO TRY Logan Brown An oldie but a goodie, Logan Brown consistently tops the city’s ‘Best of’ dining lists for fine dining.

192 Cuba St, City. Visit Loganbrown.co.nz Monte Cervino The new one from the former head chef of Matterhorn, Monte Cervino has already been garnering five-star reviews for its authentic Italian fare.

66 Tory St, City. Visit Montecervino.co.nz

WHERE TO MEET UP WITH A FRIEND OR TWO Mr Go’s The cuisine at Mr Go’s is described

as “modern Asian” — fans of Auckland’s Chinoiserie and Kiss Kiss will approve. As well as staples such as delicious Taiwanesestyle gua-bao steamed buns and some of the best crispy tofu we’ve ever eaten, there are innovative twists on the genre including mince and cheese dumplings and kimchi-loaded shoestring fries. Named for a former local Chinese market gardener from the 1880s, Mr

Shepherd.

The Botanist. Picture / Jeff McEwan

Go’s is hectic, colourful and heaps of fun.

59 Taranaki St, City. Visit Mrgos.co.nz

ALSO TRY Le Samourai A tiny, French-style bar at

street level offering excellent peoplewatching, a fabulous drinks list, and a small menu of French delicacies, from croissants to croque monsieur.

45 Tory St, City. Visit Facebook.com/ LeSamouraiwgtn Havana Bar A Wellington institution set

across two colourful historic cottages that is part-bar, part-restaurant and part-eclectic live music venue. Open for brunch on the weekends only. 32a-34 Wigan St, City.

Visit Havanabar.co.nz

IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD: NEWTOWN

Cicio Cacio This charming traditional Italian osteria is tucked down a laneway in grungy Newtown and set in a cosy, alpine-style building with a great vibe. Serving up some of the best food in Wellington including pasta made in-house from scratch, the menu at Cicio Cacio changes regularly, sometimes daily, so the warm and knowledgeable staff run a blackboard, but also painstakingly write out the evening’s choices on the paper tablecloths. Dining here is just like coming home to Mama.

Highly recommended, but make sure you book. 167 Riddiford St. Visit Facebook. com/osteriaciciocacio

This picture and right: Cicio Cacio.

ALSO TRY Peoples Coffee The excellent flagship cafe of the organic and fair trade local coffee roaster that patrons travel across town for. 12 Constable St. Visit Peoplescoffee.co.nz

viva.co.nz

33

EATING OUT

CLASS OF ITS

Jesse Mulligan gives Wellington restaurant Rita a perfect score

I

f you wrote an honest list of New Zealand’s best 50 restaurants, 40 of them would be in Auckland. But I’m not sure any of those 40 would beat Wellington’s Rita, which is in a breathtaking class of its own.

Rita is what you get when people who really, really care about food open their dream restaurant and design every little thing to be exactly perfect. The chef Kelda Haines travels extensively and has a knack for finding the best and newest restaurants ahead of the crowd. She ate alone at the bar at Al’s Place in San Francisco and found herself sitting next to the editor of Bon Appetit, who the next day would name it the best new restaurant in America.

Though Al’s Place was an influence, when I ask her which place she most wants Rita to be like, her answer is Berkeley’s Chez Panisse across the harbour: fresh daily produce, expressed to maximum effect in simple, ingredient-led dishes, served by staff who don’t work for the restaurant so much as form part of it. The conversations you have with them over the course of your meal

show you how seriously they take food, and though they must do some training you can’t train for this sort of attitude — you just have to somehow find these people then cling on to them for dear life.

Rita is in the suburbs, though it’s really only five minutes’ walk from the city. The small room has capacity for perhaps 30 people, sitting at tabletops made of cork flooring material that you used to find a lot in the 1980s. Each table has a pull-out drawer with bits and pieces inside. “Is there cutlery in the drawer?” I asked the waitress.

“Yeah, heaps”, she replied, indicating that the creation of a San Francisco-style bistro wouldn’t be at the expense of certain key New Zealandisms.

And while the dining room is arguably modern, when you need to use the bathroom, you walk down an outdoor corridor to a toilet that feels more like a neon dream. It has its own stereo system, mood lighting and, crucially, a heater — an oil bar, which will have a lot of work to do in winter but, after all, what is more Wellington than having fog breath while you wee?

ATTRACT ATTENTION, NOT INTEREST. Standing out couldn’t be easier in the iconic MINI 3-Door or MINI 5-Door Hatch, now available with an attractive finance offer. Make the icon your own with its many customisable features, then get behind the wheel and experience the unique, go-kart handling.

You’ll also receive three years of scheduled servicing, a warranty plan and roadside assistance.

MID0307_AMG_HATCH_NZHD

Book a test drive at Auckland MINI Garage today.

34

0%

INTEREST

/3

1

NOW 1/ 2019 (Deposit)

3

(Month 12)

/3

1

2020

(Month 24)

AUCKLAND MINI GARAGE. 381-383 Broadway, Newmarket. 0800 548 352.

MINI.co.nz

Offer includes an establishment fee of $175, a dealer origination fee of $200, a PPSR fee of $10.35 and recommended on-road vehicle costs. Fixed interest rate 0% p.a. MINI Financial Services terms, conditions and standard lending criteria apply. Offer ends 30th April 2018 or while stocks last.

*

viva.co.nz

OWN

When the waitress first explains what’s on the menu she writes each dish down in biro on a little catalogue card. You choose from a couple of optional dishes and once you’ve decided how you’re eating, the card gets tucked into your drawer next to your forks and spoons. Why do they do this? I’m not sure but I guess it emphasises a certain particularity with the menu, forces them to go more slowly than they otherwise might, gives you a reference point for later without having to print new menus each day and makes it unlikely that they’ll forget to tell you about something.

Rita’s the sort of place you fall in love with when you walk in, but if you’re playing hard to get you’ll only be able to withhold your affection until the food starts to arrive.

Starting with small, unadvertised plates they then move onto the stuff they promised you, but it looks and tastes even better than it was described. They tell you the kahawai is raw, for example, but they don’t tell you it is almost ice cold, served with a fermented pickle dressing and luscious Martinborough olive oil, and topped with tomato jelly cubes, which taste of summer but improve on the standard tomato’s texture and propensity

The strawberry and fig dessert (above centre) from the set three-course menu at Rita. Pictures / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

to mess. Then here is an eggplant slice, cooked, chilled and rolled around a ricottaand-walnut filling, served with yoghurt and fenugreek, a spice you never see featured on restaurant menus but which is served here with simple confidence. It was followed by figs and goat’s cheese — the best examples of each — drizzled in an emulsion of roasted fig juice and local apple cider vinegar.

My main dish when I visited in December was spectacular and I wish I could tell you about that but under oath I have to tell you that last Saturday’s dish was a little underwhelming. Look, I’m sure that the pork and venison they sourced came from animals who’d had interesting and happy lives but

RITA

Cuisine: Modern bistro Phone: 04 384 8555 Address: 89 Aro St, Wellington Bookings accepted Drinks: Fully licensed From the menu: Set three course menu (changes daily) $65 Rating: 20/20 Score: 8-12 Disappointing, give it a miss. 13-15 Good, give it a go. 16-18 Great, plan a visit.

19-20 Outstanding, don’t delay.

I’m afraid sausages and mashed potato after all that beauty seemed like borderline trolling. A side dish of braised lentils would have worked but it was served cold and, well, maybe the experiment worked for other people but not for me.

Afterwards I ate an almond tart, which was the greatest dessert I can remember eating. So I left, more confused than disappointed at those sausages but nonetheless happy to give Rita full marks for transcending my expectations of how good a restaurant can be. Try not to be upset that it’s not in Auckland — after all, we need somewhere decent to eat when we’re on holiday.

VIVA & SILVER FERN FARMS

Experience the artistry & expertise of New Zealand d’s top chefs

T

he 5th annual Silver Fern Farms Restaurant Awards are here for 2018. The Restaurant Awards celebrate the creativity and artistry of New Zealand’s top chefs and the premium quality of Silver Fern Farms grass-fed beef, lamb and venison.

This year more than 60 New Zealand chefs are vying for the Chef of the Year title and have entered special dishes that are on menus

across the country, including Saan in Ponsonby, White + Wong’s in the viaduct, The H unting Lodge out west, Villa Maria in the South and Arcc hive Bar & Bistro on Waiheke Isslaand.

Don’t miss the chhance to taste the inspirational Silvver Fern Farms Restaurant Awards dishes on menus at participating resttauurants.

viva.co.nz

35

RECIPES

CHOC-ABLOCK

Angela Casley indulges her sweet addiction in time for Easter

W

hen visiting the capital, a highlight for chocolate lovers has to be a visit to the Wellington Chocolate Factory. In their central location Eva St, Te Aro, you can watch them use ageold artisanal methods to create batches of delicious chocolate from organic single-origin beans sourced from around the world. If, like me, you have a sweet tooth, you won’t be able to resist leaving with a bag full of chocolate, which is beautifully wrapped in packaging designed by leading New Zealand artists.

These make for stylish Easter gifts.

This Easter, we have a host of family and friends gathering for the long weekend, including our cousin arriving from London with her latest recipe for marmalade martinis (I might have to share this with you another time).

To ensure there’s a steady flow of sweet treats over the weekend for all the visitors, today’s recipes will come in handy. If you have eggs, milk and some instant coffee, you can whip this baked custard up with little effort. Smooth and velvety, it is a delightful touch after a main course. To dress it up a bit, decorate with chocolate coffee beans.

For these molten cups, the key is not to overcook. Bake for 15 minutes and then, if the sides have started to set, it is time to remove from the oven. Serve with a generous dollop of mascarpone or ice cream. If you’re feeling extra decadent, push a couple of mini caramel eggs into your puddings before placing them in the oven — chocolate heaven.

Finally, if you want to have some fun in the kitchen, give these custard doughnuts a try.

Have the children get involved by helping to knead the dough and make little balls before the cooking process. The deep frying is best left to the adults. And then, of course, when it comes to filling them with custard and dipping into the chocolate sauce, there will be lots of finger licking.

Here’s the low down!

LIMITED TIME SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

meluka.co.nz

15%

FF TV and Media Cabinets New Season in Store Now

TVboy 3 Bay 2 High $1832 Accessories not included

DESIGNED AND MADE IN NZ 0800 MELUKA

36

viva.co.nz

THREE KINGS 983 MT EDEN RD NORTH SHORE 13A LINK DR BOTA NY DOWNS 501 TI RAKAU DR TA URANGA 4/683 CAMERON RD

$1557

18A High Street Auckland | rebfootwear.com

Baked Coffee and Chocolate Custard Serves 4 5 egg yolks ½ cup sugar 2 cups full cream milk 2 Tbsp strong coffee 1 tsp vanilla essence Chocolate coffee beans to decorate

1. Preheat an oven to 170C. Grease 4 cup-

size dishes.

2. Beat together the egg yolks and sugar.

3. Heat the milk, coffee and vanilla in a small pot until just starting to boil. Gradually add the milk to the egg mixture whisking constantly.

4. Pour into your dishes. Place them into a deep baking dish. Pour boiling water into the baking dish until halfway up the side of the cups. Place into the oven for 45 minutes until the custards are just set. Remove and cool completely before serving.

5. Sprinkle over a few chocolate coffee beans to decorate.

Easter Egg Molten Cups Makes 4 200g dark chocolate 100g butter 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla essence

TOP BRAND APPLIANCES AT DISCOUNT PRICES

1. Combine the yeast and teaspoon of sugar.

½ cup light brown sugar 2 Tbsp plain flour Whipped cream to serve 1. Preheat an oven to 190C. Grease 4

ramekins.

2. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Stir a little and allow it to become completely smooth. Remove from the heat.

3. In another bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, sugar and flour. Pour in the chocolate and combine well. Spoon into your ramekins.

4. Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are set.

5. Serve hot with whipped cream.

Doughnuts with Chocolate Sauce Makes 20 1 Tbsp yeast granules 1 tsp sugar ¼ cup tepid water 1 ¼ cups plain flour ¼ cup sugar 2 egg yolks 1 Tbsp softened butter 1 tsp salt Oil for cooking 1 cup white sugar for dusting 1 cup thick custard (bought is fine) Chocolate sauce to serve

Sprinkle over the tepid water and leave to stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.

2. In a large bowl place the flour. Add the yeast mixture, the sugar, yolks, butter and salt, stirring well. Tip on to a floured bench and knead until you have a soft dough. Place into a lightly oiled bowl and into a warm place leaving to double in size. This takes about 1½ hours.

3. Place the dough back on to a lightly floured bench and roll until 1cm thick. Using a 3-4cm round cutter, cut 20 rounds. Cover with lightly oiled plastic and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

4. Half fill a medium-sized saucepan with flavourless oil. Heat to medium. Test with one doughnut round, lowering into the oil with a slotted spoon. Cook for about 30 seconds then turn. Adjust the heat of the oil if necessary. Continue to cook the remaining, 3 or 4 at a time.

5. Roll in sugar while they are warm.

6. Place the custard into a piping bag or snap-lock bag with the corner cut off. Make a hole in the side of each doughnut and pipe in some custard.

7. Eat as they are or serve with chocolate sauce.

Food stylist / Angela Casley.

Photographer / Babiche Martens.

For more, see Viva.co.nz/Recipes

This luxury 5 bedroom, 325m2 colonial style property, only 60 minutes from Wellington is available for short-stay rental.

Situated within the 14 acre grounds of Lismore Estate, Lismore House is the perfect place for vacations, family reunions, weddings, honeymoons, corporate events or as a special occasion venue.

For booking enquiries: +64 22 306 3319 Email: team@lismore.co.nz www.lismore.co.nz viva.co.nz

37

FOOD & DRINK

THE DISH Eat it, buy it, book it

Beer Hug

In true Wellington style, many of the best new openings are from local brewers • Today, Black Dog open the doors to their new tasting room and brewery on Cuba St. Decorated with murals by local artists, there are 16 beers on tap upstairs alongside a menu of pizzas and burgers, while the downstairs brewery will be kept busy creating small batches of new flavours. 216 Cuba St. Visit Blackdogbrewery.co.nz • Launched this month, the Whistling Sisters’ new Fermentery has been labelled their “temple of beer, food and fun”. They’re brewing on site and offer beers from other top brewers, plus they have tasty food and live gigs, tastings and events as often as they can. Open Thursday-Sunday evenings, corner Ghuznee St and Taranaki St, Te Aro. Visit Whistlingsisters.co.nz • A little birdie told us that Parrotdog also have a new bar in the works that’s due to open very soon. You’ll be able to settle into a cosy booth, play pool, or just relax and enjoy a great drop with a view of the brewery. 60-66 Kingsford Smith St, Lyall Bay. Visit Parrotdog.co.nz

In the Mix

DOUBLE UP

Two hospitality experts have answered the call for fuss-free cocktails in the classiest of ways. Inside individual glass bottles, J.M.R & Cocktail & Co’s pre-mixed old fashioneds, gin martinis, negronis and Manhattans just need the addition of ice and can be topped with fresh garnish. Find these little gems at The Wellington Club and Auckland’s Little Jimmy or online through Cultwine.co.nz or Cocktailmerchant.co.nz. On April 10 you can join the owners, Jonny McKenzie and Amy Alexander, for a cocktail and chocolate tasting event at Tinakori Bistro, in collaboration with specialty importers The Chocolate Bar. Find out more at Thechocolatebar.nz

The best food combos we discovered around Wellington • Jars of peanut butter and thick slices of toast are staples at Fix & Fogg (pictured above, 5 Eva St, Te Aro) and they often sell treats from their hole-in-the-wall factory as well. Recent pop-ups have included icecream from Duck Island and baking from the likes of Little Dough Co. • Pour & Twist (13 Garrett St, Te Aro) are back serving their signature pretzels and hand-brewed coffee in a new location. The pretzels are giant and there are also iced treats and colourful cocktails on offer.

• Pop into New York-style deli Pickle & Pie (2 Lombard St, Te Aro) for crumpets, bagels, matzo-ball soup or a take-home dinner. As the name suggests, there are also pickles galore, perfect as a side to one of their famous pies, with fillings that change daily.

• At new spot Good Boy (181a Riddiford St, Newtown) things are kept simple with gourmet sandwiches and filter coffee. Recent creations include sumac-smoked tomato, zucchini, white-bean hummus, preserved lemon and ricotta, and rare beef, kale chimchurri, black garlic aioli and havarti.

DISCOVER OUR WORLD OF ART Te Papa’s spectacular new art gallery Toi Art is now open and it belongs to all New Zealanders. Enjoy immersive art experiences and be amazed. You’ll see our place in a whole new light.

TOI ART AT TE PAPA LEVEL 4 OPENS EVERY DAY, 10AM—6PM TEPAPA.NZ/TOIART

AT HOME

BEYOND THE PALE One of Wellington’s most talked-about residential icons is the sprawling, idiosyncratic hillside home of the late, great architect Ian Athfield. Titled Amritsar (after the street it sits on), the house gazes out across Wellington Harbour and the moody sky above from a multitude of steel-framed panes, skylights, portholes, patios and curved doorways. With a composition of numerous volumes of various sizes and shapes that developed over years, the house seems less a single house and more a tight-knit village — an impression aided by the presence of goats, peacocks and partygoers roaming its levels.

For decades, the house’s white concrete towers have been a curiosity to passing drivers, a magnet to students of architecture, a thorn in the side of council consent officers, the venue of countless gatherings, and a sometime office for Athfield Architects as well as home to Athfield (known as ‘Ath’), his wife Clare, and their children.

Its inhabitants and evolution are traced in exquisite pictorial detail in the limited-edition book Portrait of a House by photographer Simon Devitt, from which this image is drawn. But the book is more than a photo essay — it’s a love letter to an extraordinary feat of creativity, collaboration and bloodymindedness, composed of both new and archival images, stories from people who have lived, worked and played there, and even recipes that have been cooked in it over the years. First published in 2012 by Balasoglou Books, a few copies are still available for purchase — including ones signed by Athfield and Devitt themselves.

— Melinda Williams • Visit Simondevitt.com

Picture / Simon Devitt

viva.co.nz

39

AT HOME

DESIGN

Beth Cameron and Jae Warrander of Makers of Architecture. Pictures / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

TOUR

Wellington has always been a hotbed for architectural experimentation in New Zealand. Two young architectural directors continuing that tradition take Melinda Williams on a weekend tour through the city

B

eth Cameron and Jae Warrander are two of the most modern young thinkers in New Zealand architecture.

As principals of Makers of Architecture, a practice that works in sync with Makers Fabrication, they work sensitively with new designand-build technologies such as computerdriven cutting and cross-laminated timber to create better, more beautiful buildings.

We asked them to walk us through the cafes, bars, stores, and galleries in Wellington that deserve the attention of lovers of design.

Wellington Sourdough Left Bank Lane, CBD

This little bakery is discreetly hidden along Left Bank arcade off Cuba Mall. Fresh white paint brightens the exterior entrance in what was previously a dark alley. Designed and fitted out by Proffer, the bakery sits within an industrial concrete shell. Timber fit-out frames the interior workings of the space, while the marble counter and open timber bread rack allow a glimpse into the kitchen behind.

40

viva.co.nz

Kowtow

29 College St, CBD

The newly opened Kowtow flagship store showcases the brand experience. We (Makers) collaborated with Rufus Knight to design the store, reflecting Kowtow’s brand ethics; utilising quality hand-crafted, locally sourced, recycled and sustainably harvested materials.

Simplicity and generosity anchor the store’s design and speak to the brand ethos.

Ekor Bookshop & Cafe

17 College St, Te Aro

Ekor provides a comfortable coffee break, with a diverse range of books to browse and buy. Located on the increasingly bustling College St, the tables and chairs are nestled in pocket spaces creating areas for patrons to connect with one another.

Loretta

181 Cuba St, Te Aro

With a narrow, understated frontage on Cuba St, the restaurant’s long space runs through to connect with Swan Lane behind, allowing the restaurant to be divided with steel and timber into a series of intimate spatial zones. Designed by Parsonson Architects,

the warmly lit and locally furnished space exposes stripped-back elements of the original building, celebrating its structural rhythm throughout.

Taranaki Jump Platform

Taranaki St, Wellington waterfront

The Taranaki Jump Platform’s sculptural steel staircase weaves and twists up and over itself to provide a daring public diving platform. Designed by Wraight & Associates, the platform sits over a perceptively discreet opening contained within the centre of the wharf. The exposed structure brings dynamic and theatrical activity to the waterfront, it’s a bold summertime spectacle.

City Gallery

101 Wakefield St, Wellington

Generous in its stripped-back proportions and layout, the gallery engages two levels of defined spaces. The 2009 alteration by Architecture Plus extended the gallery with subtlety, while clear identification and acknowledgement of the alteration was expressed through material demarcation and light composition. The alteration can be enjoyed from within the gallery, on ground

level at the sunken Adam Auditorium and on the first-level two gallery spaces, while the clean exterior volume is clad in rusted metal webgrate, texturally soft when viewed from a distance.

Old Bank Arcade

Cnr Willis St and Lambton Quay, CBD

Designed by Thomas Turnbull & Son, this historically significant shopping arcade demonstrates beautiful Victorian & Classical architectural detailing throughout. The bank vaults are worth a visit to uncover the rich historic stories founded within.

The Black Sparrow

10 Majoribanks St, Mt Victoria

Designed by Designgroup Stapleton Elliot, the tunnelled entrance ramps down from the established Embassy Theatre foyer, opening up to a cave-like lounge bar. Low lit and softly furnished with highlights of gold opulence, the Black Sparrow Lounge evokes evening comfort in pre-film anticipation.

Lombard Lane

Newly developed and designed by Jasmax, Lombard Lane has enabled a series of new retail premises to open while some existing premises, such as the secluded Lamason Brew Bar (focused on the art of coffee brewing) maintain a sense of establishment and permanence within the laneway. A landscaped knoll marks the intersection of Lombard Lane and Denton Park, providing a grassy green carpeted environment.

Lonely

104 Victoria St, Wellington

Lonely presents a progressive journey of spatial thresholds, between its public street front and protected interior. Designed by Rufus Knight, the store brings together a tactile palette of soft textural and reflective materials, interjected with luxury furnishings to bring a sense of warmth and comfort to the retail experience.

City Gallery.

Space Yoga Studio 8 Lookout Rd, Roseneath

Space Studio provides an elevated retreat-like experience, with projected panoramic views over Wellington Harbour. Designed by Tennent Brown Architects, the recently completed yoga studio is near the top of Mt Victoria on Lookout Rd. It provides a welcome disconnect from the inner city — soft colours, natural timbers and light filter through the purpose built space, creating a high-quality relaxing atmosphere.

Adam Art Gallery

Gate 3, Victoria University, Kelburn Parade

Victoria University’s Adam Art Gallery is a beautiful and established contemporary art gallery, showcasing New Zealand works. Designed by Athfield Architects, the intersecting volumetric exhibition spaces are connected via the central cascading stair, an adaptation of the historic Culliford Stair that was used to move between buildings in the campus prior to the gallery’s construction.

The diversity in spatial conditions, moving between double, triple height and smaller, more enclosed intimate spaces presents a dynamic setting for a large variety of works to be experienced and celebrated within the gallery.

VIVA RECOMMENDS

Hoping to take a little piece of Wellington home with you? Try one of these design and interiors stores that are full of beautiful homewares, furniture and art pieces.

PRECINCT 35, 35 Ghuznee St This clean, Japanese-styled space hosts a selection of modern, handmade artisan furniture and objects from local makers such as Ryder Jones, Klay, Walk in the Park and Kirsten Dryburgh and international brands including New York’s Good Thing, PostalCo and Iris Hantverk.

Precinct 35.

Picture / Supplied

BACKHOUSE INTERIORS, 12 Kaiwharawhara Rd, Kaiwharawhaura A third-generation company, Backhouse started as a bespoke furniture manufacturer in Porirua, and today also represents high-end, international design brands such as Kartell, Norman Copenhagen and Stellar Works, as well as New Zealand designers, including the legendary David Trubridge and Well-Groomed Fox. TEAPEA, 1 Grey St, CBD and 22 Ganges Rd, Khandallah There’s something here for every design lover, from the smallest (Wilson & Frenchy bibs, graphic science wall charts) to the oldest (Tea Pea’s own modern rattan Clementine Rocking Chair). A soft, millennial-modern aesthetic prevails here, with plenty of pastels paired with Scandinavian lines, snuggly throws and cushions and quirky accessories.

viva.co.nz

41

AT HOME

THE NEW MINIMALISTS Three Wellington designers with a pared-back yet textural aesthetic talk to Melinda Williams about practice, process and motherhood

Juliet Black

Blacklight Studio

Juliet Black in her studio. Picture / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

Every day, Juliet Black gets to go to her Tory St studio to indulge in a form of paid meditation — painstakingly assembling origami lightshades by hand. “I think every day that I can’t believe I am paid to make things,” she laughs. “It’s very therapeutic, folding paper.” It was an art born out of necessity — Black couldn’t find lightshades that were what she wanted for her own home, so she decided to make some herself.

“I just started small and figured it out along the way,” she remembers. “It was this lovely process of coming up against an obstacle and working out how to get around it. I ended up with a product that I was happy to put in my house, then afterwards there were just lots of other people wanting them too.”

Her business, Blacklight Studio, blossomed from there. Although Juliet was working as a graphic designer and photographer at the time, her part-time proposition rapidly turned into a full-time job. But although meditative, making the lightshades requires intense concentration — one mistake and the whole thing has to be started again from scratch. “I try not to dwell on it, because I did make a lot of mistakes in the beginning, but now I have my processes down.

Sometimes I’ll surprise myself and just not be thinking and I’ll get to the very end and go, ‘Oh no, Juliet, you’ve done it again.’ But I just move on.” Her kids are the chief beneficiaries of the disasters — they take some to kindy as objects for imaginative play.

The shades take Juliet from a couple of hours to make a small one, to 24 hours of solid work for an extra-large size. “With that one, I literally have to crawl into them to make them.” She dreams of

working with a more robust material than paper to generate an immersive structure that would give viewers a new perspective on the precise play of light, shade and form created by paper-folding. “My grand vision is to have a giant one that you’d walk into.”

• Blacklight.co.nz

Emma Fox Derwin Studio Emma Fox

Emma Fox Derwin describes motherhood as “a bomb going off” in her life. When her second child was born — in a difficult birth that took considerable recovery — Fox Derwin was working with her Emma’s husband Nigel Groom on their Cloak Shelf. successful brand Well-Groomed Fox. “When you become a mother, everything changes,” she says. “You question everything about who you are and what you want. I started wanting to do my own stuff and have my own voice as a designer.” From their rural location in Ohariu Valley, just outside Wellington, she has established her own practice, Studio Emma Fox, where she is exploring new directions in flat-pack furniture as part of her PhD through Lund University in Sweden.

The first piece she created was the award-winning Cloak Cabinet, an elegant low storage cabinet that can be assembled intuitively without tools. Its striking key feature is the Yves Klein-blue Kvadrat wool composite “cloak” that magnetically wraps around the cabinet in place of doors and hard sides. Emma says she was drawn by the beautiful colour and feel of the textile.

ADVERTISEMENTS

BAO BOY

TE ARO Modern Asian street food featuring steamed milk buns with delicious fillings from classic 5 spice pork belly to Japanese egg with free range bacon and house made chilli jam. Our Baonuts, deep fried dessert bao with cinnamon sugar and black doris plum drizzle are a must to try!

Eat in or takeaway.

Press Hall, 80 Willis Street, Wellington

www.baoboy.co.nz

DRAGONFLY

TE ARO Situated in the heart of Courtenay Place, Dragonfly is Wellington’s premier modern Asian restaurant, bar and courtyard.

Featuring a menu that touches on Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese and Korean cuisine with innovative Asian inspired cocktails and a beautifully curated interior, Dragonfly is a truly special dining experience.

70 Courtenay Place, Te Aro. 04 8033995

www.dragon-fly.co.nz

Emma Fox Derwin. Pictures / Supplied

Felicity Donaldson in her studio.

Some of Felicity Donaldson’s ceramics.

“It’s really fantastic quality and that’s one of the aspects of flatpack I wanted to investigate.”

Since the launch of the piece, Emma has released shelving unit and console iterations, each of which is currently handmade.

Her next project is a flat-pack sofa, again in collaboration with Kvadrat, which she hopes to launch at London Design Week or next year’s Milan Furniture Fair. “There’s also a project that I’ve been working on for a coffee company that I can’t talk about just yet, but it has been really cool and challenging,” she says.

self-employed female artists and designers here, and everyone is really supportive,” says ceramic artist Felicity Donaldson.

“We’re all from different backgrounds — we’ve got fashion designers and florists, a screen-printer, a chef — and it’s not competitive at all. I’ve found that really enjoyable.”

Originally from Whanganui, Felicity is now on her second stint living in Wellington — the first time she came for work, and the second time for love, though the work is going pretty well too.

Her “very lovingly hand-made” ceramic pieces under the label Wundaire have captured a hunger for vessels and plates that have an obviously personal touch. “Everything’s a bit off and a bit wonky,” is how she puts it, but that wonkiness has companies like fashion brand Kowtow, knitting brand Plump & Co and peanut butter-makers Fix and Fogg lining up.

A key collaborator has been Unna Burch from The

Forest Cantina, who commissioned Felicity to make tableware for her cookbook.

“I feel really lucky, because it’s hard, especially when you only have a certain amount of time, to come up with fresh ideas all the time. To collaborate with a business that has an idea about what they want is such a great point to jump off,” she says.

That limited time is under increasing pressure now that she’s also at the beck-and-call of a 5-month-old.

“One thing about moving to Wellington is that I’ve got an awesome studio [in Brooklyn], which I don’t think I would have found in Auckland. That changed everything. I could start workshops, which have been really popular.

“And going to work now means actually going to work, not ‘I’m just going to pop downstairs and work until 2 o’clock in the morning.’ Which obviously doesn’t happen much anymore with a baby!”

• Studioemmafox.com

Felicity Donaldson Wundaire

Forget the Old Boys network. In Wellington, it’s the New Girls network that seems to be generating some of the most interesting opportunities, at least in the design world. “There’s a really awesome group of

• Wundaire.com

Aloha Hawai‘i + Los Angeles

$533

*

From

One way pp inc taxes

Fly non-stop Auckland to Honolulu and onward to Los Angeles or choose one of our other Californian cities** inc. San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose and Long Beach# Contact your preferred travel agent or book online at HawaiianAirlines.co.nz

Hurry Sale Ends Today *Conditions apply: Prices correct as of 22Mar18. Above one-way airfare includes applicable taxes, airport and surcharges; however, taxes and surcharges are subject to change and must be collected as quoted at time of reservation. Above one-way airfare is available for travel between 09Apr18 - 07Jun18, 21Aug18 - 17Sep18, 16Oct18 - 15Nov18, 28Nov18 - 14Dec18. **Fares may vary by city. #Commencing 31May2018. Other conditions apply. On Sale until 28Mar18. HAB5339

VIVA & MATISSE

A Design Dialogue

The entrance space of the new Cassina HQ in Meda, Italy.

Pictures / Supplied

An ongoing, animated and sometimes irreverent conversation between the past and the future is at the heart of iconic brand Cassina.

One of the most striking aspects of the annual Milan Furniture Fair is that the avalanche of new design items on show is balanced by an equal commitment to reviving and reinterpreting decades-old designs. High-end furniture is an expensive business — the tooling to produce the moulds for a single item can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars — and longevity is the holy grail of a new design.

Balancing this longevity with the market’s thirst for the new is a delicate act, and no company does it better than Cassina. Opened in Brianza, Italy, in 1927 by brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina, the company started out producing furniture for the home, hotels, restaurants and cruise ships. A transformative moment occurred in 1964, however, when the brand acquired the rights to produce designs by the iconic Swiss/French Modernist trio Le

Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand.

In the following decade, Cassina swiftly added rights to objects from the Bauhaus Archive and designs by Gerrit Rietveld, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Erik Gunnar Asplund. These designers were the innovators of their age, upending long-held notions and transforming aesthetics.

For Alan Bertenshaw, whose company, Matisse International Furniture holds the exclusive New Zealand rights to distribute Cassina furniture, this legacy is core to the brand’s appeal. “Cassina is legendary for me

as the company that brought many of the greatest modern classic designers together in collections that will never go out of style, and will live with their owners for generations,” Alan Bertenshaw says.

That heritage will be on show in the newly redesigned Cassina area in the Matisse showroom in Parnell, Auckland, which follows in the footsteps of major redesigns of some key Cassina showrooms around the world. In late 2015, Patricia Urquiola, regarded by many as the greatest working female furniture designer, was appointed as art director to Cassina in the leadup to the company’s 90-year anniversary. She has already overseen significant renovations of showrooms in New York and Milan, two full collections, and exhibitions celebrating the company’s evolution from past to future.

Describing Urquiola as an “orchestra director, who is able to create a harmony of colours and finishes”, Cassina’s managing director Gianluca Armento says that revitalising the look of Cassina’s showrooms was a key project. “[We wanted Patricia Urquiola] to put together all these high-personality icons so that people can have a Cassina house more than just a Cassina piece. Not only our showrooms in New York, Milan and London, but any kind of Cassina space such as in Auckland, looks into how Patricia has developed the in-store harmony.”

Evolution is the second piece of the Cassina puzzle. Although the company could have been a comfortable success just by producing the iconic designs of past masters, they had no intention of resting on their laurels. “After the 1950s, Cassina created advancement,” Gianluca says. “There is no other company that encapsulates the spirit of wanting to change, of bringing innovation and of setting free the ambitions of a young generation of designers.”

From the 1960s onwards the designers Cassina brought into the fold include contemporary masters such as Philippe Starck, Rodolfo Dordoni, Konstantin Grcic, Piero Lissoni, Vico Magistretti, Jean Nouvel, Ron Gilad and the late Zaha Hadid — artists who were not just chasing technical innovation or aesthetic disruption, but who wanted to integrate conceptual ideas with their work.

Matisse brand manager Caroline Montague says these designers changed the way she saw furniture. “As a teenager in the 60s, Archizoom [a pioneering Italian architectural studio] made me realise that furniture could have intellectual content.” She now works surrounded by pieces from “Cassina’s legacy of wit, subversion and adventure in design, particularly that of Andrea Branzi, Gaetano Pesce and Paolo Deganello.

Cassina, a company that makes a sofa that looks like New York or a chair that covers the sitter in a pointy felt shape so he can’t see, will

Patricia Urquiola’s redesign of Cassina’s Manhattan showroom.

The Maralunga Sofa by Vico Magistretti.

always be my preferred contributor to furniture history.” Indeed, playfulness is evident in many Cassina designs, from the Wink Chaise-Longue

by Toshiyuki Kita to the Gender Armchair released last year by Patricia Urquiola.

Two beautiful monographs, which can be viewed at the Matisse showroom, have also been released as part of the 90th anniversary celebrations. The first, This Will Be The Place, edited by Felix Burrichter, one of the world’s most eccentric and respected architectural writers, gives five leading figures in architecture and design a platform to imagine the future of living spaces, paired with photographic panoramas that visualise their ideas.

The second, Cassina As Seen By Karl, happened “almost by accident”, says Gianluca.

“We happen to have the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld as a customer in Paris. He passes by, sees something in the window, stops and orders it. One time the store director said to him, ‘Why don’t we do something together? You’re such a fan — perhaps you can take some pictures?’”

Lagerfeld agreed, and shot a series of portraits showing some of his favourite items from new angles, which were collated into the book.

“Keeping furniture alive for many years means that you have to create imagery [for] the press, the internet and so on, that looks fresh again,” says Gianluca.

Cassina’s ongoing design conversation will be continued in the pieces being shown at this year’s Milan Fair. “We have evolutions of the Volage Sofa from Philippe Starck,” Gianluca says.

“We have a new sofa from Patricia Urquiola, this time a ground-based sofa; we are celebrating again the Maralunga, which was the first-ever sofa with an adjustable backrest. We have a new table and chairs from the Bouroullec brothers; we have a grander table from a new entry for us, who is Michael Anastassiades, and we are bringing back to life a chair from Rietveld called the Bugle Stool, all in a showroom in Milan.

That’s just a part of the things we are doing.”

• Matisse International, 99 The Strand, Parnell.

Ph (09) 302 2284 or visit Matisse.co.nz

FOUR KEY CHAIRS 1. Auckland Chair (2005)

by Jean-Marie Massaud Designed when Kiwi and Italian excitement around the America’s Cup was at feverpitch, this chair pays tribute to the technology, shape and glossy carbon-fibre materiality of the racing yachts competing for the Auld Mug.

1

2. LC4 Chaise (1928)

by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand Perhaps the most famous Cassina piece, the LC4 Chaise was designed to be the ultimate expression of relaxation, with a geometric purity, Cassina began producing the design in 1965. The recent Pampas Limited Edition (pictured) features a new South American cowhide upholstery.

3

3. Superbeam Sofa (2017)

by Patricia Urquiola The Spanish art director of Cassina has been on board for only two years, yet this is already the second iteration of the Beam Sofa she first produced for the brand in 2016. The modular system sits on minimalist intersecting beams instead of legs, with super-sized, luxuriously comfortable cushions and adjustable padded arms.

4. Utrecht Chair (1935)

by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld Showcasing the Dutch De Stijl architect’s signature block-sculptural style, this lowslung armchair has been a staple of the Cassina collection since its first production in 1988. It has since been reissued in several sizes, and recently re-covered in a striking geometric textile by contemporary Dutch designer Bertjan Pot.

4

2

AT HOME

Keeping Conscious P Pictures / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

Forerunner of the vegan beauty boom Elizabeth Barbalich shares her five favourite things with Sarah Downs

1

2

3

4

5

eek inside the bathroom cabinets of conscious beauty devotees in New Zealand — and some across the globe — and you will find the green labels of Antipodes.

The Wellington-based skincare and makeup is cruelty-free (that means no animal testing), is largely organic, vegetarian (no animal products), and now much of it is certified vegan (no animal by-products).

The move towards veganism is an exciting new step for its trailblazing founder, Elizabeth Barbalich, who says it was largely driven by clued-up millennials.

Those avoiding meat, dairy and leather are also keen to steer clear of slathering their skin with non-vegan products, she says. For example, products like red lipsticks pigmented by crushed cochineal beetles and foundations that contain silk powder lurking on the market.

The mother of three has recently taken after her teenage daughter, embracing a fully vegan diet, which was surprisingly easy, she says.

“I feel very healthy and on top of my huge work demands. I can now understand the demand for vegan products.”

Waipukurau-born Elizabeth launched Antipodes 11 years ago after being stumped to find products free of synthetic ingredients for her own use.

Drawing on her extensive background in science, she embarked on her green beauty crusade by mixing lotions and potions at home — tested on her own skin first — before stepping into the familiar lab environment.

Antipodes is now sold in 14 countries and will celebrate its 12 birthday later this year, a milestone achieved because Elizabeth simply set out to succeed.

“I knew that I could take the Antipodes brand to a global level,” she says.

“Good things take time and effort. If you want to play in life, then you need to work hard and take risks. You need strong selfbelief to start a business in such a competitive category.” Elizabeth has no intention of selling or slowing down either.

Next year the team of 46 staff will move into sleek new premises in Ghuznee St in central Wellington, another hands-on project worked

TREASURES FROM THE DAME KIRI TE KANAWA COLLECTION WITH IMPORTANT & RARE ART AUCTION - 7:00PM TUESDAY 10 APRIL On view daily from Tuesday 3rd April - Tuesday 10 April at International Art Centre, 202 Parnell Road, Auckland Catalogue www.fineartauction.co.nz Published catalogue $25 order now 0800 800 322

DON BINNEY Karuhiruhi, Te Henga Oil on canvas 1780 x 840 $250,000 - 350,000

46

viva.co.nz

INTERNATIONAL ART CENTRE 202 Parnell Road Auckland Ph 09 3794010

CHARLES F GOLDIE Tamati Peririri Oil on canvas 450 x 375 $800,000 - 1,200,000

on alongside her husband and business partner Zoran Barbalich, a property developer in charge of Antipodes’ previous offices too.

Somehow, during her jam-packed work day, Elizabeth has been squeezing in time to hunt down materials for the glass and marble interior.

It’s the little things that help keep her sane, she says. Family time, a cuddle with the family’s beloved bulldog Molly, and an essential morning coffee stop at local favourite, Prefab. “Then I’m ready for the day and its challenges. I’m not a person to dwell on things, and the mantra ‘just do it’ is one I follow religiously.”

MY FAVOURITE THINGS

1

French antique chandelier

We bought this several years ago when we were lucky enough to be in the South of France with our children. We were staying at a B&B whose owner had a shed full of antiques that she sold “when someone turned up”.

2

Crucifix from Buenos Aires

This is the most beautiful item we own. I brought it back to New Zealand in my carry-on luggage, wrapped in my son’s clothing to keep it protected. Thankfully it survived the journey.

3

Rocket espresso machine

Coffee is a crucial part of life for most Wellingtonians and I love to drink a perfect ristretto. Good coffee is key, also, for the Antipodes team and at the office we have two Rocket espresso machines.

4

1970s ceramic pottery jug and cups

I found this lovingly handmade ceramic set at a marvellous second-hand shop in Pio Pio. I adore its design and the way the cups hold the ideal amount of tea.

5

Flying dog painting by Dean Proudfoot

Dean is a Wellington-based artist whose work I love and admire for its rich use of colour and contemporary approach to the ideal New Zealand lifestyle. I have three of Dean’s paintings around the house and they add colour and style. This one is my favourite.

AT HOME

DESIGN NOTEBOOK

INSPIRED BY ATHFIELD

We take inspiration from the colours, forms and materials of the iconic Khandallah home featured on page 39

From art to object, we round up Wellington’s best and brightest

SHOTS FIRED

As the political epicenter of New Zealand, Wellington sees its share of protests and shouting matches in the Beehive’s debating chamber. But New Zealand photographer Joe Dowling’s new exhibition at Precinct 35, opening tonight, is a reminder to be grateful for our culture of free speech and relatively tame political dissent. Curfew Yellow is a two-month-long study of the way violent political oppression in the northern Kashmir and Jammu areas of India has led to a society stripped of its historic identity; disenfranchised, denied, deflated. Dowling is a former commercial photographer who has spent the last four years visiting and photographing conflict-torn areas in the Middle East and Asia, financing his awarenessraising projects with freelance work and stints as a gallery technician. Catch the exhibition at Precinct 35 before it closes on April 19. 35 Ghuznee St

Emilee Ottoman POA from David Shaw Furniture. Davidshaw.co.nz

Concrete Pillar Candle

by Fume, $49, from Fumeproducts.com

Moonstone Pillow, $169, from Penneyandbennett.co.nz

Crystal Method

Product designer Alex Buckman’s Colony Light series was born while he was studying design at Victoria University in Wellington. “I did my Masters on using 3D printing to create lighting systems, and that was the starting point for the development of the lights.” The intricate cellular structure of the aluminium shades would be extremely difficult to achieve using traditional manufacturing methods, he says. Although the lights are rendered in a man-made material, the concept behind their form comes from nature. “They’re part of trying to create a place where humans can feel less stressed in an artificial, built environment through integrating natural forms.” Although Alex has recently moved to Auckland, he has several projects on the go in Wellington, including a private residential project that will feature Colony Lights. Look for more of Alex’s work in design store Yoyo at The Woolstore on Thorndon Quay, or visit Alexbuckman.com.

Apex Shelf by Tim Webber Design, $210, from Timwebberdesign.com

Blue Ray Chair by Ryder Jones, $900, from Precinctonline.co.nz

JFGLJJI 5FI.1GFI7 &A6 !M''A# !N%D9 )##<K<&> &%6 =M>A #)&>A+++

MARCH

MADNESS SALE! $%!<N)&% D%#&A# %MNC%%# 8%M&>A !AN *@@:( $%!<N)&% D%#&A# %MNC%%# 8%M&>A !AN *@@:(

UP TO

50%

OFF

6 D Link Drive, Wairau Park , North Shore, Auckland 108 Carlton Gore Road, Newmarket, Auckland 238 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea, Wellington E( /%#&<&>!<CA L#<KA- 0<&>!8)&C- "MD98)&C $= (: ;E? E?;( 666+$%4&NA#!+D%+&2 3%M#! H)N E(,B- HM& EE,B

0800 55 7373 rugsdirect.co.nz viva.co.nz

47

INTRODUCING PANDORA SHINE A NEW collection of 18k gold-plated sterling silver jewellery

DO SHINE BRIGHT

Visit us in-store or at pandora.net