5 minute read
Devonport Fashion on the Wharf
Echo.
Cosi Fan Tutte. Eva & Elle.
Devonport’s Fashion on the Wharf
Thursday October 20th, 7pm, Devonport Ferry Terminal
Benefitz and Channel Magazine have signed on as a key VIP sponsor to support Devonport Business Association’s Fashion on the Wharf event for 2022.
Devonport Business Association is delivering Fashion on the Wharf for the third time with the 2022 event. The main sponsor this year is leading North Shore real estate company Harcourts Cooper & Co., which has one of its busiest offices in Devonport. Other sponsors joining Harcourts Cooper & Co, Benefitz and Channel Magazine include Godward Design, Green (natural soft drinks), Devonport Car Company, Devon on the Wharf and Tam Dental.
First staged in 2019, Fashion on the Wharf celebrates the collections of Devonport’s fashion retailers on a magical night of glitz and glamour. This year, an added highlight will be a Devonport Flowers’ wedding showcase.
Participating retailers include Sills & Co; Blue Illusion; Annah Stretton; Devonport Hospice Shop; Devonport Optometrists; Devonport Flowers; Yarntons for Women; Yarntons for Men; Cosi Fan Tutte; and ECHO Designer Boutique.
The event will be MC'ed by Shane Cortese. Entertainment will be provided by ritzy trio, The Madeleines.
Students from Cut Above Academy, including recent graduate and Devonport local Siobhan Taylor for the third year running, will be doing hair and make-up,
The evening will include a live auction of luxury items with all proceeds going to Breast Cancer Cure.
This is the only event of its kind to have been held in the ferry terminal and once again the terminal space will be transformed into a stunningly dramatic location that you would barely recognise!
There are Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze ticket options across VIP tables, allocated seating ($69-$89) and general admission standing ($59).
All ticket holders will be treated to complimentary bubbles and canapés on arrival and will receive a luxury goodie bag to take home.
With only 300 tickets available, this event is expected to sell out well in advance of the event – as it has in previous years.
Get your tickets now! Available via a link at: www.devonport.co.nz
Local Life
In Channel Magazine we love highlighting people in our community who make a difference. Two local Devonport peninsula people, Kate and Lauren, have created ‘Local Life NZ’ a social media entity doing similar online. We love what they do, so we’re now collaborating with them to include content in Channel Mag. This month they profile Nic, Karl and Cary.
Nic
“Your life goes around your grief,” says Nic Russell, in her incredibly pragmatic, understated way. “Grief brought me to my knees, but when it’s shared, you somehow feel less lonely.”
Nic lost her three-year-old daughter Kenzie to cancer in 2005; the same year Nic discovered she had aggressive breast cancer. Fighting through the fog of grief, Nic embarked on a set of sporting challenges as a way of coping with the trauma and pushing through the pain. The former adventure sports junkie scaled rock faces, swam the open ocean, ran marathons, competed in triathlons and hiked mountains. And yet her ‘malfunctioning body’ had other ideas. A degenerative heart condition and then Parkinson’s disease has put paid to her extreme sports quest, but Nic’s certainly not one to sit still.
This year has given her the chance to take stock of what’s most important. Family – son Conor and dog Billy – are her focus. Her home’s a sanctuary where she can retreat from life’s cruellest blows. Friends and community are overwhelmingly supportive, always there for her. “I couldn’t do it without them,” says Nic.
Her lifetime passion is Kenzie’s Gift – the charity she founded to support children, young people and families affected by serious illness or grief – and she still takes part in group open-water swims to keep the spotlight firmly fixed on what’s closest to her heart.
“My goal is to live the best life I can,” says Nic. “That’s the best way to honour Kenzie – the strength of resilience.” And that she has in spades. — Nic Russell, founder of Kenzie's Gift, kenziesgift.com. The charity is launching Superhero Fridays on Friday, 18 November in conjunction with Children's Grief Awareness Week, 17-23 November 2022.
Karl
“I live by the 3Rs – reuse, recycle and repair. Sure, we sell a lot of new laptops, custom- built desktops and accessories, but people are more into getting things fixed and refurbished now.
“For many of us, being online during lockdown was essential. It enabled us to work, learn, chat, play, laugh and cry. The sense of connection and all it represented was huge. It was a lifeline for many. I think people have hung on to that, especially with so many still working from home.
“I get call-outs at all hours. Wifi needs to be fixed, screens adjusted, cables delivered, cameras connected – all so we can keep in touch.
“I’m doing a lot more home automation now: security cameras and smoke detectors, that sort of thing. One guy uses his camera to see what the dog’s been up to. We do it because we can, I guess.” – Karl Reynolds, founder and owner, Clean Green Computers
Cary
“Art is part of the fabric of our community here in Devonport,” says Cary, who’s owned and run Flagstaff Gallery for the past seven years. "Our aim is to create a vital link between artists and their audience and for the gallery to be a warm, inviting and expressive space." Everyone is welcome to visit and enjoy the art.
Cary has lived in six countries and 13 different houses in the past 24 years.
She decided to buy Flagstaff Gallery, which has been in Devonport for 29 years, over a bottle of wine. The decision, which Cary’s husband Doug described as a romantic one, saved the gallery from closing its doors for good. Even though they’d only been in Devonport just short of a year, they felt passionate that the gallery should stay firmly local.
