Nelson Magazine - August 2023

TO AN

Stockists of Magnolia Pearl, La Bottega Di Brunella, Meg By Design & Beacon Hill’s Closet

Location, Location...

The Coastal View Lifestyle Village in Nelson is located in the Tāhunanui Hills, close to the beach and the city… and overlooking Tasman Bay. A fully integrated “new generation” lifestyle village with a premium resthome/hospital complex... and dementia centre.

It’s easy to hibernate during winter in Nelson. Short days, cold nights and more rain than usual make the weather perfect for reading, watching movies or early nights, but Nelson is a bit of a village and a front-page story in the Nelson Weekly this month reminded me how important it is to continue to support local businesses.

And it isn’t exactly a chore, our CBD is full of wonderful businesses owned and operated by those among us willing to try and make our city even better. Interesting stores and vibrant restaurants make a more exciting place to be and I’m grateful to those that battle against online competition and through tough winters to ensure our city continues to be the heart of our region.

I would encourage all Nelsonians to get out and support our local retailers in the Nelson and Tasman region whenever you can, we’re really so lucky to have them.

And a good place to start is shopping for Father’s Day. Inside this month’s edition we have ideas for the man, or men, in your life for Father’s Day, and all of them are from local retailers so check out pages 50 – 51 for some ideas.

EDITOR

Sarah Board | editor@nelsonmag.co.nz

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Tessa Jaine | tess@topsouthmedia.co.nz

DESIGN

Kara-Shay Manson, Patrick Connor and Kylie Owens

CONTRIBUTORS

Judene Edgar, Britt Coker, Matt Lawrey, Marissa Kelaher, Kate Dyer, Mackenzie Charleton, Ray Salisbury

ADVERTISING

Kirsten Ammann | kirsten@topsouthmedia.co.nz

Kara-Shay Manson | kara@topsouthmedia.co.nz

PUBLISHER

Top South Media

563 Main Rd, Stoke topsouthmedia.co.nz

issuu.com/nelsonweekly

My father, he’s had a lasting and continuous impression on my life. He’ll be 86 next month.

Who’s a man who’s had a lasting impression on your life?

My dad. Things that my dad did, I try to do differently. I feel like I’m a better person and better in my relationships by learning from that.

My husband Ivan Guy, he’s pretty good. We’ve been married 64 years and we’re still going!

My dad, he’s been a role model for my whole life. I’ve even been following in his footsteps in my career path. Even though he doesn’t live near me now, we are still really close.

Make dad’s day with a custom hand painted figurine of himself! These delightful sets can be used as playsets for tamariki or Emma can create personalised family portraits. Check them out at @folk_nz To be into win two custom-painted Folk for Father’s Day email your best Dad photo to editor@nelsonmag.co.nz

Tina Mashall

South Island Robin at Nelson Lakes National Park. Congratulations to Tina Marshall who won a Bondi Sands Technocolor self tanning pack.

Kate Wylie

Krystal Hall

Nev Masina

Bev Guy

Meet Linda, the Clinical Manager at Green Gables.

Ready to offer care without compromise.

For Oceania, providing tailored support in a place that feels like home is what great care is all about. Green Gables’ Clinical Manager Linda sees this as her purpose.

She shares that “Spending time with residents and being part of their journey” is what’s most rewarding in her role.

“Green Gables is not only a place to live, but a place to enjoy every day.” From live music and happy hour, to activities and outings, it’s the perfect combination of continuing to live the life you love, with that little bit of extra help.

Our range of spacious Care Suites feature all the comforts of home. Share a cup of tea with family in your own kitchenette and living area, or take in the Nelson sun from your balcony or patio. All with the peace of mind that our staff are there to provide care should you need them.

To learn more about Care Suites that offer both Rest Home and Hospital level care, call us today on 0800 333 688.

No referral required.

241 Bridge Street, Nelson oceaniahealthcare.co.nz

Headliners

What made news in our region...

New look for clock

Queen Street’s famous clock on the Nelson Bays Primary Trust building is back with a whole new look for 2023. Consumer-owned electricity lines business Network Tasman Limited installed the 600kg unit last month. Corporate services manager, Kerry Haycock, says, “We are pleased to bring time and temperature back to the people of Richmond. The clock has been a feature of Queen Street for a number of years, and it is good to finally have a replacement.” The clock was taken off the building a year ago due to it developing a fault and has been replaced with up-to-date technology.

Cricket is coming

Nelson will again play host to the best cricketers in the country, with the announcement that the Black Caps and White Ferns will both play at Saxton Oval this summer. When the first ball gets bowled it will have been over four years since international cricket was played on Saxton Oval, with Nelson Cricket’s general manager George Vance saying it’s been in the works for a while. Kicking off the summer will be the Black Caps on 20 December as they take on Bangladesh in the second ODI of their 2023/24 tour.

Frustration for forestry

Some forestry contractors are “up against the wall” as the industry goes through a major downturn, forcing layoffs and sending skilled workers overseas. The downturn is the result of China’s economic woes creating less demand for logs for its construction industry. At the same time, costs have sky-rocketed in the past few years and with reduced revenue, forest owners are reducing their harvest operations. Some local businesses are down 30 – 40%, resulting in innovative alternatives to be pursued, with some contractors turning scrap wood into firewood, joining planting crews or pruning.

Six locals WoW with this year’s entries

Six locals have made it to the finals of this year’s World of Wearable Art (WoW) competition; Nelson residents Gill Saunders, Betty Ross and Keith Marshall, Wakefield resident Ben Ng-Wai Shing, Motueka resident Peter Wakeman and Collingwood resident Christine Wingels have been named in the list of 120 finalists for the competition, to be held in September/October. This will be general practitioner Ben Ng-Wai Shing’s second time in the finals, he says he is “stoked” to be named a finalist and hoped his creation would “bring a smile to people’s faces”.

Nerfs hit NCG

Every Sunday foam bullets fly across the Nelson College for Girls (NCG) gymnasium in a new initiative aimed at promoting fun and fitness for all ages. On Sundays the gymnasium is transformed into a Nerf gun battle zone for the community, with guns, bullets and obstacles supplied free of charge, plus four onsite staff to ensure health and safety. NCG sports director Jon Routhan describes the game as “not like paintball, where you get the bruises,” and says all sections of society can get involved and stay active. 30 troops will be locked and loaded for each shooting session; bookings can be made through Jon at NCG.

Aotearoa’s oldest porcupine

Diallo the cape porcupine celebrated his 20th birthday at Natureland last month. Officially the country’s oldest porcupine, Diallo tucked into a special baked treat and a fruit and vegetable mountain alongside parkgoers, staff and his spiky friend, Akoko, who turns 16 in the coming months. Animal care team leader Jos Kater said the occasion was “quite a milestone… we’ll make sure he has a good life for the rest of his years. I’m happy that people came in to celebrate his special day being the oldest porcupine in New Zealand.”

Things we love

Nelson is now home to a brand-new handcrafted supporter’s bench, courtesy of the All Blacks. All Blacks and Tasman Mako teammates Finlay Christie, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Shannon Frizell unveiled the bench at Botanic Sports Field at the end of last month. Nelson was chosen as one of 26 communities across the country to receive the gift from the All Blacks to acknowledge the public support ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France in September. The bench, which is carved from native wood, has the inscription –Me Eke Mai – our bench is your bench – thanks for all your support.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“I think especially when your budget doesn’t align with your dreams, it’s about being content in the in-between.”

Simone Cardwell Pages 54-57

Getting to know... Ryan Edwards

Winner of NBS Dancing for a Cause and Sport

Tasman’s active recreation lead, Ryan Edwards, shares his love of sport, life lessons, and what he never shuts up about.

At the weekend you’ll find me...

Most likely chasing my three sports-mad girls (my wife Victoria, and daughters, Holly and Lucy) around some sort of Nelson sporting complex. This can either include a swimming pool, netball court, football pitch or dance studio. However, in the summer you can find me still trying to compete with the youngsters on the cricket field.

I’m going out for dinner to...

Hands down, The Indian Café. I love a lamb Rogan Josh on any evening. Usually, my six-year-old Lucy will join me and have a butter chicken. Like father, like daughter.

At a party you’ll find me...

On the mic! My dulcet tones will ring out at the party as I like to get everyone geared up for a fun night.

I’m a real nerd about...

The history of Nelson sport. Some will know that I am a very proud son of the late Jock Edwards. Many a night over a cold beer I would quiz Dad on the local sporting heroes and pick his brains on some of the true Nelson legends. I am a passionate Nelsonian and sport has a rich history within our region.

When I need advice I go to...

My wife! Although she probably frustrates me the most out of anyone in the world, she certainly knows me best out of anyone. She has an incredible way of either challenging me, telling me to pull my head in, or offering a sympathetic ear at the right time. To top things off, her sense of humour is always on point and her advice is always perfect... even if I don’t know it at the time.

My most irrational fear is...

Life becoming boring. I would hate the day that nothing ever makes me feel slightly uncomfortable.

The most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done is...

I won’t go into detail but it involved my stag do, an open field, a lack of clothing and, unfortunately, a village hall full of elderly crochet ladies!

I will never shut up about...

I will never shut up about the incredible work that all the staff do at the Nelson Tasman Hospice. I have always had a great appreciation for what the Nelson Tasman Hospice has to offer to the community, however, I am embarrassed to say I never really had any idea. If you ever see me out and about, buy me a coffee and I will chew your ear off about it.

Ryan with his late father Jock Edwards.

Performing the Viennese Waltz at Dancing for a Cause.

Ryan’s sports mad daughters Lucy and Holly.

with

Adam Hills

Milestone Homes has had over seventeen years’ experience in building quality homes in the Nelson region and general manager Adam Hills has been with the company most of that time. He is the ideal person to ask about the current trends and challenges in the local residential building industry.

What

are the current trends in building?

We have seen a significant shift towards health and comfort with central heating/cooling becoming a significant item on the wish list for a lot of people. From a design perspective, we’re seeing a lot more use of cladding products inside for feature walls which adds impact and mixes up the textures, creating an awesome effect.

What are the challenges of building in the current economic climate?

Access to finance for clients is certainly challenging and has been for eighteen months. People’s budgets are squeezed and there are more compromises along the way.

The biggest thing we’re seeing from clients is the desire for certainty, both to give them confidence and to satisfy banking requirements when mortgages are required. They want to know the proposed length of the build and the cost. They also want a reputable builder with a long history who has weathered the storm of previous downturns. We went through the global financial crisis and things certainly aren’t as gloomy as they were back then, so although it’s challenging currently, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have a reset after crazy times. The supply chain has improved dramatically and we’re seeing construction times back down around four months or sooner and that’s giving people a lot more confidence to build. We’re even starting to offer guaranteed completion times so we’re really taking the unknown out of the mix.

Is Milestone Homes still able to ensure fixed price contracts?

We sure are. We have been offering truly fixed price contracts for nearly twelve months and that means total peace of mind for our clients. There are no provisional or prime-cost sums and no clever wording allowing us to charge extra for earthworks. We provide a written statement to our clients, and I’ve run it past lawyers to confirm that by providing this to people, there is no loophole. It is fixed and people have complete peace of mind.

Tell us about your new showhome...

We’re really excited to be opening our new showhome shortly at 52 Summersfield Boulevard by Central Park in The Meadows, Richmond. It showcases what we do and what our clients can expect if building with Milestone. There may even be a feature wall or two using exterior cladding.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

No two days are the same in the building industry, there’s never a dull moment and the awesome team that we have ensures we all have fun along the way.

milestonehomes.co.nz/locations/nelson-bays/

Gordon Toi at his tattoo studio in Māpua. Tessa Jaine

The Man and the Moko

I think we all recognise the stronghold that the generic tattoo has had on global pop culture. Once the hallmark of a sailor, its recent popularity with celebrities and millennials in particular, has seen an exponential increase in skin coverage. Some tattoos are chosen for their deep meaning to the adorned, while others are a design that’s caught the eye. A cultural tattoo is a different art form altogether and for Māori, a moko will never just be a tattoo. It is a transformational process, a statement to the world - I am Māori, and proud to be so.

Words: Britt Coker

Gordon Toi has tattooed moko on thousands of bodies over the last 20 years. He and his whanau live in Māpua where he works with his two apprentices, not just tapping into someone’s skin, but into their DNA. He became a tattooist in the nineties at a time when Māori arts were garnering greater recognition and respect.

“It's been quite phenomenal really, the rebirth of moko. It wasn't always celebrated in the very beginning. Like anything new there was apprehension and lots of questions about who, how and where and all the rest of it, but we pursued it with some vengeance and the result is what it is today, I believe. And I don't think you could sort of point your finger at one person in particular but there was definitely a multi-pronged attempt in terms of revitalising Māori tattooing, especially in the nineties, and most of the guys - there were a couple of ladies - we were all from different tribal areas and most of us worked as carvers initially, before we started doing tattooing. The carvers really had the designs so our people were coming to us and we were designing pieces, and then they would take it to the tattooist in town and he would basically mess it up. So that was the kind of situation that was motivating Māori artists to begin tattooing.”

Gordon acknowledges that every tattooist will have their own process. Although whanau are welcome in the studio, he generally prefers to be with the client without distraction as receiving a moko can be a very intense process. The easier part is usually the consultation; where it is to be placed and what it will look like. And then…

“Once the design is on the body, we then proceed to tattoo it and that’s when traditional karakia is used to clear the way, to give strength, to turn all the switches on. To make sure that the hand is steady, the mind is clear, the person is clear about their intentions of why they want it. To pay tribute to our ancestors that paved the way to allow us to have the opportunity to do the type of work that we do. We pay tribute to our dead, our living. Once the karakia is finished we commence the work, and once it starts, it must continue until it’s finished.”

A puhoro, full body tattoo, will take Gordon five days to complete with his two apprentices stretching the skin as he works. Stretching is a technique that has been used by Samoans for thousands of years so, as a cultural tattooist, Gordon trusted their skills and knowledge. The word tattoo comes from tatau, a Polynesian word meaning ‘to strike’, originating from the tapping sounds the tool makes. Gordon believes incorporating stretching into his practice has allowed him to excel in the artform and to streamline the experience for his clients. But stretching or not, the process is still intense and requires everyone to remain calm and relaxed.

“From the beginning you are metaphorically ripping them apart in a very uncomfortable space, and you’re allowing all sorts of things to be released like historical information, knowledge, trauma, love, hate. All those emotions are caught up in it and you're allowing that to enter or exit the body and then they actually start to rebuild themselves and their transformation literally happens before your very eyes

and it's quite inspiring. You think at the end of the day that we would be very, very tired through the work, but in actual fact we're all on a little bit of a high.” Gordon’s work is irreversibly changing how they look at themselves. Not just on the outside, but the inside too.

“Every person that we’ve done, just the transformation of their lives externally, through work, their relationships, everything. When you go down that deep, there are so many lessons to learn from that, that you can utilise outside the environment of our moko studio and this is part of the process of teaching somebody to be a better person, a stronger person, a warrior... It’s a spiritual journey, a physical journey, a mental journey, and if it all goes accordingly to the way that we expect, it is an amazing, amazing journey that unfortunately can only be witnessed by those who are there. I just love hearing how the boys have gone on to better their relationships with their partners, their children, their grandchildren and their work. Everything. It's really a celebration of spirit and of culture.”

Once complete, Gordon will record a short video for them - oral history of the 21st century - providing an

explanation of the moko for the client to keep as an educational resource for their whanau, and reference for their adult children should they ever wish to have their own moko.

When it comes to tattooing the moko on non-Māori, traditional tattooists are divided. Gordon sees it as a cultural and societal win. Consequently, he has tattooed many clients around the world including ‘half of Holland’, which sounds a lot, but considering he’s made regular trips to the Netherlands over a twentyyear timespan, that number might not be too far off. Many non-Māori might think of a moko as being a face tattoo, but the name is used more broadly than that. But during the first half of the 20th century, a moko on the face was typically all that could be seen, so the connection may have been established by nonMāori then.

“The whole body itself has certain specific names and each tribe has a name for specific parts of the body … It's like anything, you have to work your way up there and kind of prove your worth, not for anybody else but for yourself. And I think when you [the client] finally make that decision to moko your face, it’s a celebration of your tenacity to identify as

“It’s a spiritual journey, a physical journey, a mental journey, and if it all goes accordingly to the way that we expect, it is an amazing, amazing journey that unfortunately can only be witnessed by those who are there.”

Māori these days. Also, to connect your genealogy, recognise your achievements of yourself in terms of your contribution to your people, to your whanau, to your iwi, to Māoridom.”

Although most of his clients are men, Gordon believes it was wahine toa that kept moko alive during the decades when tattoos were not widely acceptable.

“It was our women that continued to carry the chin moko (moko kauae) through the period of time where the early colonisers and things like religion really had a major impact on our abilities to express ourselves as Māori, including the language. But our women continued to carry that responsibility of moko. Equally so, the carvers of the day were transferring moko design back into the carvings so we are very, very fortunate that our ancestors left those signposts for us to follow, which allows us to enrich that artistic expression as modern day artists.”

Moko served many guises. It could represent your job, your status, and equality (“It made us all the same so there wasn't anyone better than anyone else”). As a disguise too, where a chief working in the gardens may not be so easily identified by visiting iwi until they were close enough to be determined friend or foe. These reasons have naturally morphed with time,

but as a nonverbal form of expression, the moko still has plenty to say.

As part of the jolt of colonisation, the initial instinct for early settlers would have been to remain culturally separate and safe; more secure identifying with what was known, than what could be. But we are all more comfortable in our nation’s skin now. Slowly shedding one for another, we are beginning to recognise more clearly our strength in unity, and our uniqueness from the rest of the world.

“Back in the 80s, if you generally saw somebody with a moko on their face there is a good chance they were gang-affiliated, but it's not like that anymore and it will not be like that forever more. Moko is definitely a celebration of Māori recognising their tino rangatiratanga, their status as indigenous Māori and I think that is significant for New Zealanders everywhere. We had this particular type of culture that is not in a museum. It’s living with us side by side, we see it every day now, it's generalised through our sports players, our movies, political parties, it’s everywhere now and I think New Zealand should really celebrate the fact that it's a part of all of us. It is not a Māori thing, it's a New Zealand thing, it’s an Aotearoa thing and that’s something to really celebrate.”

1. Working on a carving in his studio. 2. A Hei Tiki commission of Gordon’s. Made from a very hard Garnet type stone, sourced locally from the Aniseed River. 3. Gordon (right) assisted by Ross McCabe, working on a traditional bodysuit commonly referred to as Puhoro. 4. A unique piece worn by mostly men, created in dedication to one’s ancestry and family. The process is called Te Whariki Tapu o Uetonga; the sacred mat of Uetonga. Recipient: Jonni Mei-Edwards, Kai Taa, artist; Gordon Toi, Ringa tautoko, apprentice artist: Ian Nesta Andrews. Supplied.

Life, full on

Mountain biker, body builder, volunteer, community champion, mother, activist, DJ. While some heroes don’t wear capes, they certainly wear a lot of hats, as Judene Edgar discovers.

Sarah Kerby wouldn’t describe herself as a hero, but for the women she’s inspired, encouraged and supported, she definitely is. For Sarah however, none of it was planned; it’s all been about finding “her people” and putting her values into action. Growing up she was a self-described bookworm. “I couldn’t read enough. I’d read an entire Harry Potter book in a night.” But these days, “my two favourite past-times are mountain biking and smashing the patriarchy,” she laughs.

Mountain biking hasn’t always been her passion. In fact, when Sarah was growing up she considered sport “absolute punishment. If it was cross country day, I’d do anything to get out of it”.

All of that changed after having her first child, Baillie. She wanted to lose some weight and get fitter so she started walking up the Grampians. She did this every day. Then she started running up the Grampians. Six months later she bought her first gym membership “and it exploded after that”.

During her second pregnancy she maintained her fitness as much as possible, and after Willy was born, she wanted a challenge. “I’d always loved weightlifting at the gym, so I wanted to see how far I could take it.”

She took it all the way to the podium! Eight months later winning the Tall Novice Figure category at the National Amateur Body Builders' Association competition in Christchurch.

“My mental health really improves when I’m training, exercising and getting out there,” she says, “and winning was totally unexpected. I just wanted to get stage ready”. However, as a single parent of two young boys, things weren’t always easy. Fortuitously, a friend of hers posted on Facebook about the charity she was volunteering for – Bellyful Invercargill – being named joint winners in the Trust Power Community Awards. Bellyful provides support to whānau with babies or young children by cooking and delivering free nutritious meals.

While this was the very service Sarah was needing, she knew that others were needing it too. So, she set about establishing a Nelson branch. She held a public meeting and received an influx of volunteers, and very soon sponsors started coming on board. Within a few hours of launching the programme they received their first referral.

“It really reinforced the need, and made me feel good to support other new parents,” says Sarah. “We now make around 800 meals each year, supporting about 150 families. Our sponsors are part of our Bellyful whānau and they often come and help us cook. They are good people, good businesses, that share our values.”

Bumping into another friend soon after, she was invited to go mountain biking. The day after, lying on her back in a ditch looking up at the Kaiteriteri sky having just fallen off the borrowed mountain bike, Sarah was hooked. The next day she bought a secondhand bike for $300 to feed her new-found obsession.

Racing down hills at speed, or slogging up to the top of mountains, Sarah describes the isolation and calm that comes with mountain biking as cathartic. “It gives me such a sense of calmness – it’s my form of meditation,” she says. “You’re so focused on not nailing yourself that you can’t think about anything else.”

She has shared her passion for bikes with her two boys, Baillie (10) and Willy (5). Baillie “lives on his bike” and goes riding with friends, and Willy has recently advanced to an e-balance bike. “Biking is so good for them and there are so many great opportunities for family biking in Nelson Tasman.”

And to further share her joy, she also volunteered to help run the Nelson Mountain Bike Club’s mini-series, supporting other children to get a taste of the thrills and spills of mountain biking.

LEFT: Sarah’s friends organised a graduation for her after she couldn’t attend her own one. Nick Gastrell | 1. Along with smashing the patriarchy, mountain biking is one of Sarah’s favourite past-times. Grant Stirling | 2. DJing at upper Trafalgar Street’s New Year’s Eve Countdown. Dos Pistolas Studio

Her volunteer work and community activism brought her to the attention of Rachel Boyack who, at that time, was also a keen community volunteer and union representative. “I was always left wing, but it took me a while to find my people who shared my values.” Rachel has been Sarah’s mentor for the past 10 years and became her employer three years ago. And when Sarah’s son Willy was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (cancer) shortly after he turned four, she says that Rachel was supportive and flexible, enabling her to work as much as she could, while providing the care that Willy needed.

“When Willy was diagnosed it felt like my whole life was taken away. My eldest son wasn’t allowed in the hospital due to Covid so I was continually having to choose between my children – it was a lose-lose situation. Being able to do a little bit of work when I could helped me to maintain a sense of normality and identity”.

The past 18 months have been a blur of chemotherapy, radiation treatment, infections, surgeries, blood transfusions, immunotherapy, emergency procedures, and more. Willy has over 1,000 beads that bear testimony to everything he has been through. The Beads of Courage programme is run by the Child Cancer Foundation with each bead telling a story of a child’s journey, honouring their strength, courage, and resilience.

Treatment has now finished, pending one more scan and then three-monthly scans to monitor his health. Sarah thanks her ‘village’ for their support. In addition to Rachel’s ongoing support, Sarah’s grandmother and aunts have also been mainstays, supporting her and the boys, as well as her partner Sam, who “has been a pillar of strength to all of us.”

There were also many gestures of support from friends and the wider Nelson community, from organising quiz nights and selling daffodils, to grocery shopping, baking, a photo book, and massage vouchers.

She was also supported by Bellyful, whose services had since expanded, now providing meals for young families coping with serious illness and those with financial hardship. And as a thank-you, Sarah stepped back into the volunteer co-ordinator role once more, taking over from Anita Watson who had been the co-ordinator for the past for three years.

“I was a Bellyful recipient while Willy was sick, so when Anita stepped down it was a great opportunity to show my appreciation,” says Sarah. “Having received so much support over the past 18 months, I was actually looking for a way to give back, so I’m very happy to be doing this.”

“My two favourite past-times are mountain biking and smashing the patriarchy.”

Despite the toll that supporting her son took on her and her whole family, she says that they still had to find some normality and joy, celebrating the good so that their life wasn’t drowned out by the bad.

One highlight was DJing Nelson’s 2022 New Year;’s Eve party, welcoming in the new year with thousands of Nelsonians at the Cawthron steps. This wasn’t the first New Year’s Eve party DJing for Sarah, AKA Ladykerbs. Ladykerbs has DJed at clubs, festivals, weddings and community events all over New Zealand and Bali, supporting industry heavyweights such as Phace, Savage, P Money, Aphrodite and Ahoribuzz.

Sarah’s first stint as Ladykerbs was while working as a bartender in the Vinyl Bar in Invercargill. “They had such a cool collection of records, and I got good at reading people and guessing what they liked,” she says. After shifting to Nelson when she was 21, she entered a DJ competition for a festival at the Rakaia Gorge. “I’d bought my own controller and entered a recorded mix, winning a spot at the gig in front of 400 people. I was such a newbie that I didn’t even know how to plug my own gear in, so the person before me had to help me,” she laughs.

Another highlight was a surprise graduation ceremony held on the banks of the Maitai River. Sleepless nights spent in hospital aren’t the most conducive place for finishing a Masters’ degree, but she finished it nonetheless. However, she was sitting at Willy’s beside when her graduation ceremony took place, so friends organised a surprise ceremony complete with procession, bagpipers, balloon columns, singer,

and Willy carrying her degree on a silk pillow. “I was absolutely blown away,” she says.

Her thesis ‘’A woman’s place is in the house … of representatives”, came in response to her door knocking to support Rachel Boyack’s election campaign in 2020. “When you’ve had 18,000 conversations with people in your region, what do you do with all that?” she questions. “The focus of my degree was about helping good progressive women to get elected. I also produced a booklet to support women in election techniques because much of the existing material was about women having to change their appearance or conduct.”

While she’s delighted that both parliament and the cabinet have reached gender parity for the first time in history, she says that we still have a long way to go. “I like the traditional approach to campaigning which is about forming genuine relationships, listening to people, and connecting over shared values, so that’s the basis of my election strategy guide.”

In addition to working for Parliamentary Services for the past five years, Sarah is now Hub Chair, Te Tau Ihu - New Zealand Labour Party and co-chair of the Labour Women’s Sector.

“I understand my privilege from so many people helping me and I acknowledge that so much has happened by chance because of the opportunities afforded to me. I have a deep sense of responsibility to use my privilege, to try and help make an easier path for others,” she says. “Regardless of what happens, I will always try to find a way to give back.”

LEFT: Sarah with Labour MP Rachel Boyack and Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor. Nick Gastrell | ABOVE: Sarah and partner Sam with Willie and Baillie. Rachael Brown Photography

Living the

dream

Ian Vincent and Senay Taormina have had the roles and lives that many creatives dream of, and they did too. But shifting to Nelson in 2021 marked the start of a new chapter and a new dream come true. They talk to Judene Edgar about their love of dance, performing overseas, and new baby Luca.

Ian’s Mum Tulouna taught him some of his most valuable lessons in life – don’t quit, practice makes perfect, you need to work hard, don’t waste your money. This last lesson changed the course of Ian’s life at seven years old. Tulouna had bought dance classes for his younger sister Leeza but realised too late that she was too young for the classes. Not wanting to waste her money, all of a sudden Ian had to attend dance classes – jazz ballet.

“I would tell people I was doing jazz. I didn’t want to say ballet,” he says. “I hated it for the longest time.” Despite this he enjoyed the performing, and ultimately, that’s what kept him going back. Leeza also took up dance, and Tulouna would hire a hall in the weekends so they could practice for exams. “Mum was a big believer in practice makes perfect,” says Ian. “One mistake in a routine and we’d have to start

at the beginning.” For nearly 10 years he danced 20 plus hours every week. “There was many a teenage tantrum because I wanted to hang out with my mates, but I look back now and am so thankful for everything mum did for me.”

A few years after starting jazz ballet, he took up tap, and learned the drums and piano. “Tap is where it was at for me. It was all about my love of rhythm.” A friend of his was making a segment for Tagata Pasifika and asked if he could film him. The video of the tap-dancing Samoan boy from Te Awamutu came to the attention of Eileen Frost who worked at the Wellington Performing Arts Centre.

“I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted to do after school, and then one day the phone rang and it was Eileen offering me a scholarship for a two-year dance course.”

Tessa Jaine

The next year Stomp came to town. Stomp is a performance group originating from Brighton, England, that uses a variety of everyday objects – brooms, dustbin lids, shopping carts, their own bodies – as percussion instruments to create a physical theatre performance using rhythms, acrobatics and pantomime. Without warning, the company founder and managing director, Jenny Stevenson, arranged for Ian to meet with the directors of Stomp … the next day!

“Jenny had heard I played drums but hadn’t actually seen me play, but she organised for me to meet with Stomp. I met them and played some rhythm games with them and they took my contact details, but I didn’t really think much of it until I received an email a few months later with ‘Stomp’ in the subject line inviting me to an audition at the Sydney Opera House.”

Auditions are normally every two to four years in London or New York, but Ian had the first and only solo audition in Stomp’s 32-year history. He was flown over to Sydney but he left quite disappointed having torn his hamstring during the audition and feeling like he didn’t perform his best. But a month later he received another email, and this time it was asking him to join them in Brighton for eight weeks training. As soon as he turned 18, he was on the plane … but the audition process wasn’t quite over yet. He still had to prove himself before he was able to perform. Determined not to let the opportunity go to waste, Ian had his mother’s voice in his head as he practised and practised to ensure he made the cut … and sure enough he did.

“Initially I thought I’d stay with the troupe for three years. I performed on West End for two years and

then started touring, so stayed longer, and then I just didn’t quit. It really was my dream job.”

But, used to a strong work ethic, on top of rehearsing and performing he decided to expand his repertoire and took up photography. This then expanded to editing and post-production, and then he started doing freelance work.

In 2012 while performing with Stomp at the London Olympics closing ceremony he met Australian dancer Senay Taormina. Unlike Ian, Senay had wanted to dance for as long as she could remember. And after a long wait and lots of insistence, she finally started dancing at age three! In fact, she even found a picture of a ballet dancer in the local yellow pages, ripped it out and gave it to her mother. She picked well – the Sheila Laing Academy of Performing Arts.

Classically trained in ballet, Sheila taught her students a huge amount of discipline and good practice. “I lived and breathed dance,” says Senay. “As young as I remember, I always wanted to dance, and I owe my whole career to Sheila.”

The Sheila Laing Academy was the first dance school in South Australia to include full-time students, and so Senay completed her Year 11 and Year 12 studies via correspondence so she could dance full-time. In Year 12, Sheila took a group of students to the UK to audition for various schools.

“I had been very tunnel-visioned, only wanting to look at ballet schools,” says Senay, “but when we went to Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, the atmosphere there was like walking into the movie ‘Fame’. There was so much excitement and joy.” A scholarship offer meant that Senay’s mum returned back to Australia

Ian Vincent (second from right) performed in Stomp for 15 years.

alone and Senay started studying musical theatre and jazz at Laine Theatre Arts along with two other Sheila Laing students.

“They called us the Australian aliens,” laughs Senay. “We did things very differently and sounded very different, but I loved it there and my love for theatre and jazz took over.”

About a year into her course, she saw an opportunity to do full production shows on a Norwegian Cruise Line. She skipped school to audition and next minute the 18-year-old was headed to Miami and a career was born. Her CV reads like a dream – TV, film, commercials, theatre, tours, cruises, music videos, cabarets, award shows, major events – but Senay says that there was a lot of grafting along the way.

“The industry is tough but incredible. But I knew it was what I was meant to do,” she says. “Once you start you keep going, but while my CV looks amazing, there are a lot of noes and heartache that you don’t get to see.”

Between the tours and the cruises, London was her homebase for over 20 years. On one of her breaks, she was asked to perform in the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, meeting a kiwi dancer called Ian. But Senay was ready to try something different. Like her mentor Sheila, she wanted to try her hand at teaching.

Six months after they met, Senay was offered a job in Edinburgh at the MGA Academy of Performing Arts creating the dance course, and Ian went with her. “It was an incredibly challenging role, teaching, choreographing, creating content and marking, but also really fulfilling watching the students on their journey,” she says. The one year turned into fourand-a-half years, with Ian coming back to his new home in Scotland between tours. But then Senay’s dream role came up in The Bodyguard musical in Stuttgart. “I had auditioned a few times previously, getting to the end rounds multiple times, but hadn’t been successful, but this time felt different,” she says. So, she “pulled a sickie” and headed to Germany for the audition. Despite being the oldest dancer in the room, she was successful. “I’d never felt more comfortable in my skin,” she says. “It was meant to be at that time.”

They moved to Stuttgart where Senay spent the next one-and-a-half years in her dream show, and despite being the oldest dancer, never once had to take a day off for illness or injury. But it also marked the end of her full-time performing career. Having achieved all of her career goals, the time now felt right to start the next phase of her career, this time as a talent agent. She’d worked as a stager for a production company, and having supported her Edinburgh students transition into careers, it felt like the right move. It was then that the Dark Horse Agency was born.

Like everyone else in the performing arts industry, Covid signalled significant changes. Ian’s Visa had run out and with 120 clients on the books, Senay was spending a lot of her time guiding careers, providing industry support and teaching, so they decided to use the opportunity to shake things up. Ian shifted back to New Zealand in 2021 and put up a FB post outlining his photography, editing and post-production skills. Tim Williams from Lumiere Production Studio in Nelson saw his post and offered him a job.

Covid kept them apart for twelve months with Senay unable to get into New Zealand, but eventually they were reunited in Nelson. Despite being a far cry from London, they are loving the new experience.

“Adjusting took a bit of time, but it’s really cool, and now that we have a child it’s the perfect place for bringing up a family,” says Ian.

And Senay went back to London for work in February and says that she couldn’t get back here fast enough! Now, with four-week-old Luca, Senay is able to work from home managing clients with the help of two staff members in the UK. And in addition to working at Lumiere, Ian has recently been working with students at Nayland College, teaching them some of his Stomp techniques which they recently showcased in the annual dance performance.

“We’re enjoying this new chapter in our lives. It’s a little day-by-day with a newborn, but there’s so much creative stuff to get involved with, it really is living the dream,” says Ian.

“We’re enjoying this new chapter in our lives. It’s a little day-by-day with a newborn, but there’s so much creative stuff to get involved with, it really is living the dream.”

Ian Vincent and Senay Taormina are enjoying living in Nelson. Ian Vincent

Teaching digital defence

Ten years after an orchestrated, sustained and vicious series of attacks that nearly broke her, Becky Duncan is back with with a mission to empower and educate women to take control of their online security and safety.

The successful author, business owner and web developer was working online with another developer to build a new website when things started to go wrong. Nothing big at first, but it escalated quickly. First his work quality started slipping, then he began missing deadlines, and despite this, he was demanding payment for work he’d never delivered. Becky went to arbitration and successfully ended their working relationship, but then everything changed.

He commenced a series of relentless attacks on all fronts … he sent hundreds of emails threatening her, he sent her sexually and verbally abusive messages, he cloned her social media accounts, he hacked her website … and that was just the start. He engaged a hacker site giving out her details and literally 100s of men joined in the attacks on her. Then he created

fake pornographic imagery and set up a sexually derogatory Facebook page and sent out messages to her contacts saying she was a sex worker and was available for $200 … this time he was doing as he promised, everything in his power to ruin her and her career.

“He knew my contact numbers, my home address, and that I was a single parent,” she says. “I was petrified.” She contacted the police and Facebook but neither of them was able or prepared to help. “The law can’t keep up with the pace of change of technology and Facebook just weren’t interested,” she says.

So Becky had to help herself. She put out fires on all fronts – messaging people to correct information he’d sent, closing social media accounts, changing email addresses, and even changing her name.

Words: Judene Edgar | Tessa Jaine

Becky Duncan works to keep people safe online.

Two years later cyberbullying legislation was adopted, but as her cyberbully was located overseas, it still would not have had any impact on him. And despite this, incidents of online bullying, harassment, and all forms of harmful content have continued to skyrocket. At particular risk are Māori, children, and women. Breakfast host Jenny May Clarkson is the most recent high-profile New Zealand victim of fraudsters who have targeted her in attempts to extort payment.

For someone that had lived, loved, worked and played online, her life as she knew it was over. Becky spent the next few years too scared to go online, keeping a low profile, never sure when he might reappear again. But determined not to be broken, she also spent time working on her emotional, mental and spiritual healing.

And as she shared her story, she kept hearing of more and more women who had experienced cyberbullying, identity theft, financial fraud, online dating scams and more. “I just kept thinking about the need of this large group of vulnerable online women entrepreneurs and what I could do to help them.

People don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know what they need to do to protect themselves.”

As her confidence regained, so too did her resolve to not let what happened to her go to waste. Instead, she would use what she’d learned and experienced, coupled with her online skills to help keep other people safe. With burgeoning identity fraud and scams such as romance scams, fake job offers, death threat scams, lottery scans, investment and even rental property scams, New Zealand consumers, businesses and the economy are losing $9.4 billion each year, and growing.

“Hackers and scammers can get you on so many fronts, from text messages, to fake websites, to cloned social media accounts, and emails.” Becky says that emails can be particularly dangerous, because once they get into your email account, they can gain access to so much of your personal and financial life and create havoc for you and possibly for friends and family also, using your address to send phishing emails. And even if you don’t lose money, research commissioned by Netsafe estimated that cyberbullying, harassment and online threats is costing its victims over $400 million each year in unpaid hours spent dealing with the damage. The study also found that while one in ten New Zealand adults have been bullied online, it was more common among teens and people in their twenties with almost half of 18 and 19-year-olds suffering some kind of cyber abuse.

“People think it won’t happen to them so can tend to be complacent. There is so much ‘private’ information readily available online; people use the same passwords for everything, and scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated,” says Becky.

Becky’s Digital Defence Drill

Nine simple habits to keep you safe online

THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK

Before you dive into that digital unknown, remember to put on your “think before you click” goggles! Whether it’s a link or an attachment, even if it seems like it’s from a familiar face, take a moment to double-check.

QUERY THE QUESTIONS

Don’t spill the beans! Take a moment to double-check before sharing any personal info. Whether it’s your own or someone else’s, always verify requests for private information, even if it’s from a familiar face.

PROTECT YOUR PASSWORDS

Using the same password for all your accounts is like wearing the same pair of socks every day - easy and convenient, but oh boy, it’s a security stink bomb waiting to happen!

SECURE YOUR STUFF

Just like securing your physical belongings, lock up, turn off, or take your digital goodies with you when you’re on the move. Leaving your computer screen unguarded is like leaving the front door wide open!

KEEP A CLEAN MACHINE

Updating software is like doing laundry for your devices. Just like how laundry removes dirt and stains, software updates fix security problems, and bugs in your computer or phone.

BACKUP YOUR BOOTY

Think of backing up your computer and devices like protectin’ your derriere in dodgeball. Just like keepin’ it covered to avoid gettin’ hit, backin’ up your data prevents losin’ it to cyber attacks or digital disasters.

DELETE YOUR DELICATES

Sharing private information on social media or responding to unknown emails is like hangin’ out your delicates for all to see. Cybercriminals can use this information against you, so make sure to review your privacy settings.

INSURE YOUR IDENTITY

Checking your credit rating regularly is like having a credit score bouncer, a vigilant sidekick that keeps an eye out for any suspicious activity and protects you from the villains of identity theft.

IF IT’S SUSPICIOUS REPORT IT

By reporting fishy emails or content, whether it’s a phishing attempt or any other cyber threat, you’re not only protecting yourself, but also helping to keep others safe from harm.

Becky wasn’t able to get the help she needed, but determined not to let the same thing happen to others, she’s set up a new service called Cyber Self Defence Coach. “Thanks to AI there are a lot more tools available to help people so that hopefully they’ll never go through what I went through. My heart is to help women to have peace of mind online and be successful in their businesses.”

She says that she’s focusing on women entrepreneurs like herself, as she understands how hard and alone it can feel having to do everything for yourself. “There are so many areas where women are sole traders, such as hairdressers, therapists and wedding plannings, and they’re so busy working in the business that they don’t have time to look after their cyber-security needs.”

Her one-stop-shop concept is simple but incredibly helpful: clients take a cyber safe check up to determine where their gaps and areas of potential weakness are, and from there she develops a personalised Cyber Safe Playbook giving them the tools, tricks and tips they need to protect themselves – and if people want, they can also have a one-on-one or small group coaching session to help them implement things.

Googling ‘cyber safety’ nets you about 392,000,000 results in 0.72 seconds, but where to go from there can be very confusing and overwhelming according to Becky.

“Instead of trying to Google and coming up with more results than you know what to do with, the key is finding what’s right for you and for your needs, that’s why the personalised service is so important.

Software such as Bodyguard.ai provides content moderation, removing toxic, derogatory and inappropriate content from Facebook pages, or use of 1Password which provides password security and saves you from having to remember multiple passwords.

We can’t avoid being online, using emails or going to websites, but we can learn how to protect ourselves.”

Becky’s back in love with the online world, but says that she’ll never feel the same level of freedom and can never use her name again. “The online world should be open and safe for everyone to use. Sadly, it isn’t. Everyone is at risk but my mission is to empower and educate women to take control of their online security and psychological safety.”

To check out your cyber safety, go to

cyberselfdefencecoach.com

Purchase your own personalised playbook after doing the risk assessment. Enter code NELSONMAGAZINE for 60% off

Becky is now enjoying the World Wide Web, but is still cautious.

“ People think it won’t happen to them so can tend to be complacent.”

The Lawrey Story

For just over a year the charity Bike Hub Nelson has been making a difference in people’s lives in more ways than one. Matt Lawrey shares an insider’s view of the not-for-profit organisation that’s exceeding even its own founders’ expectations.

Every now and then an idea comes along that just works. A recent example in our neck of the woods is the bicycle rehoming scheme, Bike Hub Nelson. Based in a concrete bunker of a building at Saxton Field, Bike Hub Nelson is a volunteerpowered scheme that fixes up second-hand bikes donated by the public and the Police, and makes them available to the community on a koha-basis.

I was lucky enough to be appointed its co-ordinator in November last year. Lucky because not only do I love helping to get more people on bikes but because it’s given me a front row seat to what is one of the most inspiring community projects I’ve ever seen.

The Hub was launched on a cold night in May last year. A small but enthusiastic crowd of supporters gathered at the workshop to hear a speech by the project’s founder, Bevan Woodward, and enjoy a drink and some nibbles.

There was a good vibe. There’s was definitely optimism but no one really knew if it would work. No one knew if anyone would donate bikes and no one knew if anyone would turn up when the workshop opened its doors to the public. In fact, on that first night, one of The Hub’s founding volunteers, Emily Osborne, took along a deck of cards just in case no one came through the door. As it turned out, the cards weren’t needed. Thanks to some great local media coverage, the word was out and The Hub was off to a successful start.

Since then we’ve re-homed around 900 bikes. Recipients include everyone from toddlers to a retired farmer in his mid-seventies. They come from across the region and many of them are former refugees. On multiple occasions, we’ve provided entire families with bikes, helmets and lights.

We have around 35 active volunteers who repair, clean and service bikes as well as match them with members of the public. We’ve also attracted greatlyappreciated funding support from Nelson City Council, NBS and a benefactor who would like to remain anonymous, along with brilliant product and logistical support from a wide range of businesses.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that over the last year Bike Hub Nelson has made a lot of people very, very happy. In fact, it’s not uncommon to get hugged by the people who get our bikes.

Bike Hub’s benefits to the community are both obvious and not-so-obvious. The obvious pluses include: removing the financial obstacles to bike ownership, keeping bikes out of landfill, helping people save money, giving people more opportunities to participate in society, fighting obesity, growing the cycling market, giving people and often whole families something fun to do, and freeing up room in the region’s garages, basements and lock-ups.

Over time we also like to think it will help to mitigate emissions and reduce congestion, and potentially crime; why steal a bike when you can get one from The Hub?

The not-so-obvious benefits include: people learning new skills from our top mechanics, the way The Hub brings young and old together (we regularly have three generations working on bikes together), the camaraderie that comes with working with others to help others, and the look on a cash-strapped parents’ faces when you tell them the koha is optional.

People don’t just go away from The Hub’s public sessions with bikes, helmets and lights, they also leave feeling good about the whole community.

So, if you know someone who would benefit from one of our bikes, send them our way, and if you’ve got a bike to donate, drop me a line (mattlawrey7010@ gmail.com). We’ll make sure it goes to someone who will love it and use it heaps. For good stories about Bike Hub Nelson, visit our Facebook page or our website (bikehubnelson.org).

Lanie Rearte and her son Josh with Lanie’s new bike from Bike Hub Nelson.

ON

THE STREET

What are you wearing today?

One of my favourite vintage dresses. It’s hard to find older pieces that don’t need altering, but everything about this one was perfect when I found it, and it fits me like a glove! Definitely my ideal winter dress.

What is your style?

I think a little bit of everything! I’m very much into collecting vintage, and 70s would probably be my favourite decade, but I style depending on my mood and generally I like my outfits to feel like a big ol’ game of dress-up (and actually sometimes I do get people asking if I’m going to a dress-up party!) I just like to have fun with it.

What is most of your wardrobe made up of?

Thrifted and vintage! I’ve been op shopping since I was a kid and love it. I really dislike the idea of fast fashion and it’s sad to see how much of it is seeping into charity shops nowadays, but I guess it makes it more rewarding when you do find a good quality piece. I have a (shamefully) huge wardrobe I’ve been amassing since I was a teenager!

What are you loving at the moment?

Opera gloves. I scored four gorgeous vintage pairs the other week and have been patiently awaiting warmer weather so I can style them.

What is your approach to shopping?

Buy second-hand. It makes shopping more of an exciting challenge. There are more styles to try, you’re repurposing everything, often you’re helping charities, all while being a hell of a lot cheaper than buying new. It’s such a treat when you find a crazy bargain while thrifting, and there are so many bargains out there. You also learn heaps about the history of different pieces/ brands, comparing quality differences, and what you like or suits you; not just what’s on trend.

Do you have a style rule you always obey?

This is kind of weird, but I think most of my tops look better backwards. I’m not a fan of low necklines so I just unpick the tags and then I have the perfect boat neckline. I almost always do this with my tops, and it is my favourite fashion hack, and, of course, ‘the bigger the hair the closer to God!’

What wardrobe item should everyone invest in?

Everyone needs a big, warm, statement coat. Something that keeps you warm and comfy while also stealin’ the show! I have too many, but my favourite one is a vintage New Zealand made ‘forest & stream’ art fleece from Rack Diggers. They are my favourite local shop for vintage winter wear and the owners Josiah and Kavell are always lovely to chat to if you want to learn more about vintage clothing.

If you could raid one person’s wardrobe, who would it be?

New York designer Yeha Leung (@creepyyeha). Everything she makes and owns is just divine. I’d also love to raid all of Elizabeth Taylor’s wigs from Cleopatra.

Finish this sentence – You would never catch me wearing…

Ankle socks. No one has ever looked good in ankle socks!

W I N T E R S A L E

5 0 % O F F

A L L C L O T H E S , S H O E S & H A N D B A G S

P l u s c h e c k o u t o u r E X T R A S P E C I A L $ 1 0 0 r a c k

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Cover up with coats

FASHION STYLING ADVICE

Whether you’re walking to work or need something warm to wear out for dinner, you’ll want to make an elegant and timeless statement, and there’s no better way than by wearing a beautifully cut classic coat to give you that chic groomed look. An elegant coat oozes executive style as well as a quiet confidence. Nelson Magazine has you covered with some tips to master the art of purchasing the perfect coat to make sure you’re happy for years to come.

Buy for your lifestyle

A lightweight, packable waterproof or water-resistant jacket or coat is a must-have for travel, walking, sport, or any outdoor activity. Look for a shape and length that is in balance with your body shape and height. Check that the hardware, like zippers and buttons, are good quality and waterproof. A detachable hood is also a great option. Make sure there is enough room to wear layers under the coat, without going too big. This is easy to achieve with the range of lightweight knits and merino available.

All about the overcoat

A wardrobe essential is the overcoat. Options are aplenty with a boxier, oversized style, or a more tailored feminine-fitted coat. Single or doublebreasted, collar or no collar, or a wrap style coat. Pockets are an absolute must. Choose a style that best compliments your height and body shape, this ensures it will always suit you, and, in doing so will be timeless and never out of date.

Make it fit

The fit is paramount, and essential for comfort. Your coat must fit well! Look at the length of the sleeves; the edge of the cuff should reach the crease between your thumb and index finger. Shoulders should fit perfectly, not too wide, or narrow, and the position of belt loops should fall at your waistline. The wrap coat is an ideal multi-fit coat as it is easily tied at the waist in front, or left open and tied back, it is forgiving for most body shapes. Look for quality fabric and make sure it is not too stiff or heavy.

You can’t go wrong with a staple colour

By choosing a staple colour, such as black, grey, navy, camel, or olive green, you will have a versatile coat that can be worn over leisurewear, jeans and sneakers, and corporate wear through to evening wear. Ensuring you maximize the wearing of your coat investment. Finally, remember the perfect winter coat should keep you warm and look good. Have fun and enjoy the process.

Deliciously soft ZQ merino and hemp blend knitwear

From Glenaan Station in the Upper Rakaia Gorge, our range of unisex jerseys and accessories are made in New Zealand for you to enjoy. Winter '23 Collection available now.

www.hemprino.co.nz

Nelson

private surgical hospital.

We provide our skilled surgeons with modern, state-of-the-art theatres and equipment so that Nelson Tasman residents can have access to the very best in surgical procedures. Contact us to find out more. 36 Manuka Street, Nelson Phone: 03 548 8566 www.manukastreet.org.nz

Celebrate Life Your Way

At our modern funeral home on Champion Road, Richmond, we have everything you need to celebrate the life of your loved one in their unique way. Reach out today to find out how we can help you.

Heart disease in women

Heart disease isn’t something that’s often thought about in women, yet it’s the number one cause of death in New Zealand, killing twice as many women than any other cause. Dr Marissa Kellaher explains why it’s important to be aware of risks associated to your heart and shares some ways to improve your heart health.

Women's hearts are smaller than men's, beat differently, and have smaller arteries, meaning heart attacks in women can have atypical symptoms (such as shortness of breathing or severe fatigue). This means women's heart issues are less likely to be diagnosed earlier than men, and as a result can have worse outcomes.

In addition to this, hormonal conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome can increase the risk of future heart disease, as can pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and preterm delivery. It's thought that pregnancy can 'unmask' underlying metabolic issues, due to hormonal changes and extra strain on the cardiovascular system. Seemingly unrelated health issues such as depression and autoimmune disease also increase the risk of heart disease, via chronic inflammation and other mechanisms.

And don't forget menopause.

This is a significant time of transition in a woman's life, but the hormonal changes that occur don't just cause hot flushes and night sweats, they can also cause palpitations, and increase the risk of heart issues, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, due to the loss of protective oestrogen.

But it's not all bad news, as research consistently shows that up to 80% of heart disease is potentially preventable. Following a healthy lifestyle can also make a big difference to symptoms, quality of life, and prognosis in people with existing heart issues.

Some proven ways to help heart health (that are also great for overall health) include:

Avoiding highly processed foods, especially those high in added salt/sugar.

• Eating a plant focused, whole food, Mediterranean style diet high in fibre and low in refined carbs.

• Aiming for healthy unsaturated fats in your diet (nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil) and limiting full fat dairy, fatty meat, and coconut/palm oil. Getting regular exercise and avoiding sitting for long periods.

Not smoking.

Avoiding or minimising alcohol. Getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night, and watching for conditions like sleep apnoea which is strongly linked with heart disease.

• Trying to keep stress at a manageable level, and practicing stress reduction strategies such as belly breathing, mindfulness, and slowing down.

• Avoiding air pollutants as much as possible and being aware of your environment. Regularly spending time in nature. Staying socially connected.

See your doctor for a heart health checkup if you have risk factors for heart disease or a strong family history of it.

But there's also so much you can do yourself, and your health and well-being will benefit too.

Wishing you (heart) health and happiness this winter! For more details on looking after your heart health, check out the blog post on yourlifestylemedics.com

Dr Marissa Kelaher is a GP and lifestyle medicine doctor. She runs health courses and offers one-on-one consults.

Take care of yourself

Experience natural beauty

Experience a Natural Beauty Luxury Retreat with skincare, yoga, sleep workshops, and spa treatments at Maruia River Retreat this September 29 to October 2. Promo code: NELSON for $200 off at maruia.co.nz

Maruia River Retreat 0275633143

2314 Shenandoah Highway, SH65 maruia.co.nz |

Struggling with health issues or low energy?

Herbal medicine can be a great support for the body to heal. Karen offers in-depth consultations to treat the cause of symptoms, and will provide specific tinctures, teas and capsules, mostly from home grown plants or foraged locally.

Harley Botanicals 021 0238 0303 harleybotanicals.co.nz |

Dentists who care

One Dental is proud to be in the business of putting smiles on patients faces. Don’t let dental concerns keep you from smiling. Book your exam today.

One Dental 03 547 7725

575 Main Road Stoke, Nelson onedental.co.nz

Angelic reiki and past life healing

Including a 20 minute back, neck and shoulder massager to help integrate your session. $99 for the month of August.

The Vibe Hair and Beauty 03 548 0258 35 Bridge St, Nelson vibehairandbeauty.co.nz |

Date night

Improve overall health

De-stress the mind and body, increase circulation flow and energy levels, improve quality of sleep, mood and overall flexibility with a traditional Thai massage.

Pyers Thai Therapy 0225 611 668

7a Tahunanui Drive, Nelson pyersthaitherapy.squarespace.com |

Focusing on ourselves encourages a feeling of self-worth and balance within the psyche and promotes a sense of calm, important for navigating everyday stresses of life. It is vital to take some time out for yourself, whether it be in an emotional, spiritual or physical sense. 1 2 3 4 5 6

All winter long you can bring in your bestie, sister, partner or whoever you want to share a pamper with. Enjoy a full body massage together in our dual treatment room for only $120 ($60 per person). Text to book this special.

Bliss Beauty and Wellness 027 911 2085

53 Halifax Street, Nelson |

UNLOCKING THE POWER OF

IN SKINCARE antioxidants

Antioxidants are naturally occurring compounds that help protect the skin’s cells from the damage caused by free radicals. Too many free radicals cause oxidative stress, which results in collagen breaking down, impairs the skins natural repair process and causes inflammation. It also disrupts the skin barrier and dysregulates the skins microbiome. By topically applying antioxidants you can help the skin look and feel healthier and younger. Owner of Eunoia Beauty, Kate Dyer, explains.

What are antioxidants?

An antioxidant is a molecule stable enough to donate an electron to a free radical without becoming destabilized itself. This process neutralizes the free radical, reducing its potential to cause harm. Antioxidants in skincare products work much like they do in our bodies. They form a defensive shield, neutralizing free radicals generated from environmental stressors like UV radiation and pollution. By neutralizing free radicals, antioxidants prevent premature skin aging and maintain skin health and vibrancy.

Utilizing the strength of antioxidants can dramatically transform your skincare regimen. These potent molecules serve as a formidable shield against skin-damaging free radicals, promoting healthy and youthful skin.

Incorporating antioxidants in your skincare routine

Many skincare products are abundant in antioxidants. Begin your day with a Vitamin C serum, follow it with a moisturizer infused with plant polyphenols and finish with a broad-spectrum sunscreen. In your night routine, incorporate a retinol product before your moisturizer.

While antioxidants are generally safe, some people may experience reactions, especially when combining several at the same time. It’s advised to perform a patch test or consult a dermatologist, especially when using potent substances like retinol. Additionally, antioxidants are just one piece

of the holistic skincare puzzle. A balanced diet, adequate hydration, and good sleep are all required to complement your skincare routine. Remember, consistency is key, and patience is your friend in skincare journeys.

Popular antioxidants in skincare

Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid): a water-soluble vitamin that aids in collagen production and improves hyperpigmentation, giving the skin a more even and brighter appearance.

Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide): is a powerful antioxidant that improves the skin’s texture and tone. It reduces fine lines, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation and exhibits antiinflammatory properties.

• Vitamin A (Retinol): Retinol boosts skin cell turnover, effectively stimulating collagen production and accelerating cell renewal and repair. It has proven effects at smoothing fine lines and wrinkles and improving skin tone and discoloration.

Resveratrol: known as the “longevity molecule” thanks to its impressive anti-aging abilities, this compound, found in red wine and berries, has potent anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects.

• Green tea: contains polyphenols which help to protect against free radical damage that can occur from oxidative stress, resulting from environmental factors, including pollution.

eunoiabeauty.com

It’s mid-winter and the Mako are back in the water. Tasman rugby fans across the nation, and there are a growing number, will be practising their “fins up” as both the Mako men’s and women’s teams dive headlong into another season of provincial rugby.

The men kick off their Bunnings Warehouse NPC premiership campaign at Nelson’s Trafalgar Park on Friday, August 4, against Otago while the women opened their bid for the Farah Palmer Cup [FPC] championship crown against the same opponent on July 22.

With the Rugby World Cup being staged in France later this year, the Mako men’s selectors have had to perform something of a juggling act.

World Cup squads will not be confirmed until late August, leaving questions over the availability of key players, who may or may not travel to France with either the All Blacks, Tongan, Fijian or Samoan sides. Consequently, a potent mix of international stars, Super Rugby players and club competitors were named earlier this month in an enlarged squad. Despite uncertainty over high-profile players such as David Havili, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Shannon Frizell, Ethan Blackadder and Finlay Christie, the Mako will still be able to field a side stacked with talent.

A backline comprising NZ under-20 stars Noah Hotham and Macca Springer, plus Super Rugby standouts Mitch Hunt, Alex Nankivell, Levi Aumua, Timoci Tavatavanawai plus returning stalwart Tom Marshall is an exciting proposition.

Up front, Quinten Strange, Pari Pari Parkinson, Anton Segner, Hugh Renton and Max Hicks will provide both experience and expertise, complementing a collection of front rowers able to match any in the competition.

With two home games - the second against Auckland in Blenheim on August 12 - to open their campaign, there is considerable optimism around the side’s ability to make a strong start and perhaps go on to repeat their premiership-winning efforts of 2019 –incidentally, also a World Cup year.

The Mako women are feeding in a different pool, hoping to make an impact in the second-tier FPC championship division.

The 2022 season represented something of a breakthrough for the Mako women, picking up two wins and reaching the quarterfinals, but coach Mel Bosman and her team will be keen to take things a

Words: Peter Jones | Shuttersport

To get the inside goss on the Tasman Mako team and what our top rugby stars are really like, we went straight to the source. We asked the players to tell us which of their teammates are most likely to hog the mirror and who they’d be happy to have dating their sister. Here’s what we found out…

The joker of the team?

Tim O’Malley

Hogging the mirror before the game?

Receives the most fines?

Luca Inch

Not winning the award for the tidiest Mako?

Max Hicks

Most likely to represent the region in another sport?

Ryan Coxon (Golf)

Most superstitious on game day?

Mitch Hunt

Worst taste in music?

Sam Matenga

Strongest Mako?

Kershawl Sykes-Martin

The best prankster?

Tom Marshall

Mum of the team?

Quentin MacDonald

Most likely to watch the new Barbie movie?

Louie Chapman

Best nick name?

Hugh Renton (Tow Ball)

Happy for your sister to date?

Campbell Parata

Most impressive secret talent?

Graham Urquhart (Speed at answering questions)

Best fashion style?

Anton Segner

Levi Aumua

Get inked

Eagles, skulls, panthers, hearts and daggers… The perfect addition to a growing collection, or for the first timer.

Trafalgar Street Tattoo Upstairs, 243 Trafalgar Street tattsthomas.com |

Enjoy the great outdoors

A great selection of knives and accessories like this Kombat UK – Marine Bowie Knife. $49 Outpost Supplies

53 Quarantine Road, Tahunanui outpostsupplies.co.nz

Open Mon-Sat, Sunday’s call first.

Discover the mountains

The Grivel G-zero is a perfect entry level axe if you are a tramper or a hunter. The ideal tool to discover the mountains , offering added safety and comfort. $199.

126 Trafalgar Street, Nelson mdoutdoors.co.nz

Quality clothing, quality service

Custom made men’s clothing using the most luxurious fabrics sourced from the finest fabric mills all over the world.

@pyneandeid_tailoring

181 Bridge Street, Nelson

The grill chief gift box

Spicy, flavoursome and a touch of sophistication. The ultimate gift for any man who appreciates food and wine. $140 wine-derfulgiftboxes.co.nz

The Rimu + Nail Bottle Opener

From Jude Raffills Design. Cool drink? Cool bottle opener! Nelson. Hand-made. $44

rimuandnail.co.nz

Enter this code at checkout for free freight: 2JEGGN35EWFN

Valid to 1 September 2023.

Double barrel duffle bag, $139

Signature cap, $49

Military belt, $79

Gun shy briefs, three pack. $79

Rodd & Gunn Morrison Square, 244 Hardy St, Nelson

Wrap yourself in natural fibres

Hemprino knitwear is made from the finest blend of ZQ Merino wool and hemp. From Glenaan Station, Canterbury and made in New Zealand. hemprino.co.nz

Custom made family portraits

…and wedding portraits/ cake toppers. Our team is passionate about what we do and we're excited to share our love of Folk with you and your family.

Folk NZ Dolls folkdolls.co.nz |

French Farm Valley wallet, $169 Chestnut cobbler shoehorn, $79

My HOME

Built in the 1850s, Simone and Andy Cardwell’s cob cottage in Brightwater was one of the first homes in the region. The charming cottage has been transformed over the years but retains its warmth and character with original features and vintage decor.

Tessa Jaine

Where is your home and how long have you lived here?

Our home is an 1856 cob cottage, located in Brightwater. We bought it five years ago when we moved here from Auckland with three of our five children.

What four words would you use to describe your home?

Charming, wonky, quaint, and inviting.

What inspired this look?

The family that built the cottage had immigrated from Scotland, it would have been built to the architectural style from that era and region. It has certainly stood the test of time. Such wonderful craftmanship was used.

What’s your decorating style?

English cottage meets European farmhouse. We like our home to look collected, but not cluttered. Antique furniture and interesting vintage decor are what we are drawn to. I love the look of French rustic homes and we are slightly influenced by that.

Where do you shop for homewares?

We have a few favourite antique shops we visit in Nelson, Eclectic Antique Centre being our most frequented and Richmond Antiques & Curios. We enjoy perusing thrift stores also. Other than appliances, I would say everything we buy is preloved. We like to decorate with objects that have history and a story.

ABOVE: Simone and Andy Cardwell with their youngest children, Oliver and Abigail, and dog Pepper.

What piece would you never part with?

A 19th century French armoire that we bought when we moved in here. It houses all our crockery as there was little storage space in the kitchen/ dining space. It is such a handsome piece and looks right at home here.

When it comes to homeware, do you save or splurge?

We are thrifty spenders, although the aforementioned armoire was a splurge. Have you done any renovations?

We were fortunate that all the hard work had been done for us. The only addition has been a kitchen pantry. We would like to update the kitchen one day, although that is a cosmetic change and not something that needs doing immediately.

What’s next on your interiors list?

I would like to refresh our daughter’s room with whimsical wallpaper and new paint. Her room has sloped walls and a dormer window, it lends itself to the English cottage charm seen in Beatrix Potter books.

What’s your favourite spot in the house?

The main living area. One half has tall, vaulted ceilings with original beams and the other, a snug, with a large fireplace and a mezzanine space above. Very cosy spaces in winter. Also, a walled courtyard that we call the Gin Garden, for obvious reasons. That gets used a lot over summer.

What’s your favourite room?

My favourite room is our bedroom on the ground floor. It has lower ceilings and beams and feels like a small retreat. It has a lovely view out to the front garden.

Best seat in the house?

That would be our Victorian chaise lounge which is shabby and well-loved and yet so elegant. It has affectionately been dubbed ‘Pearl’.

If money was no object what would you get for your home?

We would love to put in an inground swimming pool. That would be a dream addition for our children.

1. A restful, sunny corner in the couples bedroom makes an ideal reading spot in the afternoon. 2. The almost one-foot-thick cob walls can be seen around the window frames. 3. Simone says she would never part with their 19th century French armoire.

What should every home have?

To quote William Morris “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful.” I have always lived by this. A home should reflect your style and personality and bring you joy.

If you had a day to refresh your home what would you do?

I would replace the bathroom tiles to some that are more to our style and taste while keeping to budget. There are so many beautiful designs and colours available now. It’s proving to be a difficult decision.

“I think especially when your budget doesn’t align with your dreams, it’s about being content in the in-between.”

4. The living area is cosily tucked under a mezzanine floor. 5. Duck egg blue, timber and white make for the perfect colour palette in the French-inspired kitchen. 6. Though updated over the years, the cob cottage is still very much in its original form.

What is one thing you would change about your home if you could?

We would like a laundry in the main house. At present it is in a second dwelling that we have set up as a guest house. There isn’t really any room that could be used, though I see it being built into the kitchen renovations plans. I know English homes have their laundry appliances in their kitchens so I think that could be a clever use of space.

Best budget tip?

To buy only what you truly love and not something that is trending, avoiding impulse purchases and waiting for the right piece of furniture or fixture. We have been searching for dining chairs to go with our farmhouse table for seven years. I know one day we will find the perfect ones, or they will find us. I think especially when your budget doesn’t align with your dreams, it’s about being content in the in-between.

Best money spent?

We removed the existing hot water cylinder and replaced it with a gas califont for hot water. This was such a good upgrade as we were a family of five when we came here (our eldest daughter has since moved away from home). It was a great investment, and we do have out-of-town visitors, so it’s nice to never have to worry about hot water running out.

Did any of your purchases cause a debate?

Well, there was the fridge debacle of 2018! Andy wanted a modern, shiny Samsung fridge with all the bells and whistles. Whereas I wanted a retro Blue Smeg that was more fitting in an older home. Let’s just say the latter stands pride in place in our cottage kitchen!

Do you have any tips on how to keep your living area orderly?

With young children, you do need to get creative so that toys and bits don’t take over the space. We use a collection of vintage suitcases and baskets to store things away. There are built-ins shelves in the snug for these as well as our books, mostly vintage. I have them arranged by colour for a more structured look and find it aesthetically pleasing.

What do you love about the neighbourhood where you live?

Brightwater is a small, tight-knit, family-friendly village. We have felt very welcome here.

Best memory in your home?

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday and we had a French-inspired garden party here at our property, with friends and family. I enjoy hosting and it made it extra special to be able to do that here in our home. It was a gorgeous event, and we will always cherish the beautiful memories we created.

65th Anniversary!

Danske Mobler is proudly NZ family owned and operated since 1958

Ken & Bente Winter (left) began making furniture in a little shed in Titirangi, Auckland in 1958 Their vision was to supply unique and beautiful furniture, crafted to the highest quality and value Sixty-five years later the styles have changed, but the next two generations of Winters continue to uphold their values

Like Danske Mobler, we're proud to have three generations of family work at Lynfords As the exclusive stockist of Danske Mobler in the Top of the South, we couldn't be more excited to celebrate their fantastic milestone!

19 August - 10 September

Creating the ultimate living experience for you starts from the floor up

Dino Interior Designer for HUBBERS

Throughout school and in his spare time, Dino had always painted as an outlet. Because of this, he decided to follow his dream of being creative and entered the workforce - studying part time to earn his Diploma in Interior Design. With a background in flooring his technical proficiency and knowledge makes him a huge asset to the Hubbers team, ensuring the right products are specified for his clients homes.

Why are you a big fan of wool carpets and rugs?

New Zealand wool carpets are advantageous as a natural and biodegradable fibre and I love that they add texture and warmth to any home. A rug in wool can be a decorative piece to treasure and soften hard flooring areas or cut pile carpets.

What colours are trending for carpet in 2023?

I feel there’s still a swing towards neutral colors, such as beige, gray, and taupe. These colors are versatile, timeless, and work well with any decor style. Neutral coloured carpets also help to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere in your home.

What tips do you have for selecting the right carpet colour for clients’ homes?

No matter how big or small the area, the colour of the floor will have a major impact on the feeling of space within the room. If the area is small or lacks natural light, a lighter shade of carpet will make it appear larger and brighter. Conversely, darker-hued carpets will warm a room, giving larger spaces a cosiness while adding depth and character. Stippled and heathered yarns are a way of creating variation and visual texture, adding interest and depth to a room.

What’s your preference – textured or cut pile?

My personal preference is textured carpet as I like the varying heights and loop size it offers, and it can establish a unique three-dimensional effect and make the carpet the hero of your home.

HUBBERS

hubbersflooring.co.nz

…where texture meets natural luxury. According to Judy-Lea Engel, the talented product designer at Feltex, texture is all the rage in interior design. And here in Aotearoa New Zealand, where we cherish our laid-back lifestyle, it’s no surprise that textured carpets are leading the way.

Imagine the sensation of walking on soft, textured fibres that provide ultimate comfort and a cosy embrace. Chelsea Row is inspired by rugged rocky outcrops and majestic mountains, featuring a stylish linear design created with two-tone, thick and thin yarn, giving your space a sense of openness.

Made from high-quality New Zealand wool that’s locally spun and tufted, these carpets showcase the natural colour variations found in our breath-taking landscapes. With its luxurious 45oz thick pile, every step is a delightfully soft experience.

INTRODUCING THE STUNNING CHELSEA ROW CARPET RANGE

Diploma in Interior Design

KiwiSaver – Recession?

Your investments and savings would likely have rebounded quite strongly this year as inflation and interest rates have begun to peak. New Zealand has entered a technical recession, what does this mean for your savings?

Last year was a seriously tough time for investors, with markets pricing in this recession. As we work through the tough times and start to grow again, your funds will also grow. That was certainly the experience of the Global financial crisis in 2008-2009.

Make sure your strategy is right

The best way to maximise returns, and minimise losses, is to ensure that your fund or KiwiSaver strategy matches your long-term financial goals. Whether balanced, aggressive or conservative, now is a good time to check in and make sure that your strategy is correct for your timeframes and needs. A methodical and reasoned strategy will make hundreds of thousands of dollars difference to your KiwiSaver balance over a long period.

Holding your strategy through tough times $1.4 billion was transferred by KiwiSaver members from aggressive and balanced funds into conservative funds in March 2020 due to the Covid panic. Because the recovery in April 2020 could not be predicted, those people effectively banked

their losses. Those who held the course participated in the share market recovery that largely saw balances return to where they were, and then increase. The next 12 months will be volatile, get your long-term strategy correct and the short-term volatility becomes largely irrelevant. You are in a marathon, set your pace right, and don’t check your time over the first 100 metres.

Mark Sheehan is an awardwinning certified financial planner and licensed authorised advisor offering impartial advice in Nelson since 2008.

03 545 8928 sheehanfinancial.co.nz Advice is of a general nature and should not be considered personalised advice.

More than kitchen joinery

NICK ISON General Manager

In the world of custom joinery, kitchens often take centre stage. While it’s true that kitchens have long been the heart of a home, there is so much more to explore in creating bespoke designs that seamlessly flow from one space to another, creating a cohesive and harmonious living environment.

Whether building a new home or investing in a retrofit, through thoughtful design and material choices themes can run consistently throughout your entire home. From wardrobes to bathrooms, vanities to bespoke storage solutions, our expertise extends far beyond the realm of kitchen joinery.

Imagine stepping into a home where the seamless integration of bespoke joinery solutions takes you on a visual journey, with every space thoughtfully designed to complement one another.

In bedrooms, custom wardrobes serve as stunning focal points that not only maximize storage but also enhance the room’s ambiance. By carefully selecting materials, finishes and hardware, wardrobes can harmonize with the overall design aesthetic of the home, whether it be a modern, minimalist retreat or a classic New Zealand villa.

When it comes to bathrooms, vanities become exquisite centrepieces. With meticulous attention to detail, we blend functionality and style, creating personalized spaces that reflect your tastes and needs.

From sleek contemporary designs to timeless classics, our vanities become an integral part of the bathroom’s design language, elevating the entire space. But it doesn’t stop there. Custom joinery solutions extend to living rooms, studies, and other areas of the home. Beautiful bookshelves, display cabinets, entertainment units, and more, can all be tailored to suit individual preferences and seamlessly tie into an overall design concept or look and feel.

At The Custom Space, we understand that a home should be a reflection of its occupants, with every room telling a unique story. Through our dedication to craftsmanship and innovative design, we empower homeowners to transform their living spaces into works of art, far beyond the realm of kitchen joinery.

Nick Ison

The Custom Space

150 Vanguard St, Nelson thecustomspace.co.nz |

Home Style

ENHANCE YOUR LIVING

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1. White lily icicle candle, an alluring blend of sweet melon, tuberose, coconut and vanilla, spiced with hints of sandalwood, Living Light, 219 Trafalgar St, Nelson Central Arcade | 2. Pendant lights from the Arti Collection in a heritage brass finish storeycollection.co.nz, 65 Collingwood St, Nelson | 3. Jonathan Adler Botanist Butterfly Vase, $979, Karen Jordan Style, 151 Trafalgar Street, Nelson | 4. Eureka Mignon Specialita, professional grade home coffee grinder in a range of colours, from $1049.99, thecoffeecompany.co.nz, 130 Hardy Street, Nelson | 5. Potters Barn 7pce dining suite with 2100mm acacia table and 6 x oatmeal dining chairs. WAS $3293, NOW $2633, lynfords.co.nz, 675a Main Rd, Stoke 6. Bluesound Pulse Flex 2i portable wireless multi-room music streaming speaker $600, beggsmusic.co.nz, 264 Hardy Street, Nelson 7. NEW PRODUCT Signature Essence rug W: 200cm, L: 290cm $299 Mitre 10 Mega, 99 Quarantine Road, Nelson. | 8. Emma Bridgewater black toast mug, $65, Villarosa Maison, villarosanz.co.nz, 62 Montgomery Square, Nelson | 9. Tasman Bay roses, fruit trees and flowering ornamental trees ready to plant now – Iceberg Rose, Bay Landscapes and Garden Centre, baylandscapes.co.nz, 38 Artillery Place, Richmond

Let’s talk bathroom renovations with Refresh

The average cost of a bathroom renovation varies depending on several factors, such as the size of the bathroom, the extent of the renovations, the quality of materials used, and the complexity of the project. So, what can you expect?

Simple $20,000 - $30,000

Simple doesn’t mean boring. The main thing to remember for a basic bathroom makeover is that all your fixtures will stay where they are because moving them will involve extra, costly replumbing and rewiring. So the location of the shower, vanity, and toilet will remain the same, but you’ll get new sanitaryware, insulated walls, flooring, and a professional paint finish. Time from 2-3 weeks.

Mid-Range $30,000 - $50,000

With some planning and the right choice of products, expect to create a stylish space that’s value for money. With this budget a new layout is possible, along with lighting adjustments, storage additions, floor tiling including walk-in showers, and custom fittings and vanities. Time from 3-6 weeks.

Premium $50,000 plus

Expect a luxury bathroom that brings together top-end products and combines them with sophisticated style and design. Think about freestanding baths and spas, LED custom lighting, bespoke vanities, touchless taps, built-in entertainment systems, tiled walls, underfloor heating and much more. This is the “no limits” range where anything you want becomes possible. Time from 6-8 weeks.

When we talk about cost, remember that everything is included. From design to finish, we include sanitaryware, builders, tilers, plumbers, electricians, plasterers, tiling, painters, managing your project, and everything in between. Get in touch to find out how we can help you set a realistic budget for your project.

Global leader in LED luminaire design

Starting from modest roots in 2009, Switch Lighting is now a global leader in LED luminaire design. As well as supplying the increasing demand for their products in New Zealand for residential, hospitality and commercial facilities, the company is also exporting from its factory in Bolt Road, Nelson, to the world.

Co-founders Gerard Woods, with a background in mechanical engineering, and Jon Maunsell, with experience in electronics who had been experimenting with LED lighting in the late 1990s, joined forces to create a lighting company that has won numerous awards in lighting innovation and design.

“There is increasing awareness of how lighting can really enhance both interior and exterior environments and contribute to health and well-being,” says Gerard. “Through our showrooms and lighting specialists and also at international lighting events, we are working with a wide range of professionals and homeowners to educate them how lighting has completely changed in this regard. People are consistently blown away by the effects that can be achieved with our products when they see the diverse options we have available.”

“LED lighting plays an important role in energy conservation, reducing both electricity consumption and costs,” says Gerard. “It is innovative, sustainably viable, long-lasting and durable, which makes it appropriate for every kind of architectural project, be it residential or commercial.”

Selling into Australia was the start of the company’s export journey. “Australians are embracing the opportunity to use products that are made downunder,” he says. “There is a move away from goods produced by the likes of China and a major focus of ours is to have as many of our components

manufactured in New Zealand as possible, a principle which is highly regarded,” says Gerard.

“Our company employs over forty staff including a research and development team with over 180 years of engineering experience between them. Many of our products include around twenty components and all the assembly is done here in our Nelson factory.”

As Europeans have begun to learn about Switch Lighting, the company has begun to export further afield and has also been contracted to provide the lighting for new, large, high-end cruise liners and super yachts being produced in Italy and Germany.

“We have already completed three cruise ship lighting fitouts,” says Gerard. “These are massive projects and it is exciting to have our expertise recognised to provide the bespoke requirements of clients at that level.”

“We do all our own electronic and hardware designs and are now making our own Bluetooth lighting controls,” he says. “The latest development includes the ability to select colour temperatures, thus adding to the ambience of a space.”

Switch Lighting has developed into a thriving business that is being recognised the world over for its technological advances and contribution to contemporary, sustainable, quality lighting.

“We are proud of what we are achieving as a team. With our commitment to product innovation, we will continue to keep reshaping the global lighting landscape by producing our award-winning products here in Nelson,” says Gerard.

switch-lighting.co.nz

Switch Lighting managing director Gerard Woods at their showroom and manufacturing plant in Tahuna.

Contemplating consumption and the things we leave behind

Karolina Gorton was eight years old when The Iron Curtain came crashing down in her native Poland. In the years that followed she studied in Germany, travelled the world, fell in love with a New Zealander, become a mum, and threw herself into art. Karolina talks to Matt Lawrey about her full life and her favourite artwork.

Karolina Gorton with her favourite artwork, a photo of the installation Journée des barricades (Day of Barricades).

Illustrator and graphic designer Karolina Gorton’s favourite artwork in her Victory home is a photograph of an artwork that she helped to create. In 2008, while living in Wellington, Karolina worked as a volunteer for British artists Heather and Ivan Morison on a 24-hour urban art project that saw wrecked vehicles, discarded furniture and other urban detritus used to build a barricade across a central city street.

Entitled Journée des barricades (Day of Barricades), the installation was built where the seashore used to be prior to the reclamation of land that saw the city expand.

Twenty-one metres long, eight metres high and 10 metres deep, the artwork was part of a year-long One Day Sculpture series and commissioned by the Litmus Research Initiative, School of Fine Arts, Massey University.

Karolina, who was working at Wellington’s City Gallery at the time, was thrilled to help. All the objects were borrowed from recycle centres and the landfill and the artists were very specific about how and where they wanted each piece placed.

“I helped a little bit with putting the pieces on but mostly later I was one of the volunteers looking after it and making sure that nobody vandalised the artwork,” she said. To the volunteers’ surprise and delight, at the end of the project, the Morisons presented each of them with a photo of Journée des barricades as a thank you gift. Karolina likes the photograph’s composition and what you can see when you look at it close up.

“The shapes and elements are put in a beautiful pattern…it’s not accidentally made.”

For Karolina, Journée des barricades has a clear message.

“It’s about consumption and the things we leave behind and what will be left when we are gone,” she said.

Karolina started life in the Polish town of Suwalki. Her family home was a 60-square-metre, twobedroom apartment that she shared with her parents, two siblings and a dog.

“We were lucky. There were families as big as mine living in 36-square-metre apartments,” she said.

“I grew up when Poland was Communist. It was Communist until I was eight. I had a very happy childhood and was probably young enough not to be affected by all the changes.”

The end of Communist rule saw sweeping changes across the country. For young Karolina, one of the most memorable changes was discovering products that she had only seen in Western movies going on sale in local stores. Products like video recorders.

“I remember going with my girlfriends to a shop and it was amazing to see things that we’d only seen on TV,” she said.

Following the fall of Communism, Karolina’s entrepreneurial father became the first surveyor in their part of the country to go into private practice. He also convinced her mum, a dental technician, to go into business for herself. To house this enterprise, Karolina’s father built a little office for his wife in a wardrobe inside the family’s apartment.

“I remember my mum in the wardrobe working, with a little light and a desk, and all the cupboards full of fake teeth, and there would be a customer sitting on a chair outside the wardrobe. It was very different,” Karolina said with a laugh.

At university Karolina did a degree in Culture Studies and won a scholarship to study Art History for a year in Germany.

She met her New Zealand husband, Paul Gorton, 18 years ago on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. After years of living in Wellington, interspersed with extended periods overseas, the couple settled in Nelson to raise a family.

Now a mother-of-two, Karolina spent years as a member of the theatre group Body in Space, studied design at NMIT, and in 2021 created the Blue Stories Project, an exhibition of portraits alongside inspiring stories of parents who have gone through perinatal depression. The exhibition came out of Karolina’s own experience of perinatal depression and toured the country. She also hosts a show on the subject on Fresh FM and is currently mentoring a young woman who is making a theatre piece about perinatal depression in Indonesia, via Zoom.

A proud Victory resident, Karolina sometimes misses the buzz and dynamic nature of bigger cities, but says she has a good group friends here and, overall, loves living in Nelson-Whakatū.

“I love that our kids can walk to their local schools. I love that I can jump on a bike and soon I will be in town, and I love that we can walk over the hill and be at the sea.”

Gallery Showcase

Our region’s best creative talent

Steve Bellamy - Exhibition from 12 August, 42A Halifax St, Nelson

Mon-Fri 8:30 – 5pm, Sat 10am-1pm

nelsoncityframers.nz

Christine Hafermalz-Wheeler

The Artist Goldsmith

Central Nelson

By appointment, come and play! 021 817 209

theartistgoldsmith.com

Museum Store

1 Cadillac Way, Annesbrook

Open 7 days, 10am-4pm 03 547 4570

nelsonclassiccarmuseum.nz

The

208 Bridge St, Nelson

Open 7 days, 9.30am-4.30pm 03 548 4699

thesuter.org.nz

Replicating paua shell with copper surround. 900mm wide. 027 667 7911

nataliekereart.com

Arty Nelson Gallery

126 Trafalgar St

Open Mon – Sat 10am - 4pm Sun 11am - 2pm 021 022 90996

Peter

2.5 minutes after sun rise Clayridge Gallery

77 Pine Hill Rd, Ruby Bay 027 491 5187, Please phone before visiting petercopp.co.nz

Stacey

The modern artisan of fine jewellery

1381 Moutere Highway, Upper Moutere Opening hours change, please check website. 027 975 9204 staceywhale.com

The Coolstore Gallery

13 Cheshire Place, Stoke

Studio visits by appointment only

lisagrennellartist.co.nz

10 Aranui Road, Mapua Wharf

Open 7 days, 10am – 5pm 03 540 3778

info@coolstoregallery.co.nz thecoolstoregallery.co.nz

Protean Art Gallery

20 Tahunanui Drive August by appointment only 027 548 5003

proteanart.co.nz

Refinery Artspace

Terra Obscura - Clayton Morgan

Pounamu | Taniko - Natalie Kere

Will you Collapse in the Recess - Rosa McGregor. Exhibition dates - 7 Aug to 9 Sept. All welcome.

Nelson City Framers & The Gallery

Copp

Nelson Classic Car Museum

Suter Art Gallery

Natalie Kere Art

Lisa Grennell BVAD – Artist

Whale

Botany isn’t boring

Cathy Jones holds an interesting place in New Zealand art as a semi-retired professional botanist expressing her love of New Zealand native plant species in stylised, strongly outlined acrylic paintings.

“A great deal of my working life has been spent carrying out fieldwork, particularly in the Southern Marlborough region and to a lesser extent in northwest Nelson,” she says. “These wondrous environments are filled with an extensive array of ecosystems and plants, some very rare and many are not found anywhere else in the world.”

Working for the Department of Conservation and the Wildlife Service before that, one of her roles has been to search out and monitor rare plant species and advise on their management.

“I have been fortunate to be helicoptered in to places few people have ever seen,” she says. “I feel completely at home in the often-dramatic landscapes I encounter and there is nothing quite like studying the local flora with all its special characteristics.”

“It is the landscape and the plants that have mostly driven my determination to make art,” says Cathy.

“My father loved botany and was also an artist, as was my grandfather, which has obviously rubbed off on me,” she laughs.

Her latest exhibition is called ‘With Thanks’ and is divided into four sections, one of which is an acknowledgement of gratitude to artists who have influenced her work. “I have taken images of the work of artists like Robin White, Modigliani and Colin McCahon who have taught me so much and am incorporating them into my botanical works,” she

says. “It has been a fascinating process and really pushed my boundaries.”

‘For My Daughters’ is another section of work being shown. “One of my two daughters is a nurse and while working in a relief role on the Chatham Islands she sent me images to use in my art from her walks in the bush and on the beach,” says Cathy. My other daughter lives rurally and has requested paintings that include her plantings and some of her favourite creatures, weta and puriri moth.

The other series of work features plants growing in places where she worked for DOC, the South Marlborough coast, and the Clarence-Molesworth area which is one of the driest parts of the country. “It has been an opportunity for me to introduce people to the drama of the landscapes and the wonder of our native plants,” she says. Some of her favourite plants, the non-invasive natives Convolvulus waitaha and Carmichaelia species (broom, mākaka) are highlighted in her paintings as are native gentians and forgetme-nots, amongst others.

“Many of our native plant species are endangered,” says Cathy. “Featuring them in my artwork is one way I can share what botanical treasures we have on our doorstep and hopefully encourage more interest in them.”

The exhibition opening is at NSAS’s McKee Gallery, The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatu on Wednesday 23 August at 5.30pm.

Cathy Jones 4 Art 027 546 9499- 1/47A Washington Rd

Open Wednesdays 12-5pm and by appointment

Cathyjones4art.weebly.com

Cathy Jones in her studio.

Burger Culture

You guys asked for more room and we now have it!

We are so excited to finally have phase one of our extension done and dusted.

We’ve got an extra 40 seats so get your booties down here and fill ‘em!

Sprig + Fern Brewing Co.

It’s not winter in Nelson Tasman unless you’ve spent time at a local Sprig + Fern Tavern enjoying a proper pint of craft beer or cider.

Alberta’s Café

279 Trafalgar St, Nelson 03 546 9020 burgerculture.co.nz |

Wok Thai

Our menu reflects centuries of family cooking, offering traditional and innovative dishes, skilfully cooked to dazzle your senses. Vegetarian and gluten free options available. Dine in or takeaway, with delivery available through DeliveryEasy.

Open Mon - Sat, 1pm - 8:30pm; Sunday 4:30pm - 8:30pm

Real pints, real people, really local Sprig + Fern Milton St, Hardy St, Tahuna, Upper Queen, The Meadows, Brightwater, Mapua and Motueka. sprigandfern.co.nz |

All day breakfast from 7.30 – 2.30pm, seven days a week. Exceptional coffee and views to match. Pop in and enjoy their delicious breakfast menu or a bite to eat from their tasty cabinet of house-made delights. Gluten free, dairy free and vegan options available, they cater for all. Dine in or takeaway.

Eight Plates

Nelson’s newest dining experience! Delicious, seasonal small plates for brunch, lunch and dinner, cocktails, coffee, beer and wine.

Open Thu – Mon, 10am - 10pm.

Shed 4, Mapua Wharf 03 540 3933 albertas.co.nz |

Atom Café

Enjoy a selection of in-house baked delicacies and seasonal favourites including brownie cheesecake, vegan baguettes and our famous egg sandwiches. There is something for everyone, come and experience our Manaakitanga at Atom Café!

Open Mon - Fri, 8:30am - 4:00pm.

514 Main Road Stoke 03 547 8111 wokthai.nz |

300 Trafalgar St, Nelson 03 546 4300

eightplates.co.nz |

Ground Floor, Rutherford Hotel Nelson 03 548 2299 rutherfordhotel.nz

The Views

With panoramic views of Kaiteriteri, The Views vegetarian restaurant at Kimi Ora Eco Resort offers a relaxing dining experience. With locally sourced seasonal produce, chefs delight in creating a fusion of flavours for you to savour. Vegan and gluten free options are available, with a variety of regional wine, beer and cider. Bookings essential.

Open Thurs- Sat 5.30pm - 8.30pm 99 Martin Farm Rd, Kaiteriteri P: 03 527 8027 kimiora.com/restaurant |

Eat Italy

The warm and inviting atmosphere of Eat Italy in Richmond makes for the perfect gathering place with family and friends. From homemade pasta and woodfired pizzas to succulent meat dishes and fresh seafood, every dish is cooked with love and care to deliver an authentic Italian experience. Family-owned, the team at Eat Italy believe that good food is the foundation of a great meal, and they pride themselves on using only the finest and freshest ingredients in all of their dishes.

Berryfields Crossing, Lower Queen St 022 390 2305 eatitaly.co.nz

The Indian Café

With three great locations you can enjoy Indian Cafe’s delicious food no matter where you are. Head in and find out why Indian Café is the favourite choice for anyone looking for the highest quality food and a memorable cuisine experience. All venues offer intimate restaurant dining and courtyard settings and takeaway options.

94 Collingwood St, Nelson | 03 548 4089 266 Queen St, Richmond | 03 544 8979 201 Songer St, Stoke | 03 547 0008 theindiancafe.co.nz

Miracle Restaurant

Eddyline Brewery & Taproom

Offering a mix of delicious and authentic Malaysian and Indian cuisine, great service and high-quality food, Mango cuisine is incredibly nutritious and amazingly priced. Using only the highest quality and freshest of ingredients, Mango have guilt-free yummy curries and noodles amongst their unique options. Open for lunch Mon-Sat 11:30am-2pm and dinner every day from 5pm-10pm.

227-229 Hardy St, Nelson 03 539 4916

244 Queen St, Richmond 03 544 3278

2 Scott St, Blenheim 03 577 8781

mangoonline.co.nz

Famous for classic Chinese and signature Thai family dishes, Miracle Restaurant offers rich and diverse Asian fusion cuisine with Yum Cha available all day. Come and meet Mira - Miracle’s friendly robot who will deliver dishes to your table and even sing happy birthday. Popular set menus are available for individual diners, and all menu items can be ordered online for takeaway. Fully licensed and open 7 days for lunch and dinner.

200 Hardy St, Nelson 03 545 8163 miracleasian.co.nz

Discover a taste sensation like no other at the newest taproom in Nelson. A fusion of New Mexican flavours and craft beer! Indulge in a delectable blend of New Mexican cuisine and the freshest craft beer in town. Savour our mouthwatering menu, including tacos, burritos, smoked meats, and green chile cheeseburgers. Enjoy specially crafted dishes, celebrating the vibrant flavors of New Mexican red and green chile. A culinary journey that will leave your taste buds wanting more.

15 Elms St, Stoke, Nelson 03 541 0757

Open Tues - Sat

eddylinebrewery.nz

Mango

Anchor Restaurant and Bar

Top quality food is best served with amazing ocean views! Blessed with a fantastic spot on the water, you will feel welcomed and won’t want to leave. Specialising in local seafood and steaks, there are also delectable choices for non-meat eaters, people with special dietary needs and kids.

Hogarth Chocolate

Hogarth Chocolate Makers have been crafting some of the world’s best chocolate right here in Nelson for the past 8 years. Creativity and exploration of flavour are pillars of their philosophy. Check out their range at their new factory store and see why they are New Zealand’s most awarded chocolate maker.

Open Tues-Fri 10am – 4.30pm Head to their factory shop to try their range of chocolate products for free.

62 Vickerman St, Port Nelson 03 546 6614 anchorrestaurant.co.nz

10B Kotua Place, Stoke 03 544 8623 hogarthchocolate.co.nz |

Kerridge & Ko

The easiest and trendiest way for you to feed the people. Whether it’s a cute date night for two or you’re needing to cater for 200 people. Kerridge & Ko create delicious grazing tables, boxes and grazing trays in a range of different options and sizes.

Mapua Village Bakery

Come and experience their warm, friendly atmosphere with the delightful aromas of a homestyle bakery in the cosy and warm café.

Try a gluten free fritta, delicious winter soup served with artisan bread, an allday breakfast or this month’s gourmet pie flavour. And top it all off with a cup of supreme coffee which will add a bounce to your day.

68 Aranui Rd, Mapua 03 540 3656

mapuavillagebakery.co.nz

Solander Gourmet Seafood

For all your fresh fish and seafood favourites for nourishing winter chowders, paellas and your delicious fish curries, keep it local with Solander.

The very best seafood available in Nelson and NZ, accessible to you via online order. Select from the finest seafood and other gourmet products, to ensure that your dining experiences are healthy, delicious, and incredibly well priced.

McCashin’s Tap Room

With great indoor/outdoor dining areas, bring your friends, family or workmates along to enjoy their mouth-watering menu. Which includes their famous steak sandwiches, pizzas, platters and seasonal plates to savour. McCashin’s Tap Room is your local friendly meeting place with fine beverages made on site at the brewery. It’s your local.

660 Main Road, Stoke 03 547 0329

gourmetseafood.co.nz

mccashins.co.nz

027 6444 718 |

A slice of calm within the bustle

The sunshine sparkles on the water while it meanders along the riverbank. Birds chirp in the trees as cyclists and dog walkers roll past. A gentle hustle of city life bustles in the background. In front of you a plate of wholesome fresh food and a cup of delicious barista-made coffee – what better way to spend some time taking in the best that Nelson has to offer. River Kitchen has long been the go-to for locals and visitors alike, offering a little slice of calming paradise within the Nelson CBD.

Celebrating ten years of ownership, Clare and Blue Fleming have spent the majority of their lives in the industry. Hospitality runs through their veins with Clare growing up working in her parent’s restaurant in England and Blue working his way through kitchens around the world, before opening his own Cornish Pastry Shop. Moving to Nelson in 2006 the couple purchased Milton Street Fish and Chip shop, prior to River Kitchen in 2013.

“River Kitchen has always been a family run business. We started out here with my brotherin-law as our chef, and pretty much all of our family has worked here over the last 10 years! Our daughters have always had a job here so that’s been really good for them. We are all very passionate about producing a really good, consistent product that is fresh and delicious. We never skip corners on quality, and we also try to evolve with what our customer wants and be quickly reactive with trends. It’s important to stay current in hospitality otherwise your customers go to the new exciting cafe down the road. But our biggest asset is our team. We could not open the doors without them, and they are all so much fun to work with. We feel really grateful that we have had some of our team since the beginning and they have been on our journey with us.”

Proud of delivering great service for ten years, along with fresh local seasonal produce in their recipes, the team always go the extra mile for their customers. “Blue and I love hospitality, and everything about it, the characters you meet every day and the general buzz of the job. There’s something so good about eating food that’s just been picked. There’s literally nothing like it. It just tastes better, it’s better value and, of course, it’s a better deal for the planet.”

This is what continues to fuel their passion for what they do, says Clare. Celebrating their milestone with some ten-pin bowling and a fun night out with the team, they reflect on the last decade and say looking to the future they look forward to many more sunshinefilled summers by the river. “We love people, we love creating great food and most of all we love our River Kitchen! We have the best spot in Nelson!”

A family affair: The team at River Kitchen

Spiced rum and banana blitz

A boozy dessert cocktail that’s rich and creamy, with a kick of Bacardi spiced rum, perfect for those cooler nights. No fuss and quick to make, just pop it all in the blender and enjoy!

SERVES 4

• 4 large scoops vanilla ice cream

• 1 cup butterscotch sauce (caramel sauce is a good substitute)

• 3 bananas, plus extra, to garnish

• 240ml Bacardi spiced rum

• Ice cubes

• Sprinkle of ground nutmeg for garnish

Add vanilla ice cream, butterscotch sauce and bananas to a blender. Blitz until the mixture is smooth. Add Bacardi spiced rum and blitz again. Add ice to serving glasses. Pour mixture over ice cubes and sprinkle with ground nutmeg. Garnish with a sliced banana on a cocktail pick.

For the new owners of Sprig + Fern Motueka, the brand is all about connecting with other people, ‘catching up with close friends in a relaxed atmosphere. At a Sprig + Fern you can be guaranteed a good time’. These are the words of the Tavern’s new co-owner, Janet Sim. Taking on the long-standing community-minded establishment with partner Ray Cusack and close friend Clinton Bloomfield, Janet says was an idea that has been in the pipeline for a while. “No matter which Sprig + Fern we visit, we have a good time. For a while now, this is a business that we wanted to own, to be a part of. Taking pride in what you do is our ethos, and when we met Tracy Banner we were inspired by how passionate she is about her award-winning craft. We want to give our customers what we feel is important, an enjoyable and safe place to meet and catch up with friends and family. There is no greater joy than seeing people connect and have a good time.”

The trio are all well-established in the region, on both personal and professional levels, having all volunteered or coached local sports, along with owning their own respectful businesses. “We are all about community. We know how important it is to give back to our youth as we all had parents, coaches, schools, and volunteers that made our childhood fun and encouraged us. Motueka is a small community, and we definitely know and remember those who supported us growing up and put the effort and time into building our community.” Janet worked at the Sprig + Fern for a year to get a real feel for the place. “Clinton and Ray have been good friends for a long time and, along with our children's friendship, we have been a tight knit group over the years. We talked

about the three of us taking on the Sprig + Fern, sharing the load, and adding to what we had already established individually. We felt our strengths and family values would be a good combination.”

Her time at the Sprig + Fern gave invaluable insight, says Janet. “The kitchen needed streamlining. It was continuously under the pump. We needed to create more of a flow so that our service could cater to the volume of patrons and take care of our locals at the same time. You have to be strategic in what you change, what you keep the same, when to make changes and what to make a priority.” Feeling a plethora of support throughout the transition, Janet says their highlights has been the staff, their customers and the support of the changes they have made. “I have loved the sharing of ideas and found many mentors among our patrons. We appreciate people looking out for us and sharing their wisdom. We love what we do and we will continue to grow what we have.” In time the team look to revamp the tavern further, in stages. “These areas will be inspired by the pockets of beautiful nature all around our region, infused with Eastern notes of simplicity - less is best.” Wanting to thank everyone for their ongoing support, their staff, friends and family are at the top of the list along with Tracy Banner, Peter Fry and Sue Bloomfield, and the vast range of businesses, contractors and supporters that have helped them make the Sprig + Fern Motueka what it is today.

“There is no greater joy than seeing people connect and have a good time.”

Sprig + Fern Motueka Mon – Sun: 2pm – late

Sprig + Fern Motueka owners Ray Cusack, Janet Sim and Clinton Bloomfield enjoying their newly purchased Tavern over a proper pint.

Dream it, do it, in the US of A

The skies are open for travellers, and thanks to direct flights to New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles that provide gateways from both coasts, the options are endless for exciting holidays on offer in the USA. Owner of House of Travel Nelson Jason McKay shares some helpful advice for a trip to America.

What do people enjoy most about visiting the USA?

The USA offers a phenomenal range of holiday options. If you dream it, our team of highly experienced travel consultants can make it happen for you. Whether you love exploring cities, or the great outdoors, there are opportunities for absolutely every kind of traveller, whatever their age or interests.

What are the most popular cities to visit?

Few cities are as vibrant, cosmopolitan and electrifying as the Big Apple, with its history, striking urban landscape, 340-hectare Central Park at its heart, shopping, museums, art galleries, restaurants and world-famous shows on and off Broadway. Whether you want to do your own thing or love the idea of well organised tours and experiences, we can provide and abundance of information and arrange bookings so nothing is left off your wish list.

San Francisco, resting on a peninsular between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay with its famous

Golden Gate Bridge and landscape of many hills has a different vibe. It is quirky with its combination of Victorian-style architecture and contemporary builds. It is popular for exploring on foot and making use of the many cable cars which allow for spectacular views of the city and beyond. Renowned for its art, culture and cuisine, it is also within close proximity to beaches, alpine areas, wine country and innumerable small towns that ooze with charm.

Los Angeles on the other hand has some of the country’s swankiest neighbourhoods. Exploring Beverley Hills and Hollywood in real life is an experience not to be missed and there are some great tours that take you through the most iconic suburbs. If you are a movie buff you won’t be able to keep away from Universal Studios and the Hollywood Museum, and if you are a fan of architecture, you will be surprised and delighted by the array of Art Deco buildings that still exist in the city.

Do you need to obtain a visa to enter the USA?

Fortunately, the USA treats New Zealand as a visa waiver country, however you still need to apply for an ETSA which is a travel authorisation document that is done very easily and quickly online. We are very happy to help you with that and look forward to answering any other questions you may have while we help organise you the trip of a lifetime.

Jason McKay OWNER OF HOUSE OF TRAVEL, NELSON

The Link Run 24km | The Snout Run/Walk 13km | Marina 2 Marina Run/Walk 10km | Kids Dash 2km

What’s On

For updated information visit itson.co.nz

10 August

RANDY FELTFACE

After performing over 100 shows in the US and Europe, Randy is taking over the world and ready to be your leader! As seen on Netflix, over 1.7M TikTok followers and 120M YouTube views, the choice is pretty clear. Vote 1 Randy Feltface!

16 August

TENORS ON TOUR

The question ‘are you ready to rock?’, has never been so inviting! Get your rock on Nelson with the Rock Tenors as they pay homage to the world’s biggest rock anthems in this full-scale theatrical experience.

August

25

WOVEN PATHWAYS

New Zealand String Quartet’s 2023 National Tour promises to be an unforgettable musical adventure. You will be treated to three works of celebration, exploring the composers’ lives, loves, and humanity. Book at ncma.nz

6 – 20 August AN ADVENTURE IN ART

A community art experience involving 20 local participants with exhibitions, performances and open studios exploring all that art is through artworks, dance, fabric art, film, floral design, music and photography. Pick up a programme from the centre or check out Facebook.

Pūtangitangi, Greenmeadows Centre

25

& 26 August

DANCING THROUGH THE 50S, 60S AND 70S

Join The Wakatū Dance Theatre as they dance through the 50s, 60s and 70s with music that will transport you back in time. The stage will light up with a delightful variety of genres, showcasing studios from around the region.

27 August EXPERIENCE INDIA

Celebrating Indian food, creating memorable experiences, and showcasing two Indian cuisines and rich associated cultures. Lunch from 12pm, dinner from 5pm, or drop into enjoy Indian food stall from 1pm-5pm. Tickets via eventfinda.

28 August LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS

Featuring guest tenor Benjamin Makisi, Operatunity’s next concert is filled with flag waving, singalongs, comedy, and great singing. 11am with morning tea from 10am.

Bookings: Operatunity.co.nz or phone toll free 0508 266 237

Nelson Centre of Musical Arts

Hope Community Church

Saxton Oval

Theatre Royal

Theatre Royal

Theatre Royal

Cancer Society Ball

Trafalgar Centre

1. Cheryl Candish and Kathryn Stahl

2. Lenny O’Connell, Brandon Beveridge and John Pearcy

3. Mandy Pearcy and Charise O’Connell

4. Mark and Sophie McGill

5. Ritchie Norriss and Debbie Cooper

6. Rebecca Mackay and Trudy Bailey

7. Michelle Kennedy, Bronwyn and Bruce Yelverton

8. Mark and Wendy Lindbom

Mackenzie Charleton

80th Annual Thomas Cawthron Memorial Lecture

Cawthron

Adapting to rising sea levels.

View a recording of this year’s Annual Lecture and sign up to ‘Friends of Cawthron’ to receive invites to future events like this by visiting cawthron.org.nz/annual-lecture

1. Hannah Hampton and Derek McLachlan

2. Hilary Fenemor, Julian and Sally Manning

3. Kirsten Boswijk and Colleen Marshall

4. Megan Kitchener and Kirsten Fitzsimons

5. Rachel Stanyer and Kate Riding

6. Nick Smith and Johan Svensen

7. Anika Sehauff, Jarod Spencer and Francesca Harris

8. Stella and Graeme Bloomfield

Ray Salisbury

Intepeople 10 year birthday celebrations

The Suter Art Gallery

1. Allana Jury and Linsey Kennard

2. Emily Strom, Amanda Burggraff, Emily Bissett and Marianne Wilkinson

3. Dennis Christian and Pru Bell

4. Julie Baxendine and Toni Lane

5. Graham Mahuika and Dave Johnstone

6. Gerry French and Julie Catchpole

7. Emily Bissett, Kimberley Anderson and Hamish Kappely

8. Melisa Kappely and Paul Bell

Ray Salisbury

Aspire

Annesbrook Events Centre

1. Christeen Mackenzie and Richard Kerby

2. Katrin Struben, Adela Stepan and Alfredo Puche

3. Allan Willoughby and Paul Rosanowski

4. Kai Kruse and Hugh Morrison

5. Lisa Crockett and Jen Bennett

6. Rachel Lake and Marie Lindaya

7. Stephanie Gray, Claire Williamson and Jamie Kneale

8. Gilbert Robertson and Frank Witowski

Jack Malcolm

Fifeshire Foundation

30th Anniversary

Fairfield House

1. Matty Anderson and Tuia Marama

2. Jo Feely, Paul Hanscombe and Leah Cammell

3. Fred and Bev Greig

4. Chris and Cat Ward

5. Nick Clarke and Nic Foster

6. Brittany and Myra Dick

7. Peter Verstappen, Emma Bennett and Shanine Hermsen

8. Cheryl Grady and Stephen Strother

Ray Salisbury

PRESENTING 29 VISTA DRIVE, NELSON

Your brand-new home with breathtaking views of the western ranges and the most stunning Nelson sunsets. Perched on the ridgeline, this quality family home overlooks farmland, providing a unique opportunity to enjoy a distinctly rural feel in the heart of suburban Nelson. A stylish ‘contemporary country’ design, the stunning feature brick is a salute to the history of the Bishopdale Brickworks and sits harmoniously within the surrounding green-scape. This position enjoys all-day sun and a seamless connection to the outdoors. The living areas are bathed in natural light, creating an inviting, supremely comfortable home. A striking island-style kitchen forms the hub of family life, with a clever design that gently separates the open plan nature of this space. You can entertain in casual luxury or cosy up in the separate living room with ducted heating and cooling ensuring a wonderful ambient temperature all year round.

Debbie Cooper 021 0252 8294 debbie@thecoopergroup.co.nz

More information: Open your camera on your phone and scan the QR code.

Debbie Cooper Real Estate Ltd (Licensed under REAA 2008)

Photo credit: Exposure Media