homewares

A purpose and an occupation: the lathe that turned a life around

Mike Walker of Walker’s Woodturning was born and bred on a sheep and beef farm in the King Country. His passion for woodturning began with many childhood hours spent turning with his grandfather. In 2002 Mike broke his back, and it was this that eventually led him to take up woodturning again in his adult years, this time in a professional capacity. Assisted by his wife Helen on the business front, Mike has worked hard to adapt traditional turning techniques to his needs, and as a result he’s competent at ambidextrous turning, and turning seated or standing.

Beautiful textiles for every day: the fabric of a life-long love

Adrienne Mulqueen of Adrienne’s Loom has been weaving since 1979. She loved it from the moment she threw her first weft, immediately feeling she wanted to do nothing else but weave. Life has taken her in different directions over the years but it has now allowed her to return to her looms. Adrienne is passionate about producing textiles that people will enjoy using – she’d really rather you didn’t tuck her creations away for “best”!

Making space: a Taranaki potter’s rediscovery of creativity

Ceramicist Janine Rata was born in the north of England and emigrated to Taranaki in the late 1980s, while in her early teens. She left her background in corporate IT in 2005 to dedicate her time to beginning a family (she has been married to Hone for more than 20 years now and they have two children), and it wasn’t until 2015, while searching for a creative outlet, that she discovered the potter’s wheel. She has been addicted ever since.

Respecting our resources: the Christchurch team working to save timber from landfill

A small but dedicated salvage team based in Christchurch, The Silvan started out life as an art gallery and café. When their building was lost in the 2011 earthquakes, the team came back fighting, shifting their focus to saving and repurposing beautiful timbers, hand salvaged from damaged buildings. Founders Debra and GT believe in minimising waste and reusing everything they can to make pieces that are practical, beautiful, and full of soul.

“Starts with a drawing, ends with an object.” Short stories from Bearwood Workshop

Joe Wright of Bearwood Workshop handcrafts his beautiful wooden homewares and sculpture – all made from sustainable and recycled New Zealand native timber – from a little tractor shed in Glendhu Bay overlooking Lake Wanaka. After years of working as a designer in many different disciplines, running his own consultancy and clocking up the air miles with large corporations as clients, he decided to shed it all and go back to his roots. His days are now spent following his passion: designing and making simple, beautiful, sustainable items that will stand the test of time.

Ingredients for a fulfilling creative career: the Auckland textile printer making an impression

After a career in New Zealand’s fashion industry, Rachel Moore felt it was time to combine her textile knowledge and and artistic creativity together – leading to the creation of her Ingredients Design brand (also known as texdesign here on Felt). Rachel works with 100% linen fabric for its environmental and tactile qualities, and sees her work as providing the ingredients to make a space a home.