Waikato maker Jeff Fryett of Woodenjeff hand carves elegant and tactile wooden spoons and spatulas from green wood, fresh from the trees. Using minimal tools — just a saw, axe, and knives — to shape his products, he then burnishes them with a pebble to leave a smooth tooled finish.
For Liz Neale, it all began with a desire to create something truly special for her sensitive skin – something that not only brought results, but also nourished and nurtured the skin with the goodness of nature. Seeing skincare products with extravagant claims and sometimes questionable ingredients sparked a fire within her to do better, to offer something natural, genuine, and effective. The result? Bodytreats
Sylvia Sinel of StudioSinel Ltd says she has found her affinity in the forever fascinating world of clay and glazing. Exchanging a busy career life in Stockholm for a chance to follow her dreams of creativity and being close to nature here in New Zealand, she has recently taken the exciting step of becoming a full-time maker. She says “Ceramic art is the ultimate combination of all I cherish: sculpture, painting, physics, chemistry, poetry.”
Daniella Jordan specialises in producing hand-made, hand-dyed fabrics from her North Island home. Her beautiful textile prints are produced with sustainable, organic and non-toxic materials, and tap into the beauty of the local plants…
Costume, character and crafts(wo)manship: the leatherwork of Kay Buchanan
Kay Buchanan of Leather Creations has always had a passion for the arts – be it music, craft, painting, drawing, photography, theatre, costuming or film. Add to this a deep commitment to the ethics of her work and the inspiration of living in Aotearoa, and the result is her truly beautiful, fantastical range of leather and textile clothing and accessories.
Natasha Courtney came here from the UK in 2001, backpacking with a working holiday visa. “The first place I went to was Waiheke Island, thinking I’d stay for a few days, but I ended up staying there for 10 years.” After a brief stay in Nelson she now lives on the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula…
Holly Dark of Little Laneway Design is a designer and print artist based in Hamilton. From her home studio she produces a range of uncluttered and cheerful New Zealand-inspired designs, which she turns into lovely decor and homewares.
Helen of KARKT Recycled Bags describes her family as nomadic and simple-living. Having spent almost two decades backpacking around the world, she says they know they don’t need much to live with, materially and financially. KARKT Recycled Bags aligns with their values: re-using, recycling and fixing as much as they can. They’ve come a long way from the day they first called a trucking company to ask if they had any unwanted truck tarps, only to be told they’re actually called ‘truck curtains’!
Yarn dyers and mamas Vicky and Nicola of Rosewood Wool have been friends for quite a long time. “We met when our eldest sons were toddlers, but our friendship is bound together with handcraft. We live and breathe it [though] one of us works full time and the other home-schools – we have six children between us and we plan family camping trips together with the intention of sitting and knitting for days.”
An extraordinary and beautiful collection of traditional Māori kākahu and weaving from five generations of one family is now a major exhibition in Hamilton. The remarkable women featured in this exhibition are acknowledged as New Zealand’s finest traditional Māori weavers.
