Photography / Jeremy Toth
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editor’s letter
104
92
53
66
The topic of isolation haunts many conversations about this country, but this issue of the magazine feels like another nail in the coffin of the notion of it being a bad thing. Look, for example, at the finalists in our annual Design Awards for New Zealand's best furniture and lighting (p.53). This year we're delighted to welcome Fisher & Paykel as our Design Awards partner, a company that has already proven that geographic isolation is only a state of mind. Indeed, constraints are what fuel good design; in this case, the need to easily reach export markets means our finalists share a lean elegance that only enhances their appeal. Many designers are already succeeding in markets abroad: Cheshire Architects' winning 'Parison' pendant and Simon James' 'Pick Up Sticks' chair both debuted at Milan Design Week in April as part of the Resident collection and immediately garnered international coverage. We're proud to feature them and the work of all the other finalists in this issue. The theme of distance pervades other parts of this issue. We connect with two New Zealand expats who have forged careers in faraway places: interior and furniture designer Christopher Hall – who left Christchurch just after finishing high school and now divides his time between major commissions in Istanbul, London and Riyadh (p.92) – and New York-based music manager Debbi Gibbs, who says she might not have stayed in Manhattan if not for her innovative prefab lakeside escape in New Jersey (p.80). We also feature a warm, inventive home by Michael O'Sullivan on Waiheke Island (p.104) where expat Englishman Richard Beniston has settled with his wife and family. And if you need any further evidence that isolation can be a very good thing, look no further than the remarkable home by Pattersons in a Banks Peninsula bay (on our cover and on p.66): it is a crystalclear representation of the beauty of being as far away from everything as you can get. Jeremy Hansen, Editor
Our August/September issue (which will be on newsstands on August 4) is our regular examination of the connections between fashion and architecture, and this year we've recruited someone very special to help out: fashion designer Karen Walker is stepping in as the issue's guest editor. She's already been working her international contacts so we can introduce you to them and their unique homes (we've commissioned shoots in New York, Sydney and Geneva for this issue, with more to come). We're working with the theme 'Global Villages' and the idea that, as international travel becomes more common and modern life more frenetic, we increasingly crave the intimacy of the neighbourhoods we live in. Which, when you think about it, is an interesting companion to the themes of isolation and distance woven into this issue.
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