Our Place Magazine Issue 44

The Bay’s Summer Hotspots

Life in Colour: Artist Paul Darragh

Beginner’s Guide to Composting

Monday & Tuesday from 12.00 pm

Wednesday to Friday from 7.30 am

Saturday & Sunday from 9.00 am

wine room the

Founders Rachelle & Christopher Duffy

Creative director Christopher Duffy Editor Sarah Nicholson sarah@ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Social media managers Maddie Banks & Millie Guest social@ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Advertising enquiries Rachelle Duffy 021 032 7873 rachelle@ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Contributors Jim Annear, Julie Clifton, Sue Hoffart, Holly McVicar, Skye Wishart

Photographers ilk, Adrienne Pitts

Pick up your copy from The Little Big Markets, plus at selected cafes, restaurants, shops and businesses.

Want to receive regular copies of Our Place for your business to distribute? Email rachelle@ourplacemagazine.co.nz

To tell us about anything happening in your area right now, email sarah@ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Cover & contents

Cover photography: Artist Paul Darragh by Adrienne Pitts.

Contents photography by ilk

Follow us @ourplacemagazine ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Take 20% off your first order on our Starter Kits.

Use the code ‘OURPLACE20’ (valid until December 31st).

So in an attempt to broaden our horizons, we requested some fresh inspiration from a range of locals who’ve shared their favourite jaunts (page 57). Tag us in your post if you make it to any of them!

A suggestion we’d like to add to that list is Tauranga Art Gallery (perfect for rainy days!), especially as we love the striking work of artist Paul Darragh (38) and can’t wait to see his exhibition, Shape Up or Ship Out, which opens this month.

Although the sustainably focused fashion brand Mina is Auckland-based, owner and designer Natalie Procter has relocated to the Mount (63). It’s a challenge working between the two, especially with a fast-growing business, but she tells us the positives of a beach lifestyle make it worth it.

Olivia McCord is also a Bay convert, creating her home in the countryside. An inexperienced gardener, she just happened upon the idea of growing edible flowers, and now her business, Crawford Road Flowers, is thriving (49). Jim Annear is all about flourishing gardens, which is why he’s an ardent composter. He shares advice on how to achieve a well-balanced compost bin (79), and Holly McVicar uses her garden’s bounty in recipes for barbecued beef with avo dressing and Thai chicken salad (86).

Please know that we’re all flat out manifesting sunny weather — so we hope by the time you get this issue, it’s worked!

The Our Place team

When it comes to summer outings in the Bay — places to walk, swim and have fun — it’s easy to just return to the same tried-and-true spots.

What’s Up

Top Billing

We’re excited to see Beast of a Feast is back on 4 March at Soper Reserve (you might remember the great day out back in 2018). Now the event gurus from Red Hearing have taken the reins and are bringing together some of Aotearoa’s best music, drinks and food. Goodshirt (left) are headlining, plus names like The Grogans, Jamie and Nathan Haines, Fleetwood Mac Tribute and Frank Booker. With 14 breweries on board, you can get cold ones from Panhead, Yeastie Boys, 8 Wired and locals stars Slab and Mount Brewing Co, plus Terry mixed drinks. Feast on food from FTP Vegan Eats, Karaage Boy, Delicious Dosa, Māorimex and loads more. Definitely a Mount summer highlight.

→ Tickets, beastofafeast.co.nz @beastofafeast

Something Special

Special Studio designs and produces stylish, sculptural 3D-printed homewares. The products, including side tables, stools, bins and planters (Lulu Stool pictured right), are made from recycled plastic and manufactured on demand to reduce waste. Special Studio is opening a public space in the CBD (formerly the site of Sumer gallery) to showcase the whole process and let people see how the products are printed. Head along to check out the space at the open day and factory sale on 25 February (launch weekend). “This studio is a testing ground for further expansion,” says designer Matt Watkins. “Here we can design, test and refine our processes and products, before sending the print files to locations closest to the customer, saving time and freight costs.” The studio will be open Saturdays, and on weekdays by appointment.

→ 3 Waihirere Ln, Tauranga CBD specialstudio.co

Down to Earth

Described as a “family camping wonderland, an epic dance party, a retreat experience, and so much more“, the Earth Beat Festival, 22–26 March, has a whānau-focused, community vibe. It’s about strengthening our relationship and connection with the earth and each other, to inspire new and regenerative ways of living. There’s an eclectic line-up for its four stages (plus youth stage), including The Black Seeds, Mo’ Horizons and Lou’ana, as well as comedy, live art, healers, wellness circle, workshops and kids’ activity zone.

→ Ātiu Creek Regional Park, 414 Run Rd, Auckland (75-minutes drive from central Auckland) earthbeatfestival.com

Photograph by Nabulen Ignacio

Local wild FOOD festival

WHARFSIDE, PORT ŌHOPE

It’s back, bigger and better than before at a great new location - Wharfside, Port Ōhope. A weekend celebrating food from our natural environment.

Tickets on sale Wednesday, 1 February. whakatane.com/wildfood

Wild Food Gathering by the Wharf

FRIDAY, 24 MARCH, 5.30PM - 9PM

A celebration of local produce with a wild twist, cooked by award winning chef - Des Harris

Local Wild Food Festival

SATURDAY, 25 MARCH, 10AM - 4PM

• Cooking challenge, 10am - 1pm

• Demonstrations and tastings

• Food trucks and craft beer

• Live music

Part of the Flavours of Plenty Festival flavoursofplentyfestival.com

With thanks to Tourism Bay of Plenty, Bay Trust, Trust Horizon and Whakatāne District Council.

Raising the Bar

Clarence Bistro has reopened for dinner with one of Aotearoa’s most celebrated chefs at the helm. Simon Wright (right), along with wife Creghan Molloy-Wright, owned Auckland’s iconic fine diner The French Cafe for 20 years, keeping it consistently at the top of its game. They sold the restaurant to spend more time with their young children, later opening Whangamatā’s much-loved Gather & Roam food truck HQ in 2021. Now, as the new exec chef at the Clarence, Simon is bound to elevate Tauranga’s dining scene with contemporary Mediterranean dishes like his famous whitebait ‘sandwich’, crayfish carbonara with pancetta, zucchini flowers and pangrattato; lamb niçoise with dried olive, rosemary and artichoke soubise; and a dessert of meringue, strawberries, rhubarb and white chocolate.

→ 51 Willow St, Tauranga clarencetauranga.co.nz @clarencebistrohotel

Pride & Joy

Everyone is invited along to celebrate diversity at the Tauranga Moana Pride Beach Week, 5–11 March. There’ll be fun events for young and old, including a free film night at Hopukiore (Mount Drury Reserve), where two films will be screened: Once Upon a Time in the Bay and Kiki. The week culminates in the Pride Picnic at Coronation Park — think top-notch live entertainment, market stalls and delish food trucks — just bring yourself and a blanket. Come along to celebrate the culture, amplify the voices and support the rights of our LGBTQI+ community.

→ taurangamoanapride.co.nz

@taurangamoanapride

Best of the Bay

The annual Flavours of Plenty Festival runs 24 March to 2 April, with events ranging from pop-up dinners to cuisine challenges and getting behind-the-scenes with chefs, brewers and food producers. Here’s a taste of what’s on offer: Rika Rika Japanese Omakase (a ‘trust the chef’ menu), Wild Food Gathering by the Wharf sees award-winning chef Des Harris work wonders with wild food, Fanculo la Dieta! is Centrale’s glorious long Italian-style lunch, and Picnicka hosts The Mushroom Lunch. You can also don a beekeeper’s suit for a real McCoy beekeeping experience, the team at The Big Smoke BBQ share the best barbie tips and food, The Good Fusion in Port Ōhope combines food and fashion, and the Destination Degustation showcases the best of the Mount Mainstreet on a Saturday afternoon.

→ flavoursofplentyfestival.com

@flavoursofplenty

Photograph by Jay Drew

What’s Up

Walk the Talk

The Western BOP District Council’s Wander Dogs Summer Series still has a few puptastic events coming up. Doggy Day Out (25 February) at Ōmokoroa Sportsground has a ‘Superdogs’ theme, so dress your four-legged pal in their best superhero outfit for a day of fun. There are also two more Saturday Wander Walks, which kick off at 9am with a 30-minute educational talk from an Animal Services Officer, followed by a scenic walk. The first is on 11 February at Anzac Bay, Waihī Beach and the chat is about teaching your dog to stay, and the other is on 4 March at Te Ara Kahikatea Walkway, Te Puke and will address the issue of a hyperactive dog.

→ westernbay.govt.nz/wanderdogs

And All That Jazz

Port of Tauranga 60th National Jazz Festival is happening in Tauranga on 1–10 April (right across Easter weekend) and there’s an amazing line-up that stars some of the best jazz musicians in Australasia. We’re talking world-class jazz concerts, the three-day 45th National Youth Jazz Competition, a Jazz Cafe & VIP Bar, the family favourite TECT Jazz Village, the two-day Downtown Carnival jazz party, Jazz at the Mount on Easter Monday, a jazz sunset cruise, and a swinging Big Band Tea Dance. For Piping Hot Dixie (pictured), Melbourne’s famous Shirazz Jazz Band will be joined by Kingston City organist Scott Harrison in a celebration of the hottest trad jazz and Wurlitzer organ magic. And E Rere Rā — Goldsmith & Baynes will treat the audience to a beautiful marriage of te reo, taonga puoro and jazz. → jazz.org.nz

Ray of Sunshine

Lynley Powell is the talent behind the Aloha Poke food truck, and now the experienced chef is setting up shop with the new eatery Sabal at The Cruise Deck in the Mount. “We were just opening to expand the poke bowl range, but it came with a 1am liquor licence and all this outdoor space,” Lynley says. “I got thinking — what do we think is missing in the Mount? And it was that we always wanted to go out for a snack and a drink, and sit in the sun.” By day, Sabal will offer poke and other seasonal bowls (maybe Japanese curry and soup in winter). By night, you can select food at the deli counter — think prosciutto sliced to order, olives, boquerones (white anchovies) and cheeses. A small tapas menu will run alongside, perhaps with Vietnamese-style tartare, terrines, sashimi and braised Kurobuta pork cheek, along with wine and beer, batch-made cocktails, and all-round good times.

→ Shop 10, 169 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui @sabalmtmaunganui

Photograph by ilk

P L E E E E E N T Y

FLAVOURS

MARCH - 2 APRIL 2023

Join us from 24 March to 2 April for this year’s Flavours of Plenty Festival.

We’re serving up a mouth-watering ten days of events across the Bay of Plenty region, including:

• pop-up restaurants

• cuisine challenges

• long lunches

FLAVOURS OF PLENTY FESTIVAL 2023 ONTICKETS

• degustation dinners

• exclusive meet-the-maker events

• hands-on workshops

• tasting tours.

Get your tickets to the coastal Bay of Plenty’s biggest culinary adventure!

flavoursofplentyfestival.com

@flavoursofplenty

NOW!SALE

THE CREATIVE CAMPUS & SOCIAL FABRIC

The Creative Community Campus is the newest community arts school in Tauranga for creative learning, teaching and events.

THE BAY OF PLENTY'S BRAND NEW ONE-STOP CREATIVE DESTINATION

www.theincubator.co.nz

The Little Big Markets

TLBM is a thriving community hub on a Saturday. In this regular feature, we meet a diverse range of local stallholders with an array of talents, including creating origami jewellery, beautiful ceramics and quirky tees.

Photography by ilk Art direction by Maddie Banks

Alarf

Tom Healey (right) was overseas when he found himself searching for a t-shirt with a cool design to buy for a friend. “I couldn’t find anything remotely clever or that looked like something you’d want to wear,” he says. So he sketched an idea, sent it to his artist sister Frances to draw it, then he placed the image on a tee.

This kicked off the idea for Alarf and the pair started selling their tees with quirky designs. Think a figure using a broom with ‘dusty’ written underneath, or a pint glass with the words ‘love handles’. The range includes short- and long-sleeved tees, and a range of organic cotton Pretty Neat Jerseys.

“The markets have been great for us. It took a while to get moving online, so it was a great way for us to get exposure organically,” says Tom.

They are community minded and work closely with the charities The WaterBoy and Taku Wairua. The Waikato-based pair also have a range of other creative side projects. Frances sells prints ( @frances.creates) and runs The Flour Cakery (flourcakery.com), and Tom is a musician — check him out under the moniker ‘Thomas Newton’ on Spotify.

havealarfnz.com @havealarfnz

Speeds Sunglasses

Josh Speeden (left) is an old hand at markets. He’s been running stalls at various markets and music festivals for more than 20 years in Aotearoa and the US.

During this time, he’s kept a keen eye on what’s hot in accessories. “I had a small clothing company for years, called Creation Products. I designed and printed the clothes, and I always kept up with accessory trends too. I also used to tour the USA on a big music festival, Vans Warped Tour, and pick up trends to bring home.”

The clothing labelled now closed, Speeds Sunglasses is now Josh’s focus. There are three ranges of sunnies (wooden, polarised and a fun festival range), and stylish, well-priced wooden watches.

A TLBM stalwart, Josh has been there since its inception. “I met my wife Emma there in the first season — she was running a neighbouring stall.” They now own Flux Boutique homewares store in the Mount. While Emma is busy with that, Speeds gives Josh flexibility when it comes to raising their son, Asher. Josh also has a small furniture workshop in Whakamārama, Modern Polish. “I restore antique and mid century furniture and custom-make pieces, which probably explains my love for all things wooden and natural.”

joshspeeds@gmail.com

Allure Japanese Jewellery

Japanese-born Yuko Kung grew up in a town near Osaka and, like most Japanese children, learned the art of origami — folding paper to make intricate three-dimensional figures. Yuko liked making things with her hands, but it was much later, and far from home, that she used these long-held skills. At 25, Yuko embarked on her OE, heading to Australia. She eventually moved to New Zealand with her future husband in 2016, settling in the Bay of Plenty as they had family here. After honing her English skills at Toi Ohomai, Yuko wondered what to do with her days. The idea of origami jewellery arose and inspired her to launch Allure Japanese Jewellery. “If I’d stayed in Japan, where it’s normal to settle into a job and just stay there, I would never have started my business. I’d be busy working and commuting.” Yuko’s origami skills are fast and accurate. The size and detail of her work is extraordinary — the cranes about as big as a thumbnail. The choice of paper is important: “I import washi — a traditional handmade Japanese paper made from a special plant — from a Kyoto factory.”

Allure’s Instagram has the tagline: ‘Handcrafted lifetime jewellery’. To achieve this, the tiny paper creations are coated in resin, preserving the figure and giving it a glassy feel. Lacking formal training in jewellery, Yuko watched hours of YouTube videos to learn how to combine origami components with metal to create her unique pieces. She also uses gemstones in her work — crystals such as aquamarine, rose quartz and moonstone. “I like their colours and shapes, and feel they give off a positive energy.”

Discovering The Little Big Markets has been a revelation for Yuko. “The market experience is new for me, they are not so popular in Japan. I love connecting with people and it’s a great place to do business.” Yuko expanded her product range recently, introducing hand-crocheted bags made of recycled cotton, and is planning further collaborations with other craftspeople. Though her pre-school son Leo is already learning origami, there are no immediate plans for him to join the business.

allurejapanesejewellery.com

@allurejapanesejewellery

↑ Yuko with husband Terry and son Leo.

Words by Julie Clifton

Chloe Grey Studio

Chloe Grey was working in retail when she read of a New Zealand jeweller who lived and worked in New York. It hadn’t occurred to her that such a life was possible, and that she could make it happen right here. Her creative ambitions were kicked into action.

Chloe enrolled in a course at Hungry Creek Art & Craft School in Auckland and went on to complete a three-year Diploma in Jewellery, which included design and manufacturing.

Two children later, she was making jewellery “on the side” when the family moved to Tauranga. Their new property had a garage which served as a studio, enabling Chloe to produce enough work to set up shop at Our Place, the former container village in Tauranga CBD.

Her designs, worked largely in silver, echo Chloe’s love of art deco and antique jewellery. She is also mindful of sustainability when choosing her materials: “I don’t use diamonds; that’s an ethical choice. I do source turquoise directly from a miner in the States who mines his own plot.”

An interest in clay emerged two years ago, but was impeded by Covid and local workshops being booked out. When finally she handled clay, Chloe was hooked. She explains that working with

metals requires force and hardness, whereas clay is the opposite. “It’s soft and delicate and I couldn’t love it more if I tried. And when you make a mistake with clay, you just smoosh it over, do it again.”

Chloe dived headlong into wheel-thrown pottery. “I became obsessive, throwing clay every day. I couldn’t stop.” Jewellery has, for now, taken second place.

Earlier this year, Chloe renovated her small studio (just 18sqm) to cater for both jewellery and clay workshops, which are proving very popular. “I love teaching,” she says. “People are excited, they bring ideas and energy, they’re like sponges.”

There aren’t really days off in a typical week, which suits Chloe. “I love this work and am grateful I can do it every day. You have to do what you love, otherwise what’s the point?”

At The Little Big Markets, she likes people to touch and feel her work. Her ceramic pieces are beautiful and functional, made to be used — tumblers with botanical designs, orb-like Moon Vases and lovely planters.

“I’ve only scratched the surface of the possibilities in this medium,” she says. “I’ve so many ideas to explore.”

chloegrey.co.nz @chloegreystudio

Words by Julie Clifton

↑ Chloe with some of her beautiful ceramic works.

Stay safe on the water this summer

Report maritime hazards, incidents and accidents to the Harbourmaster

When you buy local, it has a positive impact on the whole community. Check out these fantastic products from The Little Big Markets and see all the market dates on our Events Guide (p 96).

Green Tiger Interiors

Green Tiger Interiors is passionate about colour, texture and great design. It believes in fair trade and only sources exceptional quality, handmade items. Check out the range and support traditional arts. greentigerinteriors.co.nz

@greentigerinteriors

Ruapuke

New colours of Ruapuke’s bestselling towel have arrived in time for summer! Orange, ocean, wine or pink, what’s your new favourite? All towels are 100% Turkish cotton, quick-dry and sand-free towels. ruapuke.com

@ruapuke_

Tildy & Co

Soy candles hand poured in the beautiful Bay, with natural cotton and sustainable wooden wicks. Plus magnesium body products, bath salts and diffusers. Refillable, reusable vessels and no nasties. tildyandco.com

@tildyandco

Me & the Brave

Beautiful 100% wool, wide-brim fedoras, plus jewellery and apparel for all those brave, authentic and fearless souls. Showroom at 12b Kopukairoa Boulevard, Pāpāmoa.

@meandthebrave

meandthebrave.com

The Food Store

The Food Store brings you the gold medal-winning, Premium Tamarillo Vinaigrette. Drizzle over salads, strawberries or avo. Pair it with Tamarillo Relish for cheese boards, roasts, sandwiches and pizza.

thefoodstore.co.nz

@thefoodstorenz

Small Batch

Small Batch’s Organic Vegan Choc Almond has activated almonds and Solomon’s Gold dark chocolate. Big on nutrition and taste! Buy at The Little Big Markets at the beginning of the month or from local stockists. smallbatch.co.nz

@smallbatchnz

Paper Rain

A social enterprise founded from a desire to do good through artistic and ethical creation. Paper Rain specialises in unique apparel and laser-engraved macrocarpa boards. Every purchase donates to local causes.

paperrain.co.nz @paperrain.nz

Global Canvas

Global Canvas supplies exclusive hemp lifestyle products to Aotearoa. If you are sustainably minded, vegan or wanting something new to the market that will last a lifetime, check them out. globalcanvas.co.nz

hello@globalcanvas.co.nz

Noxen

100% cotton hooded poncho towels, surf accessories and custom apparel for everyone in the whānau, from groms to grandparents. Call in to the showroom at 12b Kopukairoa Boulevard, Pāpāmoa. noxen.co.nz @noxensurf

Casa Del Mar

Casa Del Mar is a Tauranga label that’s about ethical, sustainable designs, and fostering a community of women who uplift each other. The design process and fabrics are kinder to the planet, and the designs are comfy and long lasting.

@house.ofthesea

Stick Hunters

Stick Hunters is clothing for adventurous kids. A local brand that’s focused on an outdoorsy lifestyle, from joyously jumping in a muddy puddle, to enjoying a sunny day at the beach. stickhunters.co.nz

@stick.hunters

Mahāna

Boo & Co

Chloe Grey Studio

@mahanasurf

Quick-drying, sand-free beach towels made from post-consumer recycled plastic! With a lush waffle weave microfibre, Mahāna beach towels are designed in New Zealand and inspired by good times, beach vibes and sunny days. mahanasurf.com

Boo & Co was founded in 2020 by young entrepreneur Brie Buttery, who found her love of fashion at a young age and began sewing her own pieces. After years of dreaming, Boo & Co. is finally here. shopbooandco.com

@boo_andco

Chloe Grey is a talented local jeweller and potter. Her beautiful work is inspired by antiquity and architecture, taking themes of the past and giving them new life through functional art pieces. chloegrey.co.nz

@chloegreystudio

Love Will Heal

Love Will Heal aims to help people’s health conditions using natural handmade healing remedies. They believe that finding these alternatives can have amazing results for people’s wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

@love__willheal

Inspired by Jett

Inspired By Jett specialises in children’s clothing that is fun and funky, including vintage-inspired rompers, bloomers and more. Handmade locally by a mum with your children in mind.

inspiredbyjett.co.nz

@inspiredbyjett

Heat Caravan

Six years operating and more than 500 successful events, from expos and concerts to markets and private catering. Pāpāmoa-based Heat Caravan specialises in woodfired pizzas and gourmet burgers; street food with lots of flavour!

@heatcaravan

Go Green 1st - 31st March

The annual Sustainable Backyards programme is back again to promote better, more sustainable living, for everyone; with activities and events happening every day during March, throughout the Bay of Plenty

The community can find the month-long calendar of events on our new and exciting app You'll find workshops, clean ups, movie nights, kōrero sessions and more!

We're having a competition page with various challenges to complete such as Backyard Bingo and Find The Mascot to go in the draw to win some prizes

Life in Colour

Story by Skye Wishart

Artist and designer Paul Darragh went from a fast-paced life in NYC to settling down in the Mount and evolving his painting practice. We visit him as he prepares for a show at Tauranga Art Gallery.

Photography by Adrienne Pitts

Joy and action: that’s what local abstract artist Paul Darragh wants you to feel when you look at his work. You might have noticed his bright, bold geometric style beginning to pop up around our area: that curvy mural at Te Papa o ngā Manu Porotakataka in downtown Mount Maunganui, the LGBTQI+ rainbow tones covering the road in at The Historic Village, and a vast carpark wall for Hamilton’s annual Boon Street Art Festival. And now the people of Tauranga get to see his signature style at the Tauranga Art Gallery in the show Shape Up Or Ship Out.

POP ART & GRAPHICS

While he’s now based in Mount Maunganui, Paul worked in New York City as a graphic artist for a decade, designing for the likes of Nike, Google and The New York Times — he even created the bold graphics dominating Rihanna’s music video Rude Boy. Still freelancing graphic design remotely to the US, he’s dedicating a huge chunk of time now to art. Using acrylic paint on canvas and murals, he’s inspired by what’s happening to the world culturally and technologically: “I’m interested in where the world is heading and where the world is powered — the ways in which our days change.”

He started seriously painting in 2015, during his last two years in New York. Rather than the joyous approach, it had a gritty edge back then. “My style there was way more influenced by the streets, Brooklyn, swagger and attitude. I think of it as my art school period, finding my style.”

He counts Stuart Davis — who is regarded as a forefather of pop art — as a big influence. In the 1940s and ’50s he created bright, jazz-inspired abstract works, which often featured advertising and consumer goods and conveyed the urban sense of energy of New York City. But Paul is influenced by modern and postmodern art in general. “The intention of postmodern art is to break new ground and create a new idea of what art is. It’s more interesting to me than Renaissance and classical art.” Flat design is a favourite, too — a minimalistic, two-dimensional graphic style. “I have a real appreciation for American-style graphic design, that ultra-capitalistic and super-consumable style that started in the post-war era: the new jet-set age, new inventions, selling that dream.”

Everything Paul paints is first meticulously planned out, using both Adobe Illustrator and hand sketches, and even scale models for exhibitions. He’ll use texture additives in his acrylic paint, such as moulding paste with sand, to give parts of his works a rough and three-dimensional feel. Sometimes he’ll use colours and forms to create a weird visual distortion. “I always want it to feel as if parts are moving within the canvas. I’m drawn to bold and bright colour that convey joy and energy. When you

pair certain colours together, like blue and red, it vibrates. Your static artwork can literally come alive.” This month’s Tauranga Art Gallery show will exhibit various artists with different themes, but all based on the concept that artists face the financial reality of having to balance their exhibiting and commercial art practice. For Paul, it’s commissioned murals alongside his paintings. For fellow exhibitor Turumeke Harrington, it’s the objects she fabricates and sells, such as tees and brooches, versus her large sculptural installations. “That side hustle that some artists need in order to make ends meet,” says Paul.

For his part of the show, Paul’s inspiration is the global shipping trade, its disruption during the pandemic and “the spillover from that” — expressed as a combination of “commissioned” murals and smaller personal pieces. He’ll create a room of wall-to-wall murals representing flags and codes of conduct at sea, which he’ll paint in situ over five days. Hanging on the murals will be the acrylic works on canvas, and these will at the same time represent cargo and shipping containers. This theme came to Paul on a recent trip to Malaysia, home-country of his partner Ali Kamaruddin. “Flying over Singapore, it seemed like there were a million cargo ships sitting below us, and I remember thinking, holy crap, the world is massive! We are all influenced by our environment and here in Tauranga we have the largest port in the country. Also the shipping container is an iconic structure in our lives now — tiny homes, coffee carts — so there’s a lot to talk about there.”

IN LOVE WITH NEW YORK

It’s a soggy, rainy, grey day at the home and art studio that Paul and Ali share. A tall wooden gate opens into a walled courtyard garden. The front door is painted a bold buttercup yellow, making for a joyous entrance in the rain and perfectly matching the Stuart Davis print in the entrance way. The small flat is upbeat and cosy with bold colour-blocked art and ceramics. There’s a coffee machine letting off steam in the corner. A small fluffy dog, Charlie, chews a squeaking toy on the rug. Lovely, homely and domestic, it seems a far cry from the fast-paced, concrete jungle and hotbed of creative energy that is New York City. Paul was raised on the family farm near Matamata in the 1980s, and it was a trip to New York City when he was only six years old that cemented the Big Apple in his future. “I remember the bigness of it, the loudness, the honking cars in Manhattan — that energy I fell in love with.” Music and movies in his teenage years further glorified the city, and he finally realised his dream in his mid-20s in 2007, moving from Wellington to Melbourne and finally onto New York City. He rocketed up the career ladder as a graphic artist, completely loving the ride.

Clockwise from top left: Paul’s latest art is themed around the global shipping trade; giving Charlie some love; vibrant work for the upcoming show; Paul and Ali’s home is a haven of art and design. Next spread: Paul’s mural in downtown the Mount.

“In New York, every day you feel like you’re in a movie. The skyline when you’re crossing the Brooklyn Bridge never gets old, it always feels magical and incredible. And the people were my favourite thing — the people make it. First, the diversity is incredible. Everyday you’re interacting with people from all different cultures, which gives New Yorkers a great sense of community and pride. There is also more of a meritocracy there — if you work hard you can totally make it, so you’re always near something incredible if you want it, whether it’s exposure to celebrities or other scenes, you can make it happen. People are incredibly friendly, gregarious, engaging, they want to help you.”

Paul freelanced a lot but for four years had his own design agency in New York, called Manhattan Born, with vast TV network company Viacom (now Paramount Global) as his main client. His graphic design work is always in the entertainment industry.

He says it was interesting coming back to New Zealand’s tall poppy syndrome. “New Zealanders don’t like being braggadocious and self-promoting. But that’s the way I’ve learnt to be a businessman now. “I was 25 when I arrived in New York and 35 when I left. Those years are formative in your professional development, and set the tone for how I conduct business.”

Paul hadn’t planned to move home; he thought he’d stay in New York forever. But with the Trump presidency underway, he didn’t like the shift he sensed in the USA and his gut told him it was time to go home (that, and his 01 visas were becoming difficult to renew).

Back in New Zealand, Paul was soon operating from his parents’ brand new barn in rural Matamata while connecting into Hamilton’s art scene. But once he met Ali, founder of Mount Maunganui’s Forty Thieves Barbershop, he changed his focus to

Above: Containers Stacked Inside, 2022 (detail), destined to hang in Paul’s show Shape Up or Ship Out. Opposite page: Paul in his colour-filled home in front of his work Container Exploded, 2022.

Tauranga and has found the art community in wider Tauranga “incredibly welcoming”.

“You do have to find your community as that’s the only way opportunities will come — or just to bounce ideas off each other and get advice on projects.” For example, during a monthly get together with arts and culture advocate Sonya Korohina of Supercut Projects and artist Lynette Fisher, they came up with the idea of staging their own exhibition at Sonya’s Ōtūmoetai mid-century modern house, as a way of dealing with lack of exhibition space in Tauranga.

The resulting four-day Home & Garden show was held in November 2022 and featured artwork across a variety of mediums by Paul, Lynette, local artist John Roy and Christchurch’s Jacquelyn Greenbank. Paul’s pieces were inspired by the architecture of Sonya’s house — reducing it to simple lines and graphics.

BALANCE IN TAURANGA

Paul’s been making his mark on Tauranga, and so far he’s content to call it home. “Ali and I have made our life here in Mount Maunganui — we miss it when we go away. We have an amazing natural environment here, it’s beautiful. I would never have chosen to live here but life takes you places so you make the most of that.”

Saying that, frequent travel gives him the perspective he needs as an ex-New Yorker. He’s still inspired by people-watching on the streets of large cities: the crazy street fashion, the diversity, the sense that big things are happening. “You always need to step outside your small circle of everyday life for perspective. When I travel to these places, I realise all the stuff I was worried about doesn’t matter.”

Shape Up or Ship Out runs 25 February to 14 May at Tauranga Art Gallery bemodern.co.nz @bemodern1

Appearing seemingly over night in June 2022, Artfull has quickly established itself as one of the most innovative, dynamic and diverse online-first platforms for art lovers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

All in one place, you can discover hundreds of original artworks by emerging and established Aotearoa New Zealand artists, immerse yourself in the story behind each piece, browse local and international art and culture books, and explore dozens of curated collections designed to take you on an art safari, all from the comfort of your couch.

Founded by John Barnett and Jessica Agoston Cleary, Artfull’s mission is simple: to spread the joy of owning and living with art, from one end of the motu to the other. It’s about making art accessible to anyone and everyone, no matter where they are, and it’s also about expanding the relevance of art, and demystifying the art world, without a hint of pretension.

With over 50 artists from all over Aotearoa already part their continually expanding line up, you’d be hard pressed to find more artworks in any one place… except maybe Te Papa. At Artfull, there truly is a piece of art for almost every taste, every special moment and every budget. From contemporary portrait painting and landscapes, through to bold, expressive abstract pieces, as well as photography, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, ceramics and limited-edition prints.

One of the most exciting aspects of Artfull is the way it champions artists –especially emerging artists who are finding their feet in the weird and wonderful world of art. Jessica and the Artfull team are known for collaborating with artists, helping them to bring their ideas to life outside the typical white-cube space of an art gallery – which ultimately means reaching and inspiring even more people than ever before.

If you’re art curious or an art aficionado, head to artfull.co.nz to find the perfect piece for your home, like these adjacent pieces by established, award-winning artists Paul Hartigan, Luise Fong and Virginia Woods-Jack. Or discover the next big name – like the pieces by Chloe June Summerhayes, Sam Walker, and Paul Darragh.

artfull.co.nz

Virginia Woods-Jack

Lay of the Land

Story by Skye Wishart

Photography by ilk

Olivia McCord loves zinnias

— she calls them her powerhouses because of their limitless flowering.

Hers grow in pops of lime, red and magenta, and they are all destined to become cake toppers: bringing to life elegant cakes and slices at some of Tauranga’s bestknown eateries.

The zinnias are delivered personally to chefs in small boxes along with other flowers from Olivia’s garden, such as rose petals, calendulas, carnations, dahlias — and her dried flowers are sent nationwide.

Edible flowers have thousands of years of history in Roman and Asian cultures, loved for their aroma, flavour, nutrition and aesthetics, and used in salads, sauces, drinks or baking. But in recent years they’ve enjoyed a global renaissance, helped by the movement to plant-based diets and of course their Insta-ready ability to catch the eye. Crawford Road Flowers is our own little piece of it all right here in the Bay of Plenty.

A brain for branding

Driving high in the hills above Tauranga, you’ll find a rural valley that Olivia and her young family call home — rising up around them are green hills, orchards and lifestyle neighbours, and below them is the shimmering sea of their own kiwifruit vines. Out the front, roses of all colours and forms. Out the back, stone terraces burgeon with self-seeded colour — vast belts of pansies, calendula, scabiosa, zinnia. Love-in-the-mist grows between gravel stones on the paths. While regular picking gardens often need to grow in structures for straight stems, Olivia’s flowers grow every which way in wild abandon, because it’s only the flower head itself she’s interested in.

When I visit, the family is moving from the tiny white brick cottage to the brand new, pavilion-style family home built just metres away. It’s chaos. But stepping inside, where every detail in the new house

has been researched and obsessed over by Olivia, you can see her interest in design shine through — dark inky feature walls and cabinetry are paired with a light and airy moderncountry feel elsewhere, from the botanical wallpaper in the bathroom to the soaring skylights.

This branding brain of Olivia’s was ignited in Auckland where she worked for serial beauty brand creator Tim Cunningham. “I watched that whole process — finding the product and creating the brand story around it.” She sharpened it further doing marketing and public relations for jewellery chain Pandora and fashion brand Repertoire. Olivia and a friend even launched their own raincoat range, Halcyon Day, that sought a stylish take on rainwear. They had it manufactured here in New Zealand but ultimately couldn’t compete with the more economical Chinese manufacturers.

Experimenting with flowers

It was when she and her young family first moved onto their 2.8ha block in 2020, back then just a flat paddock, that edible flowers entered the equation. Always keen on creating beautiful places to live (this is the sixth house she and husband Liam have built), she’d been looking into flower varieties for the garden but had no experience whatsoever with ornamental gardening. “So I always thought growing seeds was for experts,” says Olivia. “But — all the seeds grew when I planted them!”

She was also searching for ideas to create a business on the property; she wanted something that allowed her to work flexibly, with two young children under five.

“Lots of friends had asked about edible flowers, telling me they’re doing a cake for an event and no one could find where to get them from. Also, sometimes people aren’t careful and put flowers

From a big-city marketing gig, to growing edible flowers on a lifestyle block in Te Puna — Olivia McCord has found an ideal way to balance her busy family life and business.

This page, top to bottom: Olivia’s glasshouse sits beside the kiwifruit orchard and what has unwittingly become a very thorny swingset!; Lottie the deer; colourful pansies. Opposite page: Harry collecting petals. Opener: Picking flowers is a family affair.

Crawford Road Flowers started delivering freshly picked flowers to Tauranga cafes and bakers, and now also sends jars of pretty dried petals and pressed flower kits across the country.

that definitely aren’t edible on their cakes.” Bingo. What made growing edible flowers more attractive was that if business was slow, then rather than being left with unsold manufactured stock, she’d simply be left with gorgeous gardens instead.

So it was out with Olivia’s ambitiously enormous terraced vege gardens, and in with the blooms — Crawford Road Flowers was born. Her initial plan was to grow punnets of edibles and sell them into specialty food stores (a bit like buying fresh herbs in the supermarket), but the perishability of the plants made stores reluctant to stock them.

Then out of the blue, local establishment Trinity Wharf messaged Olivia on her Crawford Road Flowers Instagram account with a request to supply its restaurant and bar with fresh edible flowers. They’d followed her social media and were keen to be involved. A new business model was born. Soon Clarke Road Kitchen, Spongedrop

Cakery and Nourished Eatery had also signed on as clients, as well as online baker Sage & Grace. The flowers are picked fresh with no stalk attached, packed gently into small cardboard boxes, and delivered the same day to the Tauranga restaurants — where Olivia says they will last a week in the fridge. (She also enables pick up outside her in-laws place in Bethlehem.)

Soon, inspired by ideas from other edible flower businesses around the world, Olivia was launching her dried petal jars. The contents can be sprinkled onto culinary creations for artistic flair and they became an instant bestseller. The jars are a perfect use for Olivia’s dahlias, which are much too big for cake decorating, but when dehydrated and crushed along with zinnias they transform into the ‘Jewelled Rocks’ petal jar.

Boxes of pressed flowers are another income stream for Crawford Road Flowers — something that

happened quite by accident. “Freshly picked pansies always just shrivel up, so I tried pressing them. I had no idea pressed flower cakes were a trend!” says Olivia. “But these kits of mixed pressed flowers are what I sell the most online — to cake makers who order a whole bunch of kits at once.” Her kits include a changeable mixture of edibles and purely decorative, such as nigella, pansy, eucalyptus, fern or rosemary.

A bright future

Between supplying cafes and restaurants and selling online to the public, Crawford Road Flowers consistently sells out. Through social media word-of-mouth, with lots of fans tagging their friends in, Olivia says Instagram has been instrumental to business growth. For one thing, Louie was a newborn when she started the business, so she could not easily go around to physically pitch to businesses with her product. But it has amplified her public customer base too.

“Marketing through Instagram has been the singular most important factor in growing my business. That can be where the disconnect is, with us rural people who are really good at growing stuff but often not so good at bringing it to life on the marketing side,” says Olivia.

“The only limitation to growth now is me — I’m always sold out.” Her plan is to keep the business part time for the next few years, but ramp it up when the kids are older. For now she’s beginning to import seeds for edible flowers, as part of her product range. “These will be targeted at the home gardener who just wants something that looks pretty. I am very much an amateur gardener and these are all versions of flowers I’ve grown. If I can grow them, anyone can!”

Forever home

Olivia and Liam have planted everything on this property: the kiwifruit, fruit orchard, flower gardens, the stretches of baby blue and silver dollar eucalyptus, a rose arbour. The pet deer Lottie wanders wherever she wants (the new rose shoots she “pruned” are now Olivia’s best producers). This is their forever home.

Flexible flowers and all, Olivia’s now found a life balance she loves. “I couldn’t live in town again. I love being able to go for a walk on my own land, I take the boys out and do a loop of the property in the morning. If you live on the land, it becomes your identity; in town it’s just your house.”

crawfordroad.co.nz

@crawfordroad_flowers

This page, left to right: A Sage & Grace cake adorned with delicate dried flowers; Olivia and Liam with Harry and baby Louie. Opposite page: Olivia’s dried petal jars were an instant hit with customers.

Friday night from 5pm with evolving culinary themes, including: Japanese, Spanish, Italian and French.

THE MOUNT’S BRAND NEW PHOTO STUDIO

Chasing Rainbows

Looking for new adventures around our beautiful area? Well, we’re at your service! We’ve asked locals about where they like to head on summer days — hopefully it inspires some new discoveries.

If you’re looking to cool off and don’t mind taking a beautiful drive down the Matatā straights, then a swim in the Braemar Springs is a must. I only just discovered this amazing swimming spot nestled in the back blocks of Matatā. It has to have the clearest water in the entire Bay of Plenty, I reckon. A natural spring literally bubbling up from the deep. Definitely worth packing a lunch and checking it out.

Caleb Walsh, Cab Creative

A shady forest is always an appealing way to take refuge from the sun. Just 30-minutes drive from Tauranga, Kaiate Falls Walk is a gorgeous bush track with water cascading down a series of waterfalls, culminating in the large lower falls, where you can take a dip. The walk takes about 45 minutes to an hour and although you need to take care in parts, it is manageable with young kids.

Sarah Nicholson, Editor, Our Place

My favourite summer spot is Orokawa Bay. Follow the track at the northern end of Waihī beach — it’s a beautiful walk that hugs the coastline, through native bush, skirting the coastal headlands before descending into Orokawa Bay. The perfect beach is shaded by gigantic pōhutukawa trees. This is my morning ritual when staying at Waihī Beach — if you rise early enough, you can leave the first footprints of the day on the beach. A magnificent start to the day.

James Wilson, Manager: Arts & Culture, TCC

There is accommodation at Redwood Valley Farm in Paengaroa, but most of the activities there are free to explore with a koha donation. My partner and I went last summer and felt like big kids again. There are loads of things to do (see the website), including floating down the stream on a tube, feeding the chickens and pigs, a waterslide, glow worms at night, picnicking, lots of native bird spotting and bush walks — the lot! Also, I love going to Okere Falls Store for a fresh Brezel (served with brie and salted butter — so addictive!) and a coffee or craft beer, followed by the Okere Falls bush walk, where you can watch the adrenaline junkies whitewater rafting.

Lisa Rooney, Blabla Events

A place that I always look forward to going to in summer is the top of Mount Drury. It only takes a couple of minutes to walk up and it has a well-sized bench with a table for food and the prettiest view.

Sophie Maude, musician

One of the best places to be in the height of summer is Te Puna Quarry Park, wandering through the lush native bush (regenerating beautifully thanks to the Park Society), and enjoying the sculptures, pottery and outdoor art. The park also hosts fantastic events (the outdoor amphitheatre is perfect for concerts), so I keep up to date with those on the website. Shout out to Shane Walker for his wicked park mural, too.

Rose Treadwell, Creative Bay of Plenty

A favourite hidden gem is the Summerhill Estate Golf Course in Pāpāmoa; it’s 9-hole course that welcomes all and it has the most amazing views! I can thoroughly recommend. My other spot is the Matatā Campsite, 40-minutes drive from Tauranga. Find a site directly on the beach, then make yourself one of the most scenic dinners you can have.

Perry Farrell, Red Hearing events

When you want to walk up a hill without the Mount crowds, the best local walk or run is at Pāpāmoa Hills Regional Park. The main track takes about 45 minutes to walk up and there are also various smaller tracks. I love taking the farm track, which is a little bit longer and winds through farmland. The summit is a great spot for a picnic as it has sweeping views of the Bay of Plenty coastline.

Tash Meys, Tastefully Studios

A swim at Pori Pori waterhole — the river water is always fresh and nice.

Brian Kim, Rika Rika Sushi

Beautiful Maketu Beach is just 20-minutes drive from the Mount. The rocky coastline is draped with clay cliffs that you can see all the way from Pāpāmoa Beach.

Basti Todd, Event Manager, Little Big Events

Waihī’s Homunga Bay is stunning — last time I was there I had perfect body surfing waves, then rinsed off in a waterfall. Leave from the car park and it’s an hour each way along farmland that overlooks the ocean. For an indoor activity, The Pottery Studio in Tauranga runs a wine and pottery night. Every time I have a visitor, I book a class, bring along a bottle of rosé and we attempt to make mugs.

Maddie Banks, Social Media Manager, Our Place

One of my favourite escapes is grabbing a coffee from Okere Falls Store, then heading to Otaramarae Bay at Lake Rotoiti to sit, relax and maybe take a dip. There’s a spot that has a playground where you can watch the boats launch, which is great for a picnic.

Darcell Apelu, artist, teacher & woodchopper

The Manupirua Hot Pools, on the shores of Lake Rotoiti in Rotorua — you can only get there by boat, which keeps this haven unspoilt. There are a few natural mineral pools that vary in temperature. It’s the ultimate relaxing experience.

Millie Guest, Social Media Manager, Our Place

We are a busy up-market breakfast and lunch eatery with an extensive menu that includes a wide range of takeaway options to suit all tastes.

Awarded the Bay of Plenty’s most outstanding café for 2017/18, 2019/20 and were finalists in 2021/2022, our menu incorporates current trends and cooking techniques with almost all of what we serve made in-house. We source the best produce we can get our hands on, using independent suppliers for individual ingredients. We pride ourselves on delivering quality food, with a smile day in, day out.

At The General, we’re a passionate team that truly love what we do and the customers that make our eatery what it is!

@thegeneralmtmaunganui @thegeneral

19b Pacific Avenue, Mount Maunganui

07 574 7061

hello@thegeneral.co.nz

Summer treats with hemp seed goodness

EDAMAME & HEMP HEARTS DIP

1 ½ cups frozen and shelled edamame beans

½ cup hemp hearts

2 tbsp tahini

2 cloves finely grated garlic

1 tsp finely grated ginger

Pinch of salt

½ cup water (approx)

Drizzle of Hemp Seed oil

Chili oil (optional ingredient for including or drizzling)

1. Cook edamame beans by adding them to boiling water and simmering for 5 minutes.

2. Drain in a colander and run under cold water to cool, set aside until cool.

3. Blend edamame beans with hemp hearts, tahini, garlic, ginger, salt and enough water to create a smooth dip. (Taste and adjust seasoning as desired)

4. Drizzle with a little hemp seed or chili oil and a sprinkle of hemp hearts to serve.

Sea Change

For Natalie Procter, it’s a juggle running Mina, her Auckland-based label, from the Mount, but relocating to the laid-back seaside location has had a positive impact on her designs ands her approach to life.

Story by Sue Hoffart

Shifting to the coastal Bay of Plenty has affected fashion designer Natalie Procter in unexpected ways. Beach walks, sea air and the pace of provincial living have altered her perspective both personally and professionally. “I can already see how much my move and change in lifestyle has influenced what I design,” says the creative force behind New Zealand-made clothing brand, Mina. “What I wear at the Mount versus what I wear in the city is so different, I just want to be in something easy. I don’t want too much fuss.”

However, living between two cities has not been simple. Her clothing store, design studio, staff, friends and parents — Natalie is in business with her mother Michelle Procter — remain in Auckland. Yet home base is 230km south, just around the corner from Omanu’s surf club, alongside partner Sam Gunn. Since the couple’s seaside move late last summer, business has boomed and Natalie has had to spend extra time at the Grey Lynn company headquarters hiring and training new staff, and relocating her studio.

“The commuting can be tricky,” she says. “It’s been a lot tougher than I thought. But I just love being at the beach. It’s not till you get out of the city, you realise how stressful and busy it is.

“Through Covid, I’ve been trying to find that good work-life balance that’s so hard when you’re a business owner. At the Mount, I can kind of breathe and relax. I’m definitely forced to chill, which is really good.”

Natalie was 23 when she launched Mina in late 2017, on the back of a fashion degree, a prestigious fashion business scholarship trip to India and a couple of brief internships in her chosen industry. High school years were jammed with design, art, photography and fashion studies, in-between dancing and 5.30am rowing commitments. Before that, the only child of a Kiwi father and creative South African-born mother acquired pottery, papier-mâché and sewing skills early, thanks to the informal craft workshops her mum hosted for neighbourhood children. While friends happily traipsed off to chain stores for their clothing, young Natalie resisted shopping and preferred to develop her own style. None of which prepared her for the realities of running a fashion company and navigating through years of Covid-induced disruption.“I had no idea what I was getting into. It’s been a hard slog. Especially starting the business so young; I was very fresh and naïve. There was tax and GST and paying bills and margins and looking at wholesalers. Nothing you learn at uni helps with that, it was very uphill learning. But I think that’s the best way to learn.”

Even before graduating, Natalie knew she wanted to produce sustainable clothing designed for longevity rather than any passing trend. Eyes were opened and ideas blossomed during a six-week Prime Minister’s Scholarship-funded trip to India where she met organic cotton and silkworm farmers, block printers and high-end boutique owners.

→ Summer Brim in Floral White and Day Shirt in Floral.

↓ Summer Brim in Emerald, Mina Tee in Coriander and Mali Pant Cropped in Mocha.

← Natalie at her Auckland headquarters (also opener).

“I can already see how much my move and change in lifestyle has influenced what I design. What I wear at the Mount versus what I wear in the city is so different…”

Eventually, she settled on building a business that supported New Zealand sewers as well as local suppliers of unused ‘deadstock’ fabric leftover from international fashion houses.

Having found a part-time retail job and moved home to save money, Natalie invested her own savings and some parental funds to launch Mina from the family craft room. The next step was a co-working space, then a showroom off Auckland’s Karangahape Rd, with a focus on supplying retail stores with her designs.

When Covid struck and retailers closed their doors, she moved her sewing machines, pattern table and business base back to the Procter abode and regrouped. In December 2020, the Mina retail store opened its doors between Covid lockdowns.

There has been plenty of whānau support along the way, most notably from Michelle. “It’s awesome working with Mum, there’s nothing she can’t do. When I started the brand, I asked if she could give me a hand. Now she works for Mina full time. She’s a really good problem solver, a very practical person who can get shit done, or figure out who to contact to get it done.”

Michelle is production manager, liaising with the contractors who make their patterns, samples and final garments. Natalie leads the design side of the business and sources the silks, linens and

← Natalie is focused on creating long-lasting, sustainable pieces. ↓ A rack featuring some of Mina’s recent summer collection.

cottons that dominate her range, while father Brent is a sideline cheerleader with financial expertise. “Dad is my biggest supporter. Mum and I are a lot more cautious but Dad’s more like, ‘go for it, you’ve got to spend money to make money’.”

That mix of careful, incremental growth and a little risk-taking has paid off. Sales have increased markedly in the last 18 months and Natalie is confident her company is in good shape. She hopes the expanded team will grant her more flexibility, so she can spend more time designing from home and feel Omanu Beach sand between her toes more often.

Mina shoppers can expect to breathe more effortlessly in their clothes, too. “I do think about my own lifestyle. But it’s not just me. Post-Covid, more people are working from home and wanting clothes that are easy and comfortable. That’s definitely influenced the types of styles we do.”

Looking ahead, Natalie is aiming for continued business growth within New Zealand — perhaps including a store in Mount Maunganui one day — and hopes to move into the Australian market soon.

“I’d also like to see more brands supporting our local production industry here, instead of taking their production offshore. Our industry needs the support.” Ⓟ

minaforher.com @minaforher

Happy Sam, Fast Sam

Words & photography by Scott Yeoman

From Pāpāmoa, to Paris. Samuel Tanner is on the move and has about 500 days of preparation left before the biggest event of his career.

The 22-year-old Olympian of Ngāpuhi descent is incredibly fast on foot over a middle distance — and is only getting faster — but, as it turns out, he is not in any great rush when it comes to his downtime. And that could be the secret to Sam’s success.

You might have seen him cruising along Pāpāmoa Beach Road on his motorbike this summer, searching for swell. He surfs a fair bit. He also fishes a fair bit. Sam has a lot of fun, actually, for a professional athlete with medals on his mind. “My coach Craig always says, ‘Happy Sam is fast Sam,’ and so I think if I’m doing a bunch of those extracurriculars, my life’s really balanced.”

So just how quick is he?

Sam can run 1500m in 3 minutes and 31.34 seconds. He set that personal best time — which is also the second fastest in New Zealand history — in the men’s 1500m final at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year. Go back and watch the video of him competing in that race, in front of a packed stadium on the world stage. It’s a delight.

The camera pans to Sam on the start line and he taps his chest and does a quick pūkana. He’s all smiles and waves. At the finish, he’s the same — jumping around, arms in the air, immediately congratulating the winner, putting his arm

around him, sharing his joy. Sam tells reporters afterwards “I’m frothing” and then declares himself the “happiest sixth place getter ever”. He is a finalist at this year’s Halberg Awards for New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment of the Year for that Birmingham brilliance.

If Sam’s 1500m time doesn’t mean much to you, if you’re struggling to relate, then how about this — he can run from the Mount surf club to the top of Mauao in 8 minutes and 20 seconds. It’s not that uncommon to see him running the streets, beaches and gravel tracks of Tauranga, his long curly locks tied back and a bright orange or yellow blur propelling him forward with an almost annoying amount of ease and efficiency. If you’re unsure it’s him, just look for the moustache.

When Sam hasn’t been competing at the Tokyo Olympics or winning big races all around the world over the past couple of years, like the Oceania Athletic Championships in Australia or the Prefontaine Classic in the United States, he has been here. Pāpāmoa has always been his home and his base and he doesn’t want that to change, despite the amount of time he is spending at events overseas.

“I think for some athletes it wouldn’t work,” Sam says. “But I think because I grew up in Pāpāmoa, and kind of the way my upbringing was, it means that I can refresh and recharge really, really well when I’m home.” He spends quality time with his wife Melissa and their family and friends, he surfs, he fishes, he

rides his motorbike, and he trains — a lot. Being home is no holiday.

Sam’s coach Craig Kirkwood is also based in Tauranga and guides him through a strict training programme. In the offseason, when Sam is building up fitness, he can run up to 140km over the course of a week.

A relatively new addition to Sam’s training schedule, since he arrived back from the Commonwealth Games last year, is strength and conditioning and gym work at the University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance in Mount Maunganui. This state-of-the-art training centre, operated by Bay Venues, is situated on the outskirts of Blake Park and has become a one-stop shop for athletes and teams preparing for competition at the highest level.

It is home to both New Zealand rugby sevens teams, the Bay of Plenty Steamers and Bay of Plenty Volcanix, as well as North Island-based Black Caps, the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, and the Adams Academy — a development programme with more than 100 aspiring and established athletes across 27 sporting codes and counting. The sheer diversity of athletes training at the centre on any given day, from a lawn bowler, kickboxer and rally driver to rowers, cricketers and rugby players, has made it a multidisciplinary hub for idea sharing and healthy competition between codes.

It is in that motivating, interactive environment that Sam is now training three times a week, meeting new people, making new

Runner Samuel Tanner has his eye firmly on the Paris Olympics 2024, but manages to balance workouts at the University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance with surfing, fishing and motorbiking.

friends. “It makes it so much more exciting,” he says. Take the gym music, for example, the eclectic playlist just a small taste of the energy of his training mates. “It can go from Blink-182, punk rock, to country, to like techno in one session,” Sam says with a laugh. There is a team of strength and conditioning coaches available at the centre, as well as a dietitian and sports psychologist, and the University of Waikato’s onsite sports science laboratory has a full array of testing equipment and an environmental chamber (one of only two in the country) that helps athletes better prepare for international competitions in varying climates and altitudes. And all of this in one of New Zealand’s most popular holiday spots, only a few minutes from the beach.

Unsurprisingly, the Adams Centre is becoming an increasingly popular spot for

international teams to spend some time, with the All Blacks, Wallabies, New Zealand Warriors, Western Force, Chiefs Manawa, and Irish and French rugby sevens teams all training there recently. The Dutch women’s football team will also be training at the Adams Centre during the FIFA Women’s World Cup later this year.

“We get told as a centre that our vibe sets us apart from the other high-performance centres in the country,” says head strength and conditioning coach Loretta Hogg. “When you come in, the mindset of the people that are working here and coaching here is always positive. So, I think that bounces off everyone and you walk into a gym and you’ve got development athletes alongside the professionals. That’s not the norm in the high-performance world.”

Sam’s first international event of the year starts any day

← State-of-the-art facilities aside, Samuel is inspired by the sheer diversity of athletes he meets at the Adams Centre.

now — he races in Boston, New York and Bathurst (Australia) in February — and his season will culminate with the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August and the 2023 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon in September. Then it’s the final push to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In amongst all of that, Sam will come home to Pāpāmoa, as he has always done, to find that all-important balance, to refresh and recharge and gear up for the biggest event of his career. “I think I’ve always had the goal of medalling in Paris. That’s kind of been my big thing.”

His goals may be getting bigger, but the secret to Sam’s success won’t change. And that’s because, whether he’s in Pāpāmoa or Paris, happy Sam is fast Sam.

uowadamshpc.co.nz

Portrait by Scott Yeoman

R E A T I V E

D I R E C T O R Y

If you're a creative living in Tauranga or the Western Bay of Plenty, join the artists, writers, musicians, performers and creators on the Bay's Creative Directory, the best place to be seen.

Find out more about these creatives at their Creative Directory profiles.

C R E A T I V E B A Y O F P L E N T Y

Emily Woolerton (above), owner of Calico Studio in Mount Maunganui, and local actor Connor Johnston (right)

Artificial Art

DALL·E 2 is a new AI system that can create original, realistic images and art from a mere text description. Creative director Christopher Duffy has a play around and creates some art (but is it art?) — see his instructions to the system in the captions.

↓ ”A New Zealand summer drawn in the style of illustrator Piet Parra.”

Previous page: “An expressionist painting of a New Zealand summer by the beach.”

← “A futuristic painting of a child eating an ice cream at a New Zealand surf beach.”

↓ “A constructivist painting of a surfer in New Zealand.”

← “A plate of fish and chips in the style of Andy Warhol.”

↑ “A cubist painting of swimming at the beach.”

↙ “A symbolist painting of summer fishing in New Zealand.”

Aotearoa’s most innovative, earth-positive music and arts festival—A 5-day legendary party with five stages, mind-expanding workshops and plenty of wonder-filled experiences for the whole family�

MARCH 22–26

KAIPARA AUCKLAND

Kids Under 14 Are Free� Family, Youth, Seniors & General Festival Passes On Sale Now�

ACTION PACKED YOUTH & KIDS AREAS

ZERO WASTE FOOD COURT & MARKET

WORKSHOPS, COMEDY PERFORMING ARTS

RELAXED, CHILL COMMUNITY VIBE

Summer Roady Series

Follow Mount Brewing Co’s head brewer Pawel, on a classic Kiwi summer road trip. Cruising to 3 iconic summer destinations in the North Island to create a tasty summer collab beer with our favourite NZ breweries!

mountbrewingco.com

A Fine Balance

By Jim Annear Photography by ilk

I have a little white bucket with a green lid. It lives underneath our kitchen sink and I’m always happy to see it. It’s that one bin where the contents don’t leave our home. It’s the bin that helps me feed the soil in which our delicious home produce grows.

To me, throwing out compostable material is down right outrageous! Especially the stuff I paid good money for. Turning compostable material into nutritious food for healthy plants is a no brainer, and now I’ve learnt how to do it, I can’t stop! I love it! So I am going to share how I do it — if you aren’t composting already, you’ll see that it’s not hard. More often than not, when I visit someone’s home, I’ll come across a black bin in some forgotten corner of the backyard, full of grass clippings. It makes me wonder how many homes aren’t using these bins to their full potential. Home composting makes so much sense in terms of maximising your investments of time, energy and of course money, so it seems silly to not get the most out of it.

I’ve been successfully composting at home for around five years now, but still feel like I’ve only just started because it’s just as fun and interesting as it was when I made my first batch of proper compost. I couldn’t believe that that batch worked! I was truly amazed that six months of food and garden ‘waste’ had been magically transformed into this lush, deep brown, forest-smelling material. And to then put that on the garden and grow plants from it is such a great feeling. And the best part is, I didn’t do that much.

I am a self proclaimed lazy gardener, I don’t wanna work too hard, I just want to have a good time, whatever I’m doing. I came to learn that composting or rather decomposition, happens naturally and that once you start, help comes naturally too — and in numbers! I learnt that most of the work is done by worms, bugs, micro-organisms, bacteria and fungi. A whole army of little creatures show up to help process all this material that we humans commonly regard as waste and throw away to landfill.

My home set up

Our compost bin is one of those classic Kiwi black bins mentioned above — it’s 240L and we fill it up in around 3–6 months. We have ours in a shady position under a tree. I’ve found that if the bin gets too hot and the material inside dries out, then the composting process slows down and can even completely stop.

As this style of bin has an open bottom, the materials have direct contact with the ground. Situating the bin underneath a tree means the biology around the tree’s root system, and the roots themselves, have direct access to the decomposing materials and resulting nutrients. This is also where a lot of the composting help comes from — in the form of those worms, micro-organisms, and the good bacteria and fungi. When setting it up, I like to put a fine wire mesh down underneath the bin to prevent rodents from entering this composting zone. There are two parts to my composting process: filling the bin and the composting stage. Let’s dive in...

What can be composted?

There are two main sources of materials for our compost bin. First up, we add the contents of that little white bucket with the green lid that lives under our sink. It captures compostable materials from the kitchen and house:

House compostables

→ Cooked and raw plant-based meals and ingredients

→ Coffee and tea

→ Egg shells and torn-up egg cartons

→ Old flowers from vases

→ Toilet rolls and paper wrapping

→ Scrunched up newspapers and envelopes

→ Tissues

→ Hair from haircuts/brushes

I’ve left out meat and dairy as you can run into problems trying to home compost these things, but that’s not to say there isn’t a way of processing them. Google ‘bokashi composting’ to learn how to safely navigate home composting these materials.

The other source of material is from outside, things you can just chuck straight into your bin:

Outside compostables

→ Fruit and vegetable plants

→ Chopped up tree prunings

→ Fallen leaves, twigs and fruit

→ Weeds without seeds

Jim reckons making compost is like baking a cake — you just need to use the right mixture of wet and dry ingredients, and it will cook up to perfection. He shares his tips and tricks...

This page, top to bottom: Good compost consists of about 50% wet ingredients, such as food, and 50% dry, such as cardboard and wood chips; fruit and vege scraps are ideal to compost; wire mesh under your compost bin keeps rodents at bay.

Opener: Jim adds dry material to his compost heap to get the balance right.

→ Use your food and garden waste to create a rich compost that’ll help you grow more nutritious food.

Grow Together

Weeds with seeds create more weeds, so it’s better to leave them out of your compost bin. Don’t include too much large material — if it’s bigger than the palm of your hand, then chop it into smaller pieces. Large pieces take too long to break down.

A recipe for success

I sometimes think making compost is like making a cake: there are wet ingredients and dry ingredients, and you mix it all up and leave it to cook. Easy. To make a really good cake, however, there are some important things to get right — like the ratio of wet and dry ingredients. It’s exactly the same with making compost. Simply put, the wet ingredients are the fresh materials that have a high water content, like food scraps and vegetable plants. The dry ingredients are the older materials that have dried out and therefore have a low water content, making them woody and brittle, like fallen leaves and cardboard. Adding this dry material is important and helps your compost bin from smelling bad, and it also keeps the flies from taking over your bin. The best ratio is 50% wet and 50% dry, adding equal amounts of both as you’re filling your bin. There are two other important elements in the composting process that you need to keep an eye on — oxygen and moisture. Getting oxygen into your compost speeds up the decomposition process and is achieved by mixing the ingredients together, just like mixing up the wet and dry cake ingredients. I do this mixing part after the bin is full, however you can use a handy tool called a compost aerator to get oxygen into your compost while you’re in the process of filling it. This tool takes the labour intensive part out of turning your compost with a garden fork, like I do. Keeping the materials moist is also very important. You don’t want a soaking wet bin otherwise it will get smelly and gross, and you don’t want the bin to dry out either. This just emphasises the importance

of adding equal amounts of wet and dry materials as you fill up your bin. Wetting your materials while you’re filling up your bin or adding more dry materials will help balance the ratio if things start getting lopsided. I don’t know anyone that enjoys dry cake, so let’s try to keep that compost moist, New Zealand! Once our bin is full, it’s time to stop adding material and assess the situation. What I like about these bins is that I can pull the whole thing off when it’s full and have a look at the different states of all the material that’s been added, not to mention seeing the huge and helpful army of decomposers! This is the ‘mixing of the cake’ part of the process. I give that baby a stir, often adding more wet or dry material if need be, before putting it back in the bin to let it sit for a week or two. Then I assess the situation again, maybe give it another mix up and then let it cook and cool down until it’s ready to eat… I mean, use on the garden.

There are lots of different recipes for composts (and cakes), but once you’ve made something a few times, you kinda get the hang of what’s going on and you can rely on your senses for a good outcome. Embrace the challenges of home composting! Don’t throw away your compostables to then go and buy store-bought compost for your garden. Make it instead! If you want to go the extra mile then try putting your finished compost through a compost sieve — you then get the chance to separate the usable compost from the big and undecomposed materials, and put that material into your next compost instead. It also gives you a chance to remove any unwanted items that may have accidentally found their way into your compost, like plastic or cutlery. Check out Crafty Gatherer (craftygatherer.co.nz) for sieves, aerators and other compost goodness.

For more gardening content, follow Jim @gardennearsy @homefarm

Interior Styling & Design. Furniture and Homewares. Goods by Local Artisans. Interior Styling Services. Gifts.

The most wonderful collection of gifts and homewares just on the edge of Gizzy’s CBD.

Now with Atomic coffee and delicious cakes baked right in our kitchen!!

Amy Moore

The WorkShop 73 Carnarvon St GISBORNE 4010 021 851 829 @theworkshop_gizzy

For bookings: canopycamping.co.nz/kokako-retreat @Kokako_retreat Or phone 0275155538

THINK MUSIC THINK EASTER THINK TAURANGA

Sunshine Flavours

Words

& Recipes by Holly McVicar Photography by ilk

Easy barbecue dinners, crisp salads, juicy fruit... summer food is the best. Check out Holly’s recipes for spice-rubbed beef skewers with warm flatbreads, Thai chicken salad and a passionfruit slice.

↑ Summery growth in Holly’s garden, clockwise from top left: bees revelling in the lavender; nasturium flowers destined for summer salads; avo season is in full swing; Vietnamese mint, a fast-growing perennial.

This is my favourite time of year. I’m enjoying the best weeks of the summer weather, and there’s an abundance of produce from my garden. It’s overflowing with a huge variety of tomatoes (I’m currently gauging which were most successful) as well as herbs, chillies and a passionfruit that’s climbing the fence — luckily it’s high enough to be away from prying toddler fingers! Much of this fresh produce stars in the recipes to follow. I’m also starting to think of ways that I can preserve the flavours of summer for months to come.

For more recipes and local produce inspiration, follow @madebyhollys and visit ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Flatbreads with Spiced Beef (& 3 delicious dressing ideas)

A stack of warm flatbreads with grilled beef and a selection of dressings in the middle of the table make a centrepoint for the whole family. The spice rub on the beef can be made in bulk, kept in an airtight container, and used to season meat and roast veges.

SERVES 4–6

500g scotch fillet or rump steak, trimmed and cut into 2cm strips

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons each turmeric, garlic powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika Salt and pepper to season

Flatbreads

1¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

½ cup Greek yoghurt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

2½ cups plain flour

¼ cup sesame seeds

Olive oil, for brushing

In a bowl, mix beef with olive oil, spices and 1 tsp salt. Allow to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours in the fridge.

For the flatbreads, combine ¾ cup lukewarm water and 1 tsp salt with all the ingredients in a bowl until the dough comes together. Knead for 10 minutes, then cover and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Liberally sprinkle a clean bench with flour (the dough will be sticky). Divide the dough into 10 balls, and flatten each one to a 20cm oval. Dust off any excess flour, lightly brush with olive oil and cook on a hot dry pan on both sides until lightly golden. Place each cooked flatbread onto a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm.

Thread the marinated beef on to 10 skewers (pre-soaked if wooden) and grill on a barbecue until meat is caramelised and cooked through.

Serve with the warm flatbreads, fresh salad greens and seasonal vegetables. Here’s a few of my go-to dressing options:

Chimichurri

An Argentinian sauce with all the fresh flavours of summer. Finely chop 1 cup flat leaf parsley, ¼ cup fresh oregano, ½ medium red onion, and 2 peeled garlic cloves and mix with ½ tsp dried chilli flakes (or 1 fresh red chilli), ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, juice of ½ lemon, and 1 tsp of salt. Mix well and set aside for at least half an hour before serving.

Green Goddess Dressing

A quick, healthy dressing. In a blender, place 1 cup fresh parsley, 1 cup fresh coriander (substitute basil or baby spinach), 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt, 1 large

avocado, 2 spring onions, 2 cloves garlic, juice of 1 lime, 1 green jalapeno (optional), ¼ cup olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until well combined.

Roasted red capsicum pesto

A great dip or pizza sauce, or perfect drizzled over just about anything. Blacken 3 red capsicums on the barbecue until soft, then place into a covered container to steam. Cool, then remove and discard skin and seeds. Blend the capsicum with 1–2 garlic cloves, ½ cup unsalted roasted cashews, 30g freshly grated parmesan, 2 tsp olive oil, ⅓ cup basil leaves, and the juice of 1 lemon. Blend well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

This fresh salad is packed with flavour and textures. It’s a homage to a favourite lunch spot I had while living in Brisbane, tucked away from tourists but well known by city workers.

SERVES 4

½ cup toasted cashew nuts

¼ cup toasted coconut flakes

½ cup Vietnamese mint leaves (substitute regular mint)

½ cup coriander leaves

1 green papaya, peeled and sliced into thin batons/julienne (substitute cucumber, halved and sliced diagonally)

½ small red onion, thinly sliced Fried shallots, to garnish

Poached chicken

2L chicken stock

400ml can coconut milk

Thai Chicken Salad

50ml fish sauce

4 kaffir lime leaves

2 lemongrass stalks, bruised (press with flat side of knife)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4cm piece galangal, finely sliced

2 chicken breasts

Dressing

1 large lime, juiced

½ lemongrass stalk (white part only, outer leaves removed), very finely sliced

20g coconut sugar (or grated palm sugar)

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely grated

30ml fish sauce

For the poached chicken, place the stock, coconut milk (reserving 2 tablespoons for the dressing), fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, garlic and galangal

into a pot and bring to a low simmer. Add the chicken breasts and poach for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool.

For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl along with the 2 tablespoons of reserved coconut milk, then combine well. Set aside for at least half an hour to allow the lemongrass to soften.

In a large bowl, combine the cashew nuts, coconut flakes, herbs, papaya and onion. Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and slice, then add to the bowl with dressing and combine. Garnish liberally with the crispy fried shallots and serve immediately. I add edible nasturtium flowers from my garden to give it a vibrant lift.

A crunchy shortbread base with a tangy topping.

SERVES 12

395g can condensed milk

5 egg yolks

2 lemons, zested

½ cup fresh lemon juice

Pulp of 2 large passionfruit

Shortbread base

⅔ cup icing sugar

1½ cups plain flour

Lemon Passionfruit Bars

melted

Line a 20cm x 30cm baking tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.

For the shortbread base, combine all the ingredients in a bowl until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs then press into lined baking tin. Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until the mixture starts to thicken, then tap the bowl on the bench to release air bubbles. Pour over the shortbread base and spread evenly.

Return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Place in the fridge for 2 hours to set before cutting.

1 tbs lemon zest 150g salted butter,

Brighten Your Smile, Renew Your Confidence.

Mirror Mirror is a mobile cosmetic teeth whitening clinic that can whiten teeth up to 14 shades lighter in the comfort of your own home. Whether you want teeth whitening for a wedding or to renew confidence in your smile, we offer safe and effective treatments tailored to your teeth.

Bringing our services to homes, workplaces and salons across Tauranga, Hamilton, Auckland and the wider Bay of Plenty and Waikato, your journey to a whiter smile starts here.

We offer great rates for groups, and our Smile Club helps you achieve white teeth that stay white. For affordable teeth whitening treatments that come to you, contact Mirror Mirror today.

Our Place Events Guide

Thur Dinner at Pāpāmoa

5–8.30pm, Pāpāmoa Pony Club, Pāpāmoa

Fri Gourmet Night Market

5–9pm, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui

Sat Tauranga Farmers’ Market

7.45am–12pm, Tauranga Primary School, 5th Ave, Tauranga

Sun Mount Mainstreet Urban Farmers Market 8am–12pm, Te Papa o Ngā Manu Porotakataka, 137 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui

Sun Dinner at Matua

5–8.30pm, Matua Park, Tauranga

February 2O23

4. Comedy Improv with The Honest Liars 7.30pm, 16th Ave Theatre, eventfinda.co.nz

The Little Big Markets 9am–2pm, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui

8. Open Mic Night — Jack Dusty’s Ale House

7.30–9.30pm, 50 Bureta Rd, Tauranga

Speed Dating

6–8.45pm, Nectar, 97 The Strand, Tauranga, eventfinda.co.nz

10. Single Mix & Mingle 5.30–8pm, Nectar, Tauranga, eventfinder.co.nz

11. NRL Harvey Norman All-Stars: Māori v Indigenous

2–8pm, Rotorua International Stadium, ticketmaster.co.nz

O’Hagan Home Loan and Insurances

Jazz in the Park

3pm–8pm, Whakatāne Rose Gardens, McGarvey Rd, eventbrite.co.nz

Ring Making & Stone Setting Workshop

11am–4pm, The Artery, The Historic Village, Tauranga, theincubator.co.nz

The Little Big Markets

9am–2pm, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui

11. The Everyone Hurts Foundation presents: River Sounds Festival

1pm–12am, 384 Woodland Rd, Katikati, events.humanitix.com

Wander Dogs: Wander Walk and Education Kōrero (teaching your dog to stay) 9am, Anzac Bay, Seaforth Rd, Bowentown. Free. eventfinda.co.nz

12. Colourfield — Pastoral Relief Workshop with Artist Emma Prill 10am–3.30pm, The Artery, The Historic Village, Tauranga, theincubator.co.nz

15. Bare Minimum — Life Drawing Group Sessions

6–8pm The Artery, The Historic Village, Tauranga, theincubator.co.nz

16. BLACKCAPS v England 1st Test Match 2–10pm, Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui, tickets.nzc.nz

17. Hot Potato Band 8pm, Totara St, Mt Maunganui, totara.flicket.co.nz

18. Handmade Books — Learn to Coptic Stitch 1–3pm, The Artery, The Historic Village, Tauranga, theincubator.co.nz

The Little Big Markets 9am–2pm, Pāpāmoa Pony Club, Pāpāmoa

19. Generation Homes Women's Triathlon 6–11am, Pilot Bay, Mt Maunganui, triathlontauranga.org.nz

20. The Big Bike Film Night Tauranga 6.30–9pm, Tauranga Boys' College, trybooking.com

25. Monster Truck & FMX Spectacular 6–7.45pm, Trustpower Baypark Arena, Mt Maunganui, eventfinda.co.nz

25– Wonderful Watercolours

26. with Claire Delaney 10am, The Artery, The Historic Village, Tauranga, theincubator.co.nz

March 2O23

2. Women on Top (speaker series)

6–9.30pm, Elizabeth Cafe & Larder, Tauranga, @blablaevents eventbrite.co.nz

4. Beast of a Feast

2pm, Soper Reserve, Mt Maunganui, ticketfairy.com. See page 21 for more details.

The Little Big Markets 9am–2pm, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui

Comedy Improv with The Honest Liars

7.30pm, 16th Avenue Theatre, 164 16th Ave, Tauranga, eventfinda.co.nz

Holi Colour Splash

12–3pm, Memorial Park, Tauranga

Wander Dogs: Wander Walk and Education Kōrero (the hyperactive dog)

9am, Jubilee Park, Commerce Ln, Te Puke. Free. eventfinda.co.nz

5–11. Tauranga Moana Pride Festival Various events: taurangamoanapride.co.nz

8. Mi-Sex & Stellar

8–11pm, Totara St, Mt Maunganui, totara.flicket.co.nz

10. AJSCeleste Music

6–9pm, Mount Social Club, eventfinda.co.nz

Oasis By Gallagher

8–11pm, Totara St, Mt Maunganui, totara.flicket.co.nz

11. Ray O’Leary: Everything Funny All the Time Always

8–9pm, 16th Avenue Theatre, 164 16th Ave, Tauranga, eventfinda.co.nz

Tauranga Moana Pride Picnic

12–4pm, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui, taurangamoanapride.co.nz

The Harmonic Resonators: Rongo ki te Oro Tour

7–9pm, Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, ticketek.co.nz

@ourplacemagazine

12. Finding Your Creative Flow

10am–3.30pm, The Artery, The Historic Village, Tauranga, theincubator.co.nz

Marra Sprint Triathlon

6–11am, Pilot Bay, Mt Maunganui, triathlontauranga.org.nz

17– Madtac Festival

19. Trustpower Baypark Arena, eventfinda.co.nz

18. The Little Big Markets 9am–2pm, Pāpāmoa Pony Club, Pāpāmoa

Tauranga Multicultural Festival 2023 10am–5pm, The Historic Village, Tauranga

World Naked Bike Ride

10.30am–1pm, Bowentown Domain, Waihī Beach, wnbr.nz

18 & The Extravaganza Fair Summer Tour

19. 9am–5pm, Memorial Park, Tauranga. Free.

20. Blabla Events: Food For Thought 6.30pm, The General cafe, Mt Maunganui, @blablaevents flavoursofplentyfestival.com

23. The Veils: and Out Of The Void Came Love Tour 8pm, Totara St, Mt Maunganui, totara.flicket.co.nz

24. The D4 — 6Twenty One Tour 8pm, Totara St, Mt Maunganui, totara.flicket.co.nz

24– Flavours of Plenty Festival 2/4. Various events. For details, see page 23. flavoursofplentyfestival.com

25 First We Eat Festival

12–7pm, Wharepai Domain, Tauranga, firstweeat.co.nz

Local Wild Food Festival

10–4pm, Wharfside, 340 Harbour Rd, Ōhope, eventfinda.co.nz

28. Blabla's Secret Society 6.30pm, Special Mention, @blablaevents flavoursofplentyfestival.com

Learn with purpose

Get the right skills employers need!

You don’t need to move away to get a quality education with our campuses located across the Bay of Plenty and South Waikato rohe. With our range of study options to suit you, including online and part-time, you can study your way.

Our expert tutors are well connected with local employers and are here to empower your learning and guide you every step of the way.

toiohomai.ac.nz