Our Place Magazine Issue 33

Issue 33 April / May 21

Recipes from the Pepper & Me Cookbook

Take Me

The Mad Potter Laurie Steer

Special Studio’s 3D Printed Homewares

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512 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui. 07 5745519 fifelanekitchen fife_lane fifelane.co.nz

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Available for lunch time functions for up to 60 people. Talk to us, we can design a menu for any occasion.

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Founders Rachelle & Christopher Duffy Creative director Christopher Duffy Editor Sarah Nicholson sarah@ourplacemagazine.co.nz Social manager Aimee Short aimee@ourplacemagazine.co.nz Advertising enquiries Rachelle Duffy 021 032 7873 rachelle@ourplacemagazine.co.nz

PLANNING & MONITORING

Contributors Pip Crombie, Sam Cummins, Cherie Metcalfe, Josie Steenhart Photographers Jay Drew, ilk, Adrienne Pitts, Alice Veysey Pick up a copy from The Little Big Markets on the first and third Saturdays of every month, plus at selected cafes, restaurants and shops.

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Cover Photography Alice Veysey Contents Photography Jay Drew Follow us @ourplacemagazine ourplacemagazine.co.nz

Did you know your next objet d’art can be created from waste plastic by a 3D-printer in Tauranga?

Matt Watkins, founder of Special Studio, is designing and printing one-off homewares using unwanted plastic (page 47). It’s an exciting story as he’s ultimately working towards a future where 3D printing can play a part in solving larger societal issues, such as affordable housing.

We’ve long wanted to do a story on Laurie Steer and his original pottery, and his current show at Tauranga Art Gallery, The Abundance of Water, made this the perfect time (28). We chat to Laurie about his love of working with clay, from digging his own materials to dealing with clay’s temperamental qualities, and his irreverent approach to his art practice. There are also other talented artists showing at the gallery right now, such as Christina Pataialii, so make time for a visit!

We’re lucky enough to get an early taste of Cherie Metcalfe’s cookbook, Keepers (39). Lots of you will be fans of her Pepper & Me products, so check out her delish recipes for fish cakes and baked cheeesecake.

There are plenty of new goings on in our area right now. On Maunganui Rd, check out Sea People (13), a plant-based ice cream shop, and Solera (13) with its intriguing list of lesser-known Kiwi wines and wine-friendly menu — it sounds like the perfect addition to the Mount’s buzzing strip.

Plus, over the bridge, the new Gallery Te Puna (15) is showcasing artists from the Bay of Plenty and across Aotearoa.

Keep exploring our amazing area!

The Our Place team

Contents

55

Dog Days are Over

13

9

Welcome

What’s Up

16

22

Our Place Tauranga

Photo essay

63

TLBM Shopping Guide

Run this Town Miranda Clarke’s Heart & Sole

28

68

The Mad Potter

Homecoming Dream?

Artist Laurie Steer

How Covid-19 has changed locals’ lives

39

72

Finders Keepers

The Big 4-0

Cherie Metcalfe’s new cookbook

By Sam Cummins

47

76

The Next Dimension

Delicious

Special Studio’s 3D printed homewares

Frosty & Fox

11

84

Event Guide

What’s Up A List Less Ordinary

Sea People photograph: Jana from Sundrenched Studios

Solera photograph: ilk

Been yearning for more grown-up drinking spots with excellent wines? Let us introduce Solera. Owned by Nick Potts and wife Chloe Ashman, it’s a wine bar meets restaurant (open til midnight!) with an all-Kiwi wine list of lesser-known grape varieties from small wineries.

Nick will be on the floor offering drops such as grüner veltliner, fiano and chenin blanc, all in 100 or 150ml pours. The homegrown philosophy extends to spirits too, with a range of artisanal vodkas and gins on offer. The wine-friendly sharing menu is peppered with interesting ingredients and top local produce. A half duck or whole gurnard are cooked over charcoal in the wood-fired grill, there are bites such as crayfish donuts and oysters, plus salt-roasted kumara with miso, black sesame and peanut, a daily dry-aged steak, and a beef tartare. → 165 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui @solerawine

Setting Sail Another new kid on the (Mount) block is Sea People, a plant-based ice cream shop by partners Mariah (ice cream maker) and Allan (ops) — pictured, right.

All the added cookies and crumbs are gluten free, as are the vanilla waffle cones they make daily. “Our flavours are designed to be nostalgic and made with the best ingredients,” says Mariah. They’ll offer refined-sugar free options, plus shakes and cold brew coffee. “Our goal is to become a household name. We aim to be in locally owned supermarkets and boutique grocers soon, so our ice cream can reach everyone across New Zealand,” says Allan. → 143 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui @seapeopleicecream

Change, the Subject Tauranga Chamber of Commerce’s Business Women’s Network (BWN) will host an inaugural Speaker Series in May and July, designed to inspire, engage and connect women in the Bay of Plenty. The theme, The Changing Face of Business, will focus on the fact that businesses are no longer solely recognised on the products or services they produce — they must also demonstrate values, such as social responsibility, diversity, kaitiaki and sustainability. The sharp line-up of speakers includes fashion pioneer Karen Walker, microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles, founder of Ethique eco-conscious beauty bars, Brianne West, and Clare Swallow of Mulberry Street.

Tickets, tauranga.org.nz/bwn/bwn-speaker-series-2021 13

What’s Up Sister Act Tauranga’s renowned pop-up restaurant, Kitchen Takeover, is back in yet another secret location, this time with Taiao — Food of the Gods, a menu designed by Kasey and Kārena Bird.

The sisters celebrate the Māori deities of the natural world through a sixcourse dinner, melding their modern approach with their family traditions, and traditional Māori cooking techniques and flavours. Expect exceptional New Zealand produce, with an emphasis on local Bay of Plenty growers and makers. The series is now extended until 23 April. → kitchentakeover.co.nz

State of the Art Lunch at Te Puna’s White House restaurant has become even more attractive with the owners opening a new gallery next door.

Gallery Te Puna is a dealer gallery and exhibition space housed in a renovated barn. The property features garden art and a studio where you can watch ceramic artist Sophie Evans at work (she has plans to run workshops in future). The main area showcases the gallery’s artists, as well as talent from across Aotearoa. → 15E Minden Rd, Te Puna gallery_te_puna @gallerytepuna gallerytepuna.com

The Amazing Race Ever seen 5000 ducks racing? Well here’s your chance.

The Great Tauranga Duck Race is on Sunday, 11 April at The Strand on Tauranga’s waterfront. The ducks in question are of the small, plastic variety — they’ll be launched out of a container by crane, then carried by the tide to the finish line. If your $5 ticket has the number of a winning duck, you’re into win a cash prize. Some tickets will be available on the day, but most are sold prior through local schools, who get to keep the ticket sale proceeds for their own purposes. The corporate races involve bigger ducks that can be dressed up, trophies for winners and proceeds go to three local surf lifesaving clubs, and other charities.

Corporate race 10am; public race 10.30am. → taurangatepaparotary.club

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Our Place Tauranga

Bagels & Brews Story: Josie Steenhart Illustration: Christopher Duffy

At Mt Zion, you’ll not only get an award-winning barista and great bagels, but also a community space where people feel cherished, explains Matt and Hannah Ross.

It’s still dark when the lights go on at Mount Zion, Tauranga’s newest coffee spot, but having already fixed himself his first coffee of the day, co-owner and barista Matt Ross is ready for the first caffeineseekers to arrive.

His first cup is always a short black. As well as ensuring he’s primed for a busy morning slinging flat whites and slathering toppings on bagels, “it helps me to taste the coffee better so I know I’m serving the best!” he says.

Nestled comfortably in a cleverly converted shipping container facing towards Willow Street, the space is small but perfectly formed, and the menu is, intentionally, simple — coffee and bagels. But it’s a formula that seems to be working — just a few weeks of trading in, they’re already acquiring regulars.

“The first weeks have been amazing!” says Matt. “We’ve had heaps of people through and even in the first week started getting some regulars coming in every day, which is so cool. I really love getting to know the people, their names and their orders. It helps me feel more connected.”

For Matt and wife and co-founder Hannah, Mount Zion has been a dream for a few years now.

And while Matt is what one might, in the nicest way, call a serious coffee nerd — having worked in the specialty coffee industry for the last six years and won awards at coffee comps like the NZ Barista Championships — the burgeoning business is just as much about community as it is about making the perfect brew.

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“We want Mount Zion to grow into a thriving community spot where people come and gather, have a good brew, bagel and yarn,” says Matt.

“Hannah has a background working with youth and has a degree in counselling, and we both have hearts for people and love seeing people step into who they are. The dream for Mount Zion is combining our love for people and passion for coffee into a community space, where people can be themselves, feel loved and cared for the moment they walk in.”

That comes through in the cheery smiles and good chat you’re likely to get if you stop by, but also in the consideration the Rosses put into their offering.

“Our coffee roaster is a two-time New Zealand Barista Champion, who lives and roasts over in Hamilton, so we’re able to source the best coffee from around the world to share with the good people of Tauranga,” says Matt. “Our bagel supplier is local legend Little Guy Bagel & Brew. Will and Sam are good friends of ours, so it seemed like a natural fit.

“We think what makes a great coffee and a great bagel is love and passion for the craft. With both our coffee and bagels it’s all about the care that goes into every part of the process, and that comes through in the final product. People love our coffee because we love making it for them. It’s that simple.”

Open Monday–Friday, 6.30am–3pm @mtzioncoffee

91 Willow St, Tauranga CBD

@ourplacetauranga

Farewell to Summer

Swap Til You Drop

High Tide is now pouring MBC’s latest seasonal brew, Boardies Orange, Kaffir Lime Hazy IPA. It’s brewed with sweet and bitter orange peels along with kaffir lime leaves, double dry hopped and jam packed with Amarillo, Motueka and Taiheke hops. The notes of crushed lime, orange juice, and hint of pineapple and guava are perfect for the last of the hot weather.

Also available in cans. mountbrewingco.com @hightidetauranga

Get your new autumn looks sorted at GladRags: The Great Big Autumn Clothes Swap. It’s sustainable and affordable, so get clearing out that wardrobe!

Bring along some of your great pieces (clothes, bags, hats) that have lots of life left. You can bring up to 12 pieces and in return you’ll get six tokens (which equates to six pieces of clothing). This is a gender non-conforming event. From 6pm on 8 April.

Tickets & more info @blablaevents

OPT’s Autumn Food Picks!

It’s cooling down and OPT has just the irresistible (and affordable) food you feel like this time of year...

Johney’s Dumpling House Pan-fried Triple Mushroom dumpling (shiitake, button and portobello), 5 pieces for $7 (pictured right).

El Cartel Mexicano Chimichangas with any filling, $14.

Hashtag Street Food Chinese-glazed pork belly with chipotle aioli and rocket on baked flatbread, $17.

Pizza Library Express The Italian Job pizza: chorizo salami, Italian pepperoni, mozzarella and basil (gluten free on request), $19.

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T O O T H F A I R Y D E N TA L . C O . N Z

91 Willow St, Tauranga CBD

@ourplacetauranga

Down to Earth After graduating in 2020 from Toi Ohomai with a Creative Industries Degree, 21-year-old fashion designer Jera Mae has now launched her own label from a ReMaker Space studio. She utilises textile waste and explores natural dyes and organic fabrics.

Tell us about your latest work I am working on a collection called Playful Papatūānuku, as a symbol of mother earth.

My Rarotongan whakapapa enables the project to develop layers of traditional methodologies with consideration for the indigenous holistic model of health, te whare tapa whā, as a reminder to take care of physical, emotional, spiritual and whānau wellbeing.

What do you believe is the greatest challenge of our time?

Studying fashion in lockdown, I was overwhelmed how important it is for the world to slow down and act sustainably and ethically in all facets of life. I find my greatest challenge is getting people to understand, accept and act on the immediate changes that need to happen in the fashion industry — supporting local, sustainable, slow-fashion focused designers who are making the difference in their products and production.

Where can we find your work?

It’s for sale on a commission basis at the ReMaker Space or online at remakerspace.co.nz @jeramae__

Plastic Fantastic

The Clean, Green Team

Precious Plastic is a global enterprise that seeks to reduce plastic waste, and ReMaker Space is home to the Tauranga division. The workspace, drop-off point and studio will be taking number 5 plastics and coloured lids from single-use bottles that can’t be recycled here in Tauranga, and turning them into new, useful products that you can buy. First projects have included the creation of a colourful clock made from five yoghurt pots, and plans are afoot to scale up production to other products. There’s an info session and recruitment drive 10am–2pm on 24 April.

Open 9am–6pm on Thursdays for drop offs and visitors, or by appointment. @preciousplastictauranga

Tauranga Community Co-op is a food co-operative run by volunteers who care about the environment and where their food comes from. It offers a large range of pantry staples and specialises in locally grown produce that’s organic or spray free — many members supply fruit, vegetables and plants from their own backyards. The Co-op’s goals are to reduce waste with less/no packaging, support local businesses and make organic, wholesome, healthy food affordable for all. Orders are packed weekly on Saturday mornings at the ReMaker Space.

For information about joining the co-op, visit taurangacoop.co.nz or visit the ReMaker Space on Saturday morning.

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154 Evans Road, Papamoa 021 025 83767

BOOK ONLINE: mountbrows.com @mountbrows

91 Willow St, Tauranga CBD

@ourplacetauranga

Happening in April/May April 3.

Dr. Reknaw Rektified: Album Release Tour 8pm. Rektified’ is a nine-track journey, through soul, roots, hip-hop and psychedelic sounds, seamlessly woven together over some of the most grooving rhythms. cosmicticketing.co.nz

7.

Make a Cheeseboard Workshop* 5.30–7.30pm, ReMaker Space.

8.

GladRags: The Great Big Autumn Clothes Swap See page 17 for details.

9.

Fynour pop-up, Plant Propagation & Creative Conservation* @fynour

10.

Stop Motion Animation Workshop* 10am–12.00pm, ReMaker Space.

15.

Clocks are just the beginning of what’s possible at Precious Plastic.

VanLife 101* 5.30–7.30pm, ReMaker Space. Learn and share storage solutions with fellow van enthusiasts to help improve your space.

27.

May

Wiildpress flower crown workshop 2pm, Make a flower crown using beautiful dried flowers from Flowerette. @wiildpress 22.

Living in Harmony Cultural Celebration Night* Collaboration between the ReMaker Space and Multicultural Tauranga.

ReMaker Space Open Day* Come down to see the ReMaker Space in action! Meet our artists and makers, check out handmade products from reclaimed materials and, if you’re keen, find out how you can get involved.

24.

Precious Plastic Recruitment Drive & Info Session See page 19 for more details.

25.

Crop Swap 9am. Share what you can (produce, seedlings, preserves) and help yourself to other offerings.

ReMaker Drop In* 5.30–7.30pm, ReMaker Space. Bring along your own project and work alongside fellow creatives.

12.

Carve a Wooden Kitchen Utensil Workshop* 5.30–7.30pm, ReMaker Space.

13.

VanLife 101* 5.30–7.30pm, ReMaker Space. Learn and share storage solutions with fellow van enthusiasts.

15.

Community Garage Sale* 9–11am, ReMaker Space.

25.

ReMaker Drop In* 5.30–7.30pm, ReMaker Space. Bring along your own project and work alongside fellow creatives.

30.

Crop Swap 9am. Share what you can (produce, seedlings, preserves) and help yourself to other offerings

* Visit remakerspace.co.nz for information and booking details for these events.

21

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 page 84.

Zen Float Spa

Peace & Peony

Are you living or being lived?

Floatation makes it easy to free your mind from distraction and your body from gravity, so you can become better at what you do. Float Therapy allows your mind, body and soul to be free. zenfloatspa.co.nz

Peace & Peony is a beautiful womenswear brand that intertwines a nostalgic, bohemian femininity with a mod Kiwi flavour.

Based in the Waikato, each garment is individually crafted by a mother/daughter team. peaceandpeony.co.nz

Webster’s Tea

Secret Fern

The Kids’ Store

Determined to redeem the Kiwi cuppa from dusty tea bags, Webster’s Tea was started in a shed in Tauranga. Using only quality organic ingredients, the loose leaf teas taste ridiculously good! Order online for delivery to your door. websterstea.co.nz @websters.tea

Born last year in Waihi Beach, Secret Fern NZ has dainty handmade semi-precious jewellery designed to wear all day, even in the water. It also has durable vegan leather bags, made from sustainable and eco-friendly cork. secretfern.com

The Kids’ Store is a family focused concept store that sells thoughtfully designed clothing, interiors, books, toys and accessories for newborns to early teens. The team is always happy to help you to make choices, and make your family feel special. thekidsstore.co.nz

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Tildy & Co

Selvedge Clothing

Drawing the Way

Hand-poured soy candles made in the sunny Bay. Soy candles, scented soy wax melts, soy tealights, bath salts and more.

Soy blended from 100 per cent pure soy beans and botanical oils. No nasties. Custom orders. @tildy&co @tildyandco

Selvedge Clothing is a vintage clothing boutique, offering an alternative to mass-produced fashion. It provides customers with a range of unique, hand-selected thrift clothing. Find it at The Historic Village in Tauranga. @selvedge_clothing

Drawing the Way is a Mount Maunganui illustration and graphic design studio. This creative couple travels New Zealand spreading joy with their maps and paintings of places they visit, as well as custom paintings and quirky portraits. drawingtheway.com

Ruapuke

Renee Renata Creative

Mount Longboards

Ruapuke’s gorgeous towels will ensure you’re always set for anything, from lazy picnics and beach hangouts to drinks while the sun sets. Compact, lightweight and 100 per cent eco-friendly cotton. RRP $25–$89. ruapuke.com ruapuke_

Home of the popular upcycled tyre tube earrings. Designs are inspired by our native birds, especially the huia. All earrings are handmade, making them one of a kind. Also from The Incubator Creative Hub, Journey + Co and social media. @mylittlesidebusiness

Mount Longboards take you back to the 80s with a collection of classic surf t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and accessories. Each of the 100 per cent cotton tees are original and hand-printed. mountlongboards.com mountlongboards

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Me & The Brave

Sandbank

Lyrise and Co

Founded by Tania Eves, Me (Tans) & The Brave (our community of diverse, badass women) is all about empowerment. What started as a small hat label is now an evergrowing range of lifestyle products and tools to inspire women. meandthebrave.com

Sandbank is the locals’ smoothie and coffee destination at Pāpāmoa Domain beachfront. The smoothie bowls are colourful, healthful and delicious, and smoothie highlights include The Blue Magic with blue spirulina and blueberries. @sandbanknz

Whether it’s restful surrounds or vibrant hues, Lyrise and Co caters to your needs, creating a cosy ambience. The beautiful vintage Turkish rugs and cushion covers will add warmth and texture to any interior or exterior space. lyriseandco.co.nz lyriseandco

Lady Blue

EJ Wood Watercolours

GreenMe

Lady Blue is a women’s clothing line designed in New Zealand.

Sustainability is key so expect clothes that are long wearing, trans-seasonal and for everyday elegance. Designs are limited in number to keep your individuality. ladyblue.co.nz

E J Wood Watercolours specialises in original fine art prints, linen cushions, cards, art magnets and vinyl decals. The artworks are inspired by the beauty of the Mount’s environment, especially the native flora and beach. ejwoodwatercolours.co.nz

GreenMe products are kind on the body and planet. Pippi Laing has a background in immunology, chemistry and biochemistry, and her products include balms, lotions, cold-processed soaps, cleaning products and beeswax wraps. greenme.co.nz

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No3

Bubala Creations

Blue Baobab

The Underbalm range of noaluminium deodorant is still the favourite No3 product — whether it’s the Regular, Magic or Silver option. Buy from the markets or online, or see national stockists. no3.co.nz @no3.co.nz no3_ltd

Janeeliz creates unique resin ocean-themed art with colours that reflect the beauty, movement and colours of the ocean and beach.

The range includes art, art with function, new/recycled and custom homeware and decor. $10–200. @bubalacreations

Blue Baobab New Zealand is a boutique online shop with beautiful, unique home decor products, including Skinny laMinx scatter cushion covers and upholstery fabric, and women’s Silver Lining Gumboots, both from South Africa. bluebaobabnz.co.nz

Cirkel Life

Goodwin Ceramics

Bay Botanics

A huge amount of clothing is wasted by being dumped in landfill, so Cirkel Life is doing its bit to create change. It’s clothes are upcycled/recycled sustainable designer clothing for 9 to 13 year olds. Made in Mount Maunganui. cirkellife.co.nz @cirkellife

Goodwin Ceramics hails from Matamata where Larissa makes functional pieces that fit seamlessly into your home. With a focus on form and texture, each piece is handmade using both wheel and handbuilding techniques. goodwinceramics.co.nz

Turn your home into a green oasis, without spending a fortune, by buying from your local houseplant grower. Kat, the bae of Bay Botanics, will share her extensive knowledge to make sure your new houseplants survive and thrive. baybotanics

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Alivate Activewear

Koa Organics

The Little Big Markets

Giving waste a second chance, Alivate stands for minimising fast fashion and consumerism by creating thoughtfully designed movement pieces from regenerated waste. All manufactured in New Zealand too. alivateactivewear.com

Koa Organics is a Rotorua company that produces 100 per cent naturally made magnesium products to relax your muscles and calm your nervous system so you get a deep sleep. koaorganics.co.nz @KoaOrganics

Support little businesses and let everyone know about it! Get yourself one of these stylish TLBM totes and fill it with the brilliant, creative products you pick up from locals at the markets.

Check out all the cool tees too. thelittlebigmarkets.co.nz/shop

Lulu Avarcas

Noxen

didi&i essentials

Designed in New Zealand and handcrafted in Spain, check out these new season Lulu Avarcas Flatforms in butter-soft nubuck leather with studded detailing.

For the fashion savvy. RRP $130.

6/22 Hull Rd, Mt Maunganui luluavarcas.co.nz

Based in Mount Maunganui, Noxen is a lifestyle brand with a focus on functionality, and the owners love surfing, sports and the community. Check out its surf apparel, caps, hooded poncho towels and more. noxen.co.nz @noxensurf

Founder Divine Tahere brings the world of conscious spirituality to your place of relaxation. She takes 100 per cent pure coconut wax, mixes in an organic essential oil, adds a crystal and pours into tumblers to make beautiful candles. @didiandi_essentials

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The Mad Potter Story by Pip Crombie Photography by Alice Veysey

Although the brilliant work of ceramic artist Laurie Steer raises thought-provoking questions, it’s most definitely inbued with his offbeat humour and world view.

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exclusively over the last 15 years, to having the chance to “learn from the maestro”, Brickell. Until his death in 2016, Brickell was a potter, writer, conservationist and founder of Coromandel’s Driving Creek Railway, which he gifted to New Zealand. Laurie is now a director of this arts and charitable trust.

“I met Barry when I was doing a conceptual installation for my Masters — shards, primitive pots and the concept of fake archaeology, and I was a bit star struck. He was the Southern Hemisphere’s most revered potter and I was desperate for an opportunity to work with him. He very politely told me to piss off.

Five years later he rang my wife, Natalie, and said, “come right now”. He really meant right now, so I just went straight to the Coromandel and spent three days with another couple of artists literally fuelling the kiln fires, chopping the wood and doing all the things that facilitate an artist in the midst of creating pottery.

The environment made me think of something straight out of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness — the crazy, mad man living in the bush, bits of machinery, trains, a lot of other strange people wandering around. It was just amazing and inspiring and was everything I imagined.”

Among fine-tuning techniques and opening doorways on ways to work and manipulate clay, Laurie credits Brickell for arming him with the skills to survive financially as a creative, but without selling his soul to commercialisation.

Being greeted at the gate of local ceramic artist Laurie Steer is an experience that sets the scene for the visit to follow. A ferocious whirlwind of teeth and noise, housed in the incredibly compact fluffy white body of the gatekeeper Moe, who either loves or hates the intruder to his master’s domain… nothing in between.

I made the cut and spent the next 90 minutes being assessed by a now remarkably (duplicitous) doe-eyed pooch, as we sat in the midst of Laurie’s latest pottery collection in the making. We were speaking four weeks out from the launch of his exhibition that’s now open at Tauranga Art Gallery — the chaos is organised, the process fluid, the work ahead monumental, but that’s the way Laurie rolls and nothing will get in his way until the works are complete. Moe will see to that.

As a born and bred Mount lad, Laurie attended Mount Maunganui College — but not for long. “School wasn’t for me, apparently I had “issues with authority” but I think it was more that I had issues with idiots,” he laughs. “I went on to AUT and excelled, gained a Master of Art and Design and ended up teaching at art schools; that’s what a qualification gives you the ability to do. But I’d always wanted to work as an artist, not teach art.”

It was a long-coveted opportunity to work with expert potter Barry Brickell, that helped Laurie transition into a full-time practice. Laurie credits his work with clay, a medium he has turned to almost 30

↑ Laurie creates a piece using a Leach Treadle Wheel. ← An old gas kiln in Laurie’s studio, surrounded by domestic pots ready to be fired.

Opener: Laurie in the Mount Maunganui workshop that’s attached to his home.

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↑ Moe, Laurie’s trusty gatekeeper that noisily assesses whether each visitor is friend or foe. ← The 24kt gold detailing in these works is applied by hand, then melted in place. and gently, but somehow ominously, swaying above are a full artillery of pottery spikes. Laurie explains the inspiration: “It’s called The Abundance of Water, which comes from a line in a Bob Marley song, Rat Race: “In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty”, a line which is in itself inspired by an Ethiopian quote: “…you have so many cups, but can you get a drink?”.

The collection is a continuation of ideas from Deadweight Loss, which Laurie exhibited at Auckland gallery Objectspace in 2020. That featured large pots and is one of the connections with The Abundance of Water, where every piece resembles some kind of domestic, functional form, yet every one of them is pierced with at least one hole, rendering it useless in its accepted form. The glossy black, the gold — this is about affluence, and the notion of ‘having it all’, but at what cost? “I want it all but once I get it, what will I do with it?!” Laurie exclaims. He uses the act and process of creating around a theme to help him further understand it, and works feverishly to form a collection.

As soon as Laurie began working with clay, he said it felt incredibly familiar, but the challenge to master it became his quest. “There is an endlessness to it that I love. Other things come and go but clay has always been with us in its natural form, in a hole or a bank in the earth, or as a familiar form — a toilet bowl, a cup, even a crucial piece in the workings of

Until he met and worked with Brickell, Laurie was a self-taught potter. The ancient medium fascinates him — autonomy is a draw and the principles that guide the discipline of working with clay, which is mercurial at best, a delightful contest.

“I like the challenges of self-sufficiency in my artwork — I make it all myself, literally from going to dig my own materials in the Coromandel, or wherever the colour and consistency I am after is available. It’s like playing golf apparently, you’re only playing against the course, not the other golfers. I’m incredibly competitive by nature, but with myself and my processes.”

This current exhibition is made using a mix of reddish Coromandel clay and a whiter, finer clay from the Waikato. The result is a purplish-brown raw product, which when glazed becomes a satiny rich black, beautifully adorned with 24kt gold. Which leads our fast-moving, Moe-patrolled and ebullient conversation to just what the inspiration was for the mock-up exhibition table Laurie is crowding with eclectic and fascinating pieces.

The Tauranga Art Gallery installation features a fantastically excessive banquet setting crowded on a simple, purpose-built sage-green table, cluttered with beautifully formed pieces — plates, goblets, platters, bowls, the richness of the black lustre effectively offset by the hand-detailed gold. Suspended 33

For a 0800 ATOMIC

↑ Left: Laurie uses pōhutukawa ash in glazes to create variation in the surface.

Right: The vase and mugs are part of the monthly “merch” Laurie sells online (he like to use that term because he reckons it sounds vulgar). They are bisque-fired and the purpley glaze turns black at 1300⁰C. a smart phone. It’s slow to work with and this fed into the current collection, which is all about the mass consumerism of useless stuff in our world, whether it’s at The Warehouse or Harrods and everywhere in between, everything is about commodities, wealth and waste.” In this vein, Laurie believes the mastery of his process is in his mantra “make it, sell it or smash it” — the smashed pieces given new life by being reabsorbed into new work. “I love the zero waste of it.”

With each of his collections, Laurie offers the pieces for sale, releasing a retail date via social media that coincides with the end of an exhibition.

Buyers can then purchase online, or at an exhibition, and there will also be “merch” associated with the collection available to purchase online, which allows supporters to continue adding to their collections of

usable Laurie Steer artwork. So, the cups, jugs and vases supporting this collection will not have holes!

And as for his slogan, ‘The Best Potter in the World’? Laurie explains it’s an in-joke that came from a derogatory comment: “I suppose you think you’re the best potter in the world, do you?” To which he replied, “Yes.” So he’s continued to use it and, much to his delight, upset detractors along the way. “I like the invincible confidence in it and I like aspiring to greatness, especially in a country where you are supposed to be humble. I don’t identify as a tall poppy. I’m more like gorse.”

The Abundance of Water is showing at Tauranga Art Gallery until 18 July. lauriesteer.com @laurie_steer @mountpottery 34

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Our origin story begins in the summer of 1969. That year, a small group of Bay of Plenty civic leaders founded an arts council to support creative projects, artists and audiences, cultural celebrations, and the human element in our community. Over fifty years later, we’re still doing that as Creative Bay of Plenty.

Across the region, our nonprofit organisation works every day to connect, support, promote, and develop diverse arts and culture experiences. Each year, we award almost $200,000 in grant funding, present dozens of workshops and networking opportunities, share information and promote thousands of local events. Our team works directly with hundreds of Bay of Plenty creative people to guide their dreams.

They are poets, dancers, musicians, cultural managers, and educators.

They are filmmakers, carvers, curators, and fashion designers. They are galleries, museums, festivals, and orchestras. They are the people and organisations that express our world, give us a sense of wonder, and change lives. For over a half-century, Creative Bay of Plenty has been nurturing these human elements and building our capacity to dream together. Here in 2021, our team is ready to help you find your own creative spark. Discover the arts from Waihi Beach to Pongakawa and from the Kaimai Ranges to Mauao. Together let's keep telling our stories to the world.

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Finders Keepers Story by Sarah Nicholson Recipes from Keepers by Cherie Metcalfe

If you’re a keen cook, the chances are you’re very familiar with the brand Pepper & Me, and its range of rubs, salt, spices, pastes and sauces. And if you’re a fan, you’re likely one of the nigh-on 40,000 people that follow the brand on Instagram, and may feel like you already know the 32-year-old chef, mother of two and powerhouse behind the brand, Cherie Metcalfe.

Cherie’s daughter, Pepper, was just four months old when Cherie launched Pepper & Me (a time when most new mums are trying to get the energy to simply wash their hair). New to Tauranga, she wanted to run her own business from home, utilising her skills as a chef.

As a breastfeeding mum at the time, her original idea was to create cooking products that could boost lactation as well as flavour in home cooking. So ingredients such as fenugreek, fennel and dill were employed in products that are still brand staples today: Whatevz Mum salt, and the Mexican, tandoori and Moroccan pastes.

However, it didn’t take long for Cherie to learn that she needed to cast her net wider.

“I first realised at The Little Big Markets — everyone who walked past would come and try the products, then they would read ‘lactation’ and walk away. They actually enjoyed the products, so I realised I had narrowed down my market to a really specific group of people for no reason, so we just changed the branding and the marketing.”

Pepper & Me’s marketing was pretty much Cherie cooking her socks off every single day on social media (she started on Snapchat, then migrated to Instagram Stories). She showed how her products could make meal prep easy and focused on laidback family meals that you share at the table. “I also did a lot of education around how to feed lots of people for not much money and effort,” she says.

But it wasn’t until Cherie sent out free Pepper & Me hampers that she really began to get traction. “This was kind of at the beginning of influencer marketing

about four years ago — I sent product to Instagram influencers, then lots of their followers began to follow me and my sales really started to take off,” she says.

Those followers stayed, and more continued to amass — this was in part due to her quality product, but largely because of Cherie’s compelling presence on Instagram. Sure, she cooked great meals, but she also talked directly to her followers every day, sharing all parts of her life with them: the highs and low of motherhood, buying a new car, building a house, a crazy night out with the girls… And while the Pepper & Me juggernaut is the stuff of business dreams, like any entrepreneur, Cherie’s had her fair share of nightmares in the process (300 litres of split aioli, importing disasters, another brand’s sauce exploding through 600 of her gift boxes on Christmas Day), which she shared openly with followers.

“People connect with me because I show my mistakes. I show vulnerability when I get something wrong — it makes me human and they relate to that,” she says.

“People have wanted to buy from me and support my business as it grows because they feel a connection to me; they’ve been on the journey.”

To give the uninitiated an idea of the level of engagement Pepper & Me has achieved, look no further than her burger sauce that launched as limited release in 2020. The week before it was available on her site, Cherie cooked burgers all week on Instagram stories, whipping fans into a frenzy. She sold 7000 jars in just two weeks. She just could not make enough of the stuff.

Other impressive figures include her new cookbook, Keepers (more about that soon), which sold 2000 copies on pre-order on launch night alone, the Pepper & Me Club, launched in 2018, now has 6000 paid subscribers, and her recent giveaway, in which Cherie would fly anywhere in New Zealand to cook a dinner party, had 14,000 entries on Instagram.

Which brings us to her latest project, Keepers, a beautifully photographed cookbook that features recipes running from breakfast and mains to 40

Opening page and beach photograph: Tash Meys

Cherie Metcalfe’s brand Pepper & Me is an incredible success story: sold-out products, a legion of Insta followers and now a cookbook, Keepers, that you’ll find yourself returning to again and again.

Photograph: Melanie Jenkins

Opener: Cherie’s a champion of laidback dinners served family style. ← Cherie with Pepper (5) and Kit (3); she often shares the laughs and frustrations around feeding her kids. ↑ In Keepers, Cherie keeps her no-nonsense approach, but delivers recipes that work well for dinner parties. production, no machinery. There’s a really old-school, earthy story around them.” She also finally has supermarkets firmly in her sights for Pepper & Me. And come June, Cherie’s current warehouses and production kitchen will all be under one roof — a purpose-built, 1000m2 “mothership”, which will include a retail store where she plans to stock other local artisan products.

In the following pages, Cherie gives us a taste of Keepers, with a couple of favourite recipes.

condiments and baking. “Doing a cookbook has been a life goal for me, a dream since I was really young,” says Cherie. “Keepers is classic recipes that you’re going to use all the time. There are loads of salads and big chunks of meat, some good curries, great desserts and baking... It’s all food you could proudly serve at a dinner party but it doesn’t use any hard-tofind ingredients.”

When pressed, Cherie says “must-try” recipes include the barbecued eye fillet with roast garlic and herb butter, and the chocolate pecan pie. “Also, the scones are insane! And I don’t even really like scones…” And although Pepper & Me products are used throughout the book, Cherie says they aren’t key to the recipes and can easily be substituted for other ingredients.

So what’s next? Of course Cherie is already knee-deep into her next challenge — a new knife brand, Cain & Abel. She’s already had sell-out success with KitCo, her pastel-coloured cast-iron enamel cookware range (named after her son, Kit), but this third brand has a more rustic vibe.

“The knives will be made from carbon steel.

They are handcrafted over a fire — no mass

Pepper & Me is sold locally at Brookfield New World, The Gilded Edge and Pepper & Me HQ in Tauriko. Keepers

by Cherie Metcalfe, published by Allen & Unwin NZ, RRP $45, photography by Melanie Jenkins. pepperandme.co.nz 41

These bad boys are easy to make and always a hit whether at the dinner table or handed around as bitesized delights at a party. The dipping sauce brings the fishcakes to life, but a store-bought sweet chilli works just fine. It’s the perfect way to use cheaper cuts of fish.

Thai Fishcakes with Fragrant Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe from Keepers Photograph by Melanie Jenkins

SERVES 4 AS A LUNCH OR LIGHT DINNER 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) hoki (or any firm white-fleshed fish) 1 zucchini, grated 3 spring onions, roughly chopped 1 egg 2 tablespoons cornflour ⅓ cup Rock Out with Your Wok Out sauce, or any soy-based or ginger stir-fry sauce ½ teaspoon sesame oil zest and juice of 1 lime 30 g (1 oz) coriander 20 g (¾ oz) mint oil for cooking Sweet Chilli Sauce 1 long red chilli 5 cm (2 in) piece of lemongrass ½ cup white sugar ½ cup white vinegar 2 makrut lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime) 1g saffron threads

For the sweet chilli sauce, deseed then finely dice the chilli, and whack the lemongrass a few times with the back of a knife to release the goodness but leave it whole. Place the chilli and lemongrass in a small saucepan with the sugar, vinegar and lime leaves or zest, and stir to combine. Simmer on a low heat for around 30 minutes. The sauce will be a lot runnier than store-bought varieties, but is really delicious and perfect for dipping.

Pop all of the ingredients for the fishcakes into a blender and pulse to combine well.

Heat a frying pan with a good amount of oil. Take heaped tablespoon-sized amounts of fishcake mixture and add to the pan. Cook 5 or 6 (you’ll get 12–14 altogether) at a time, and fry for around 1½ minutes each side until the fish cake has turned white and a little golden on the outside, but is still juicy and moist inside.

Serve the fishcakes with the sweet chilli sauce; pile them all on a platter and garnish with extra fresh coriander if taking to share with friends.

Note: Serve the fishcakes with an Asian-style slaw if having them as a dinner 43

The tartness of the cherry makes this my favourite flavour of baked cheesecake, but switch the cherries out for raspberries for a more classic combo. Great to make for a dinner party — have the cheesecake and compote made the day before, which makes for an easy last course.

White Chocolate and Cherry Cheesecake Recipe from Keepers Photograph by Melanie Jenkins

SERVES 8 400 g (14 oz) vanilla wine biscuits 200 g (7 oz) butter, melted 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) cream cheese 1 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 3 eggs 1 tablespoon cornflour 250 g (9 oz) sour cream 200 g (7 oz) white chocolate, melted mint leaves, to serve Cherry Compote 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) frozen pitted cherries ½ cup sugar 1 tablespoon Bakers Blend, or a mix of half sugar and half salt

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F). Line a 26 cm (10½ in) cake tin with baking paper and grease well.

Pulse the biscuits in a blender or smash them in a sealable bag with a rolling pin—then stir through the melted butter. Press the biscuit crumb around the bottom and up the sides of the tin as firmly as you can.

Cover with plastic wrap and pop into the fridge while you get the filling ready.

Soften the cream cheese slightly. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment fitted (or use hand-held electric beaters) and start to whip the cream cheese. Add the sugar and vanilla and keep whisking on a medium-high speed.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, then the cornflour. Add the sour cream and continue whisking until everything is very well combined and the mixture is smooth. Turn the mixer off, drizzle in the chocolate and fold through.

Remove the plastic wrap from the chilled biscuit base, and pour in the filling. Pop the cake tin on a tray and into the oven for 1 hour until just set. Leave on the bench to cool completely, then pop into the fridge to set—overnight ideally, but 4 hours minimum.

For the compote, put the frozen cherries, sugar and Bakers Blend in a saucepan. Simmer gently for around 25 minutes until thick and syrupy. The compote can be made a day ahead and will last for 7 days in the fridge.

To serve, cut the cheesecake into 8–10 slices and serve with a few generous spoonfuls of the cherry compote.

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The Next Dimension

Photograph: Erin Cave

Story by Pip Crombie

At Special Studio, Matt Watkins reimagines a future for plastic with 3D printing — taking waste and transforming it into objects for the home, with the hope of one day printing the home itself.

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For those of you who may be a little foggy on the capabilities of a 3D printer, seeing the creation of a vase made from recycled plastic at Special Studio, a designer homeware brand operating from Tauranga’s Basestation, certainly brings it to life.

Viewing a 3D printer in action as it slowly responds to a pre-programmed design, a filament of material wound precisely into a templated form, may bring a dawning of comprehension around how prosthetic limbs and other body parts have become a reality using 3D printing technology. Now, the ability exists to create an ever-increasing range of items that have previously had a long waiting list, an unachievable price tag or other obstacle.

One Earth Technology is the parent company for Special Studio and provides an avenue to find ways of creating value from waste. The 3D printing system allows the processing of waste plastic materials into stylish, one-off home and office wares for a discerning retail market — wastepaper baskets, vases and multi-purpose containers are available to purchase on the Special Studio website, with commissions welcomed.

The intent of owner/designer Matt Watkins is to harness the abundant potential of 3D printing by transforming plastic waste into desirable objects — filling a niche in the market for larger objects such as furniture, and eventually focusing residential and even naval architecture. He sees Special Studio as an opportunity to fine-tune techniques and products, develop IP in areas such as material processing and additive manufacturing techniques, and also create new materials and composites with a view to a bigger goal... “Affordable housing is always going to be a necessity, and it’s something which can be achieved using composite materials and 3D printing. These materials add structural integrity to the build and might include things like wood and ceramic dust, recycled concrete and other things that contribute to the weight, strength and finish of a 3D printed object — which hopefully one day includes buildings,” Matt explains.

Matt will be known to many from his years at the Mount Surf Shop. He is one of those people who has an inherently enquiring mind, and his constant desire to seek answers to problems has led him to create a range of solutions. This talent saw Matt design a software-hardware product for DJs called SoundSwitch. It’s a digital lighting workstation and hardware solution for connecting DJ software and DMX lighting — it was bought by American-based multinational company inMusic, which now employs over 50 people in Auckland and Tauranga. Matt still works a full-time role for the company, moonlighting for his passion project — 3D printing. He describes his field of work as “material science”, and says, “I believe this is one of the most underrated areas being studied

at present. In a world of environmental challenges, we really should be embracing it.”

The reprocessing of waste plastic into objects that add value in a home, office or other environment, is fundamentally simple. Plastic is a broad term for polymers, one of the most commonly known and used worldwide being polyethylene terephthalate, or PET (think Coke bottles and the like). Another high-use polymer is high-density polyethylene, or HDPE, used for the likes of milk bottles, often opaque in appearance and not able to withstand temperatures as high as PET. Plastic waste has become an enormous environmental challenge due to its single-use nature and the fact that there is no ‘away’ when plastic is thrown away. However, Matt believes this is the point that needs to be explored and the problem of single-use plastic is a behavioural one. “Plastic is only described as single use because we use it once. But most plastic, including the widely used polymers, can be reprocessed and reused many times before they start to degrade.”

The advantages of repurposing waste polymers has significant ecological benefits, as well as reduced production times. 3D printing offers the ability to design specific fit-for-purpose items because design softwares allow for infinitesimal adjustments, and the option for designers such as Matt to create outside traditional constraints — a curve becomes as simple to create as a straight line, for example. “The freedom of this style of design and fabrication allows me to create beautiful shapes from waste that supersedes the original intent of the product it used to be.” An exciting addition to the range of homewares will include products designed collaboratively with digital fabrication designer Clark Bradsley, who has designed for international fashion giant, Cos. Incredibly, the sourcing of recycled filament is a challenge. There is a vast range of new polymer products to draw on, but sourcing usable recycled filament in New Zealand has sadly not been simple.

In the meantime, Matt uses a range of filament from the two suppliers he has been able to find in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Though he pays 30 to 40 times more for the product than it would cost to produce in-house, the overall cost and associated carbon footprint is significantly better than using any filament produced locally with virgin polymers. The filament is made from a variety of end-use products, some come coloured, some are combined with other materials, such as marble dust, sea shells and various colourants. These additives change the properties of the final composite product, contributing to weight, strength, flexibility, rigidity and surface finish.

Preparing filament to be used in the 3D printing process is a simple, yet fickle one. Raw crushed 48

“Plastic is only described as single use because we use it once.

But most plastic, including the widely used polymers, can be reprocessed and reused many times before they start to degrade.”

↑ The printer was custom-built in the Netherlands and can produce objects 600mm (h) x 350mm (d).

Opener: Matt Watkins, founder of Special Studio.

Next page: The Originals range, designed by Matt, will be available in White, Black and Clear to begin with.

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↑ Each object in Matt’s Originals range is a one off, unique to its owner. plastic waste is ground in a machine not unlike a coffee grinder. The next stage involves removing moisture from the raw product and the now fine, dry, flaky product is converted into filament of a very precise diameter with a tolerance of +/-0.05mm.

It’s these tolerances that require high precision processes and machinery. The filament is wound onto a spool that’s threaded into the printer, a surprisingly simplistic device. The object being printed is coiled slowly and steadily into shape of a design visible on an adjacent desktop computer.

Matt checks regularly on progress, though one of the most popular items for sale on Special Studio’s online store came about due to a design “fault”.

“The mesh wastepaper basket happened because the filament was slightly too cold as it was printed and it ended up creating a mesh rather than dense finish… It appealed to a number of people who have seen the sample, which can now be ordered in various sizes. We’re doing a limited run of it in emerald green too.”

If owning a unique, one-off item for your home is something that appeals, checkout the web store and be part of a bigger picture in the transformation of waste to value. specialstudio.co 52

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Dog Days are Over Photography by Jay Drew

“Never work with children or animals,” as the W.C. Fields saying goes.

Well, we did. We gathered up dogs of Tauranga and just look at the result. Handsome, smart, funny — these pooches have it all in spades.

↑ Earl, a miniature Italian greyhound, and his regal air. → Ivy the Boxer ponders one of life’s mysteries.

Opener: Retrodoodle Sid licks his cute chops.

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← Koda the dachshund with those heart-breaking eyes. ↑ All hail the elder statesman Gypsy, a Staffordshire bull terrier.

Next page: Airedale terrier double take: Hank and Mako.

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Run this Town Story by Josie Steenhart Photography by Erin Cave

Miranda Clark has had an enduring love for sport and fitness, and now she inspires other women to get moving — no matter their age, stage, fitness or physique — and meet new friends in the process.

↑ The Heart & Sole team head off for a run from Pilot Bay. Opener: Miranda Clark (right) with her right-hand woman and great friend, Maria Woods.

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If you ask Miranda Clark what the best way of seeing Tauranga is, she’ll probably tell you it’s on foot... and running. And she would know, having run the city — alone or with a group as part of her training programmes — since 2009.

“Our city is incredible, with lots of on and off-road running options — and all of them are fantastic,” says Miranda, whose company, Heart & Sole, got almost 700 women up and running last year.

Having grown up involved in sports from volleyball, swimming and hockey at school to indoor netball and touch rugby in her early twenties, and in community activities and events (her family helped out with the Otumoetai Flea Market for more than 10 years), with Heart & Sole Miranda has combined both passions. “I’ve always felt connected to Tauranga and I think it’s because of the ocean and the people. It has been a great place to grow up and it’s exciting to watch the city grow and thrive, and be part of that.”

A personal turning point came in 2009 when Miranda was watching the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman. Despite being barely able to run a kilometre and having not swum or been on a bike for more than a decade, she decided to enter the challenging event the next year. Twelve months later, her first Half Ironman event saw her swimming 2km, cycling 90km then running 21km. It took her seven hours — more than twice as long as the elite competitors, but Miranda says the sense of achievement was life-changing.

But still, the journey to launching Heart & Sole wasn’t always an easy road, with Miranda facing some serious setbacks along the way, from sports injuries and chronic morning sickness during her pregnancy with daughter Samantha (who arrived after a three-day labour by emergency C-section) to resulting sleep deprivation, PTSD, anxiety and weight issues.

After beginning to recover from Samantha’s challenging birth in 2012, Miranda set about resurrecting a women’s triathlon in Mount Maunganui — a position she was passionately involved in for the next five years. “I was the event creator/director of the Generation Homes Women’s Triathlon for five years, and knowing I was leaving that role, I had a rather large hole in my heart,” she says.

“We’d run a learn-to-run programme with the triathlon ladies and it was really well received, so I approached the team at Beyond Physio & Fitness to partner with me. They helped us to write a programme that runs over 13 weeks to help ladies to learn to run, but in a supersupported way that’s good for their bodies and minds.

“I created Heart & Sole to give women a starting point to do something for themselves, and whether they have never run or want to get back into it, this is the place to do it!” she says.

“My bestie Maria Woods is also a massive part of Heart & Sole and together over the last three years we’ve had hundreds attend our ‘Zero to 5km’ learn-to-run programme, with ‘Run Club’ then being born [where women run 4km or more in small groups, one to three times a week] to ensure we all stay motivated to keep running.

“Add to that the ‘Run Series’, where we host an entry-level run event every three months with up to 200 ladies at each one — and our passion project that is Heart & Sole has grown exponentially over the last three years.”

Miranda says women signing up have so far ranged in age from 18 to 71, and those just starting out with Heart & Sole are often surprised what they become aware of: “They learn that they can run and keep running, and that a large part of it is their mind — not their body. And that setting themselves a goal, and turning up each week and doing it with 65

others is HUGELY more motivating than going it alone.”

Miranda notes that another major motivating factor for the women is the strength they draw from the group’s “togetherness”.

“The shared experiences and friendships are also key to Heart & Sole’s success,” she says.

Like many women, Miranda has struggled with her weight, but she’s adamant that a “less than perfect” body is not a reason to avoid physical events. “Few women have perfect bodies, yet we let this hold us back from doing activities we enjoy. It’s a tragedy, and I’m trying to share that message and get women active, whatever their body shape.

“Being a big girl all my life, I’ve been in and out of varying levels of fitness over the last 20 years. Some of this due to injury and some of it due to just the inability to just get myself out the door at times for various reasons — energy, mindset, fatigue etc,” she says. I’m not going to use this as an ‘as a women’ moment — but as human beings we all encounter life in its different forms, and sometimes life can be hard and overwhelming and traumatic and this is when we struggle. Fitness tends to be one of the things on our ‘to do’ lists that comes off first.

“Body weight is a hurdle and can be a barrier all on its own, but add to that life’s trauma and day-to-day survival, it can seem like something as simple as getting out the door for a walk is your ‘Everest’ some days.”

Miranda admits she’s “certainly not immune to that” herself, but says the Heart & Sole “tribe” and what they do on a weekly basis, “in terms of turning up and being accountable”, has changed her life over the last three years. “I’m currently in a place where I feel the fittest I have ever been. I’m a big, fit girl and gosh does it feel good!”

For more information, visit heartandsole.nz

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Story by Josie Steenhart Photography by Adrienne Pitts

Homecoming Dream?

We talk to locals whose lives abroad were turned upside down

by Covid-19, and although they returned to the relative freedom of Aotearoa, their homecomings include some complex emotions.

↑ Fran Bailey experienced nearly a year of lockdowns in the UK, which started to take its toll, including on her mental health. She now appreciates life’s simple pleasures, such as being in nature, more than ever. what was a really difficult time, especially knowing many would be spending Christmas by themselves.

But at the end of the day, you have to do what you think is best for you.

“Right up to the last minute, I didn’t know whether my flight would actually go ahead — airlines were cancelling flights all the time and if they did that you’d lose your MIQ spot, which is like a lottery ticket.

There were so many stories of devastated families who’d left their jobs, sold their houses, packed up their lives, only for borders to shut and have their flights cancelled. So I felt extremely lucky and grateful when I set foot on New Zealand soil.”

For fellow former locals Mike Cassidy and wife Sharon Ward, leaving Dubai, which had been home for so many years (15 for Sharon, 13 for Mike, who followed Sharon after finishing up an apprenticeship), was already on the cards. But the global pandemic meant changing plans from an adventure travelling in a 4x4 around Central and South America with their two daughters Safie, 8, and Jett, 6, to heading back to New Zealand to recalibrate.

They returned, however, in possibly the best way imaginable — as a Christmas surprise for their families, having managed to keep the entire enterprise completely secret right up until they

“Having been in various lockdowns for ten months in the UK and then coming to a place where it’s pretty much life as usual, I have really appreciated the smallest of things — the birdsong, time in nature, family time, ginger crunch!” says Fran Bailey, who made the decision to head home to Mount Maunganui in December last year, after living in London for nearly a decade, .

“I left the Mount in 2012 thinking I’d be in London for three to five years, but that turned into nine years!” she says. “A winter of lockdown in the UK was starting to take a toll on my mental health and my work [running her own PR business], so I was really weighing up my options.”

Since Covid-19 first began to throw the world into disarray just over a year ago, thousands of Kiwis like Fran have chosen to up sticks and head home.

While overall they’re relieved to be back in New Zealand, close to friends and family and in relative freedom and safety from the virus, many arrive with some fairly complex emotions and often a big dose of uncertainty.

“It wasn’t straightforward getting back here,” Fran says, “and I made the decision to leave quite last minute. My boyfriend decided to stay in London, and I felt a bit like I was abandoning everyone in 69

↑ Mike Cassidy and Sharon Ward left Dubai with their daughters when Covid-19 put paid to their travel plans. → Adrienne Pitts says it’s been humbling to leave a successful life in London and start over in Tauranga. to see it quieter, walking on the beach and having it to yourself…”

Adrienne Pitts, another returnee from London, says she did want to come back “at some point” but that the global pandemic definitely forced her hand.

“I’m the first to admit I didn’t want to come back to New Zealand, in that I wanted it to be on my terms, I wanted it to be when I was ready,” she says.

“I think it was about four or five months into lockdown in London and I was in the four walls of my flat… You can’t really go out and do anything — I wasn’t in London, I was in the four walls of my flat. It was illegal to see my family and friends, and I was going through a really bad break up at the time as well, and to top it off, my dad’s health back here in New Zealand wasn’t the best. It all just sort of added up.”

It was emotional leaving what had, until the final months, been a “really wonderful” life she had established over nearly 14 years. However, Adrienne

walked through the doors of their parents’ homes.

“There was screaming and crying and laughing,’’ says Sharon. “The best reaction ever. It was absolute gold!”

And despite living for so long in Dubai, the pair admit that no one in their family is really missing it much. “Dubai never really locked down like the UK has, but it never got out of what you’d call level 2, level 3 for New Zealand. So we have had some flexibility but obviously it has just not been pleasant,” she says.

Safie and Jett, who Mike says were already “fairly well used to travel,” have transitioned well to life in the Bay. “They love it, they absolutely love it,” says Sharon. “I think the biggest joy for them is bare feet, no masks, running around with family, and it’s just completely unrestricted. Obviously at this time of year it’s so beautiful, and to be here just lapping up a Mount summer, and then after all the busyness of summer, to still be around and 70

“I mean London, it was really, really bad, it was becoming really scary, so it took me a few months before I stopped panicking. I’d walk into a crowded cafe here and have to remind myself it was okay.”

coming here for Christmases for that long, but I didn’t grow up here, I don’t know it like a local and I don’t know many people — I’ve got, like, two friends here…

So it’s definitely very humbling to be starting from scratch, both socially and career wise — everything.

“My father actually unexpectedly passed away three weeks after I got back here, so I’m really grateful I had those three weeks with my dad, but now my mum’s alone. I also have a brother here, and nephews and nieces who I adore, so I’m like, maybe these are all signs telling me to stick around for a longer period of time than I had thought.”

“It’s really wonderful to be home,” she says, “but I think when the life that you’ve made for yourself, that you were so happy with, just kind of disappears, there’s definitely an adjustment period, and just learning to let go of what was and try to figure out what’s coming. Everything I thought was happening is no longer happening. I’m going to have to just go with the flow here…”Ⓟ

says, “the closer I got to it happening, the more I was realising how bad things were in London.”

Being back in New Zealand also came with a fairly intense adjustment period, from getting used to being physically close to other people, to having to start over with work and friendships knowing only a few people.

“In managed isolation in Auckland, I would look down at people on the street and think to myself, they’re not wearing masks and they’re all walking shoulder to shoulder — and that whole concept just freaked me out, because I’d become very used to really guarding my personal space. I mean London, it was really, really bad, it was becoming really scary, so it took me a few months before I stopped panicking. I’d walk into a crowded cafe here and have to remind myself it was okay,” she says.

“I grew up in Auckland, then basically left New Zealand when I was early 20s. My parents moved to the Bay of Plenty about 20 years ago, so I’ve been 71

The Big 4-0

By Sam Cummins

Aside from new bodily aches, one’s fortieth year brings with it new opinions and ideas on topics as varied as health, wealth, the state of local politics... and skateparks.

E timu ana te tai.

The tide is going out.

This is a beautiful, but terrifying way to think about entering your 40th year — which I’ve just done. When the average life expectancy for a New Zealand male is approximately eighty years, you could say it’s true too.

Forty.

Our good Lord spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness, it’s forty weeks for gestation, forty hours on the clock and forty winks and forty thieves if you want to steal some sleep.

Forty.

Apparently the first forty years of your life are just preparation for the next forty. I’m sure whoever said that wasn’t 25.

Now, trips around the sun is certainly one way to measure time, but it’s by no means the most useful when it comes to human ageing.

I think a much more accurate measure would be: cell decay x virility x hair loss divided by net worth, which puts me firmly at 36. Four more years! Anyway, hearing someone go on about being forty is probably worse than the actual event, particularly for those under 30. Me forty?

Lol, never.

For all the accoutrements the forty-year-old man collects, from the physical (hair loss and paunch), petty mysteries (how am I the poorest of my three brothers?) and the familial (children everywhere…), the most boring would have to be an awareness of local body politics.

After having spent part of this past summer on the road, I’ve got some questions. Like, how can the city of Hastings afford a paid custodian at the local skatepark, handing out sunscreen and abuse in equal measure to local scooter kids? You might not be able to swim along Napier’s waterfront, but can pretty much do everything else.

New Plymouth has a free zoo and an epic Museum, plus a wind wand!

What have we got? Hairy Maclary and his adventurous pals. Good times.

Someone smarter than me once said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

It goes without saying that any attempt to reduce representation should be punished. Frank Herbet of Dune fame sums up the conundrum well, “All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities.” But this is another thing, for another time.

Tauranga now has more in common with a provincial shanty-town in Communist China than with other similar sized cities in Aotearoa.

Commissioners!

You can’t go forward without the PMA (positive mental attitude), so kia ora commissioners and welcome. You don’t have to worry about being re-elected, and you don’t have to think in three-year cycles — so kaua e mate wheke mate ururoa! Don’t die like an octopus, die like a hammerhead shark! You don’t have to be popular; you just have to be effective.

I’m not going to tell you how to do your job… You know as well as I do that housing is issue numbers 1, 2 and 3. Try and think a bit bigger than just roads, rates and rubbish. Raise rates if you have to, but remember Grandma gotta pay ‘em. And lastly, if you’re not embarrassed that Tokoroa has a way better skatepark than the all of Tauranga, then you’re in the wrong job!

Illustration by Christopher Duffy 73

EL CARTEL MEXICANO

NEW RESTAURANT OPENING SOON Stay tuned

ElCartelNZ

elcartelnz

Delicious

Frosty & Fox Photography by Adrienne Pitts

Frosty & Fox has been designed for maximum fun with clever cocktails and cold beers, striking interiors, and designer ‘dawgs’ among the many delicious menu offerings.

Delicious

↑ Left: Foxy Lady cocktail: Larios Rose Gin, cranberry; lemonade and crushed ice.

Right: Frosty Classic Dawg: frankfurter, liquid cheese, fried onion, smoke mustard, bacon crumb and ketchup. ← Dine streetside and watch the world pass by or grab a table in the vibrant interior.

The other offerings are as varied as bangers and mash, posh fish and chips (see recipe overpage), and healthy bowls. You can also sizzle wagyu fillet, venison kofta or prawns on your own stone grill.

If a big, lush glass of G&T is your vibe, you’re in the right place — there’s an excellent selection of gin as well as other thoughtful cocktails, plus a good range of wine and beer, of course.

Time your visit with one of the daily deals...

Everyday, 4–6pm, it’s $10 for a Frosty Classic Dawg and $5 selected beer or wine; Tuesdays see ribs, fries and a house bevy for $20; and cheers to Thursday’s $10 cocktails. And with DJs on Saturday to co-incide with the late-night happy hour (9–11pm), you’re never too late to join in the good times.

Vibrant blues, pinks and oranges, neon signage and arcade games — Frosty & Fox on the Mount’s main drag is definitely hard to miss. The look speaks volumes about the owners’ fun, social approach to food, drinks and all-round good times.

Lisa Kerr and Luke van Veen have created a place that runs the gamut from breakfast, family dinners (kids can play at the toy kitchen) and after-work drinks, to a lunch spot where friends can sit streetside and enjoy quality people watching.

They’ve even created characters to front the restaurant: Frosty (Dad), Fox (Mum) and the Tiny Tins (the two kids).

When it comes to food, gourmet hotdogs and fries are a specialty — behold the Mexi Dawg with a frankfurter, chile con carne, corn salsa and sour cream; or the Pork Dawg featuring pork sausage, capsicum jam, liquid cheese and fried shallots.

From 11am Monday to Friday, and 9am Saturday & Sunday 108 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui, frostyandfox.co.nz @frostyandfox 77

78

Photograph: Adrienne Pitts

“This is Fox’s posh take on fish and chips: salmon and kingfish are woven together and wrapped in nori, then coated in a tempura batter and cooked to perfection.”

Fox’s Fish & Chips Recipe by Frosty & Fox

SERVES 2 120g salmon fillet 120g firm white fish (we use kingfish, you could also use snapper) 2 sheets nori (Japanese seaweed) Canola oil, to fry 1 large egg 1 cup plain flour, sifted 1 cup well chilled soda/sparkling water

Cut your salmon into 4 equal-sized logs. These should be about the thickness of your pinkie finger and the length of the nori sheets. Repeat with the white fish.

Place 1 sheet of nori on a clean, dry cutting board, shiny-side facing down and longest edge facing you.

Place 4 strips of fish (2 salmon, 2 kingfish) on the nori.

Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Twist the strips of fish in a corkscrew shape, alternating the fish, then roll in the nori, as if you were making sushi. (Think about the salmon and kingfish looking like a Battenberg cake when cut through!)

Once you have rolled in the nori, dab a little water along the nori edge to make it stick. Set aside, seamside down. Repeat for the remaining fish and nori.

To shallow fry, place 2cm oil in a frying pan over medium heat until the surface of the oil is shimmering (but not smoking). Alternatively, if you have a deep fryer, heat the oil to 180⁰C. To make the tempura batter, gently beat the egg in a bowl until the yolk and whites are barely incorporated. Add the sifted flour and very cold water to the bowl, add a pinch of salt, then lightly combine (do not overmix). Dip the fish rolls into the batter, allow any excess to drip off, then pan-fry for about 2–3 minutes, rotating often, or until just cooked through (or cook in the deep-fryer for 3–4 minutes).

Serve with kale slaw, skinny fries, mayo and lemon.

79

I C O N I C P

O

O

L

S

AN EXCEPTIONAL RANGE OF HIGH QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE FIBREGLASS POOLS

Bringing the community together and helping nurture small businesses for over 10 years.

Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui. thelittlebigmarkets.co.nz @thelittlebigmarkets

Apply now and start your big dream! thelittlebigmarkets.co.nz/apply

Winter dates.

May 1st, 15th, 29th June 5th, 19th, 26th July 3rd, 17th, 31st August 7th, 21st, 28th September 4th, 18th, 25th

Our Place Events Guide Sat

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

9–11. Play in the Bay Fastball 45 Softball Tournament Ngatai Rd, Bellevue, Tauranga, allevents.in

Sun

Mount Farmers' Market 9am–1pm, 123–141 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui.

10.

Redhearing Presents: Rising 9pm, The Rising Tide, Mt Maunganui, ticketspace.nz/events

April 2O21 1–4 3

58th National Jazz Festival jazz.org.nz

Red Tulip Walk for Parkinson’s 10am–12pm, Salisbury Wharf, iticket.co.nz

Generation Homes The Mount Swim Mt Maunganui, oceanswim.co.nz

You Should Be Dancing 8–11.30pm, Totara Street, totarastreet.co.nz

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

10–11. Women’s Street Smart Self–Defence 10.30am–4.30pm, The Gym Tauranga, 107 First Ave, Tauranga, eventfinda.co.nz

Season Finale — Fireworks 6.30–10pm, Trustpower Baypark Speedway, eventfinda.co.nz 4.

Andrew Fagan & The People 7–10pm, The Jam Factory, The Historic Village, Tauranga, eventspronto.co.nz

11.

Easter Bunny hits town!

Bethlehem School Gala 10.30am–2pm, Bethlehem School

Honest Liars Improv Comedy Jam 7–8.30pm, The Jam Factory, The Historic Village, eventspronto.co.nz

Paint & Wine Night — A Starry Night 4–6pm, Cornerstone Bar & Eatery, 107 The Strand, Tauranga, paintvine.co.nz

Marley NZ All Stars: Everything is Going to Be Alright Tour 4–9pm, Soper Reserve, Mt Maunganui, eventfinda.co.nz

Redefined Farmers’ Market 7-11am, 58 Ashley Pl, Pāpāmoa Beach 17.

The Little Big Markets – Jazz Festival 10am–2pm, Tauranga Waterfront Carpark

Tauranga Classic Powerlifting Championships 11am, The Gym Tauranga, 107 First Ave, Tauranga

6.

Yoga for Beginners 5.50–6.50pm, W Dance & Fitness, 367 Cameron Rd, Tauranga, wdancefitness.com

‘The Classics’ Altitude The Mount Showcase 6pm, Altitude Pole, 138b Newton St, Mt Maunganui

7.

White Ferns v Australia 2nd ODI 2–10pm, Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui

The Little Big Markets 9am–2pm, Pāpāmoa Pony Club, 491 Pāpāmoa Beach Rd, Pāpāmoa

8.

Elemeno P — High Fidelity Vinyl Release Tour 8pm–12am, Totara Street, eventfinda.co.nz

19.

World of Musicals 7.30–9.30pm, Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, ticketek.co.nz

9.

The Test Tube Event: Showcasing Our Local Creatives 5.30–8pm, The Incubator, The Historic Village.

23– 25.

Madagascar The Musical Various times. Trustpower Baypark, eventfinda.co.nz

1

@ourplacemagazine

24.

Wellington Sea Shanty Society 7pm, The Rising Tide, Mt Maunganui.

Free.

15.

We Run the Night 6pm, Mt Maunganui Main Beach, werunthenight.co.nz

27.

The Royal Family NZ Tour 2021 7pm, Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, ticketek.co.nz

18.

Ben Elton Live 7.30–10pm, Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, ticketek.co.nz

30.

David & Shimna 7–9.30pm, The Jam Factory, The Historic Village, eventspronto.co.nz

21.

Warren Miller’s Future of Retro 8–10pm, Rialto Tauranga

21– 23.

Weekend Kaimai Waterfall Workshop photographyworkshops.co.nz

22.

Tauranga Māori Portrait Sessions 10am–3pm, Matua Community Hall, @poihakenaportrait

24.

Powerchair Football Training 10.30am–12.30pm, Tauranga Boys’ College,

25.

Waste Free: Foodlovers Masterclass 6–8pm, The Historic Village, Tauranga, eventfinda.co.nz

26.

Quiz Night at The Pizza Library Co 7.30–9.30pm, 314 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui

27.

Business Women’s Network Speaker Series See What’s Up for more details.

May 2O21 1.

Miss Gee’s Presents: Otosan 11pm–3am, Miss Gee’s, 3/59 The Strand, Tauranga The Little Big Markets 9am–2pm, Coronation Park, Mt Maunganui

3–4.

Queen: It’s A Kinda Magic 8–10.30pm, Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, ticketek.co.nz

7–9.

Tauranga Home Show Trustpower Baypark Arena, taurangahomeshow.co.nz

11.

Open Mic Night Tuesday 7.30–9.30pm, The Mount Social Club, 305 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui

13.

Open Yoga class 6.30–7.30pm, Pāpāmoa Community Centre The Chills — Scatterbrain Album Release Tour 8.30pm, Totara St, Mt Maunganui, totarastreet.co.nz

14.

The Sweet Caroline Tour: A Tribute to Neil Diamond 8pm, Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, ticketek.co.nz

15.

Historic Village Wellbeing Market 10am–2pm, The Historic Village, Tauranga

Waste Free Parenting Workshop 6–8pm, Pāpāmoa Community Centre, eventfinda.co.nz 28.

Waikato University Tauranga Open Day 9am–1.30pm, 101–102 Durham St, Tauranga

29.

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

30.

Heart and Sole Run Series — Event 2 3–5.30pm, Fergusson Park, Matua, heartandsole.nz 2021 MTEM Pink Ribbon High Tea Breakfast 10.30am–3pm, The Tauranga Club, Level 5, 72 Devonport Rd, free, eventbrite.co.nz The Bay of Plenty Wedding Show 2021 10am–3pm, Trustpower Baypark Arena, thebayofplentyweddingshow.co.nz

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