Life + Style - 5 June 2020

The Weekend Sun ˜

THE WEEKEND

Build your new lifestyle with Signature Homes Page 4

°

life+style The Weekend Sun °˜5 August, °˛˜˝ June, 2020

Fresh food and family Liberty Growers A salad and herb growing business is more than just a way to make a living for the Miller family.

Debbie and Malcolm Miller bought Liberty Growers seven years ago as a retirement plan, and a place for them to enjoy their gardening hobby.

The one-hectare Katikati property has since become a hub for the couple and their whanau.

They have four adult children – two of whom have moved from the South Island, in turn, to run the business.

Son, Chris Miller and his partner, Jess Covell, took over first, running the business for the last seven years, followed by the youngest Miller Rosie and her partner Sioeli Tu’itufu - in January this year.

With Rosie working remotely for her Christchurch-based company, Sioeli has taken on the role as Liberty Growers’ manager, working with two part-time staff members.

It’s only been several months but Sioeli says the opportunity has greatly impacted his life.

“The improvement to my health is the best. In three months of living here I lost almost 30kgs, because I’ve been surrounded by healthy, homegrown food.”

Sioeli and Rosie are the full-time caregivers of Sioeli’s older brother Joseph, who has disabilities from contracting meningitis as a child.

“When we lived in Christchurch, I couldn’t work because I was taking care of Joseph. Living onsite has given us the flexibility to work and be there for him, which means a lot to us.

“We’re very family orientated, so it’s lovely to have space for family and friends to come and stay.

We have recently expanded our family… with a new puppy.”

An extra bonus: he enjoys the work, too.

“Working outside is nostalgic for me. It reminds me of my childhood in Tonga, where we would spend holidays harvesting taro.”

The business grows a large variety of salads, herbs and some seasonal fruit and veggies, both outside and in three greenhouses. Sioeli says the largest, the Basil House, is almost the size of a rugby field.

Most of Liberty Growers’ salads and herbs are grown hydroponically – in a water solution rather than soil. Debbie says it’s the secret to their delicious produce.

“Hydroponic growing produces fresh, crunchy food. It’s a cleaner way to grow, and the plants tend to grow more efficiently. We use less water per plant compared to produce grown in soil, which is great from a conservation standpoint.”

Malcolm likes experimenting – one of his recent projects has been growing tomatillos to make salsa verde, which has earned rave reviews.

Jess, the family foodie, created Liberty Growers’ basil pesto and vegan coriander pesto, using locally grown macadamia nuts. Jess and Chris mastered a range of Liberty Growers’ sugar free hot sauces.

Liberty Growers sell their goods at local markets

in the BOP, as well as wholesalers and restaurants.

“We’ve all missed seeing other market stall holders and customers. We do our own shopping at the market, and can’t wait to buy delicious, locally produced food again,” says Debbie.

Like all New Zealand businesses, they had to prepare for the impact of COVID-19 within a matter of days.

They managed to pull a delivery service out of the hat, delivering their produce from Waihi to Papamoa every Saturday, as well as goods from their fellow Katikati growers.

“It’s been a huge effort, with plenty of trial-anderror and time on the computer,” says Debbie.

Delivering in lockdown has its pitfalls. After driving from 10am to 10pm on the first day of delivery, Debbie and Rosie were caught out with nowhere to buy food, or go to the toilet.

Despite business losses, the family have taken the challenge of COVID-19 in their stride.

They have donated more than $1000 worth of watercress and lettuce to the local Marae, food bank and Waihi Community. The Government’s “Hydroponic growing produces fresh, crunchy food. It’s a cleaner way to grow, and the plants tend to grow more e˜ ciently. We use less water per plant compared to produce grown in soil, which is great from a conservation standpoint.” wage subsidy scheme has allowed them to keep all staff employed.

As well as kick-starting their delivery service, COVID-19 encouraged Sioeli to increase Liberty Growers’ social media presence.

“Social media has been a great tool to attract new customers,” says Sioeli.

“We had Black Fern and Olympic silver medallist Ruby Tui promote our produce, which was really exciting for us.”

Hosting events on the property is also on the Millers’ post-COVID agenda.

Chris and Jess have run several music festivals on the property, charmingly named Live Music at the Lettuce Inn, attracting crowds of about 200 people.

“Jess is great at finding up-and-coming Kiwi artists for the line-up and featuring local talent.

Even though they have relocated to Dunedin, they hope to organise another festival in February 2021.”

Debbie and Malcolm still live and work in Hawkes Bay, but are in Katikati almost every weekend.

“Even once we retire here, it’s too much work for just two people. It’s great having family involved.”

MacKenzie Dyer

˝ June, °˛°˛ °˜ August, °˛˜˝

Snacks, social enterprise and a baby I first met Nathan Little after he helped an Auckland mother and her children who became lost in a storm. He was pumping petrol at a local service station.

Since then I know he’s helped set up a social enterprise that sells vegetables and visited remote parts of the world to help with aid projects.

Recently married, he and his wife Alyssha welcomed their newborn into the world a few weeks before the country went into lockdown.

Embracing these major life changes, the couple continue walking to that same drumbeat that resonates in Nathan. I had to find out about their latest project.

“We returned from Afghanistan and India and were thinking about if we were going to be as generous as we could be here on planet Earth, we had to think outside of, and bigger than nine to five,” says Nathan.

They also had to consider how to ensure they could provide well for their young family.

“We thought about all the different things we could do and kind of had this little brain seizure.”

Combining all the elements important in their lives they came up with one big concept called Yum Box. I checked out their newly launched website yum-box.co.nz. Perfect for people with dietary requirements and allergies, I found I could select gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, soy-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, organic, and NZ-made products an important focus coming out of the lockdown.

Simply put, it’s a website where you can select

whatever categories apply to you, then it populates a list of delicious snacks and treats that are put into custom gift boxes for others or a treat box for yourself.

“We have lots of friends intolerant to heaps of different things,” says Nathan.

“It’s always a bit of a challenge when you go around to their house or if they come to yours, or it’s a birthday or party and you’re like ‘Oh, I don’t even know what to give them, they can’t eat anything’.”

Over 70 products including from local producers Solomon’s Gold, Tree of Life and Kingdom Hives are available.

My favourite part of the site though is the ‘give back’ page. At the website checkout, I found I could select where ten per cent of the profit from my purchase would go to.

The couple have chosen to support a Nepalese team who take care of ethnic Tibetan orphans, fund cows for villagers in the remote Thar dessert and support the Kunhar hospital in remote Pakistani Kashmir.

“We want people to be involved in what’s happening,” says Nathan.

“It’s really a community effort to help these areas, and we can support local businesses at the same time.”

An interesting and exciting model of social enterprise, it generates income while providing delicious products from local producers while supporting international aid projects. For others taking their business online following the pandemic, I think it’s worth considering how to also add in a gifting programme that supports local charities.

Especially if it’s yum!

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

life+style The Weekend Sun ˙ Nathan and Alyssha Little.

ˆ

life+style The Weekend Sun °˜5 August, °˛˜˝ June, 2020

Build your new lifestyle with Signature Homes Building with Signature Homes Bay of Plenty is an exciting and rewarding experience; their aim is to make it easy and enjoyable too.

Whether you’re looking for a first family home, a holiday retreat, an investment property or somewhere to retire, they’ll be with you every step of the way, to help you build the home you’ve always dreamed of.

Debbie and Craig Williams of Signature Homes Bay of Plenty know a thing or two about building beautiful Kiwi homes – they’ve been doing so in the region for more than 30 years.

“Combining our pride and passion for exceptional craftsmanship with the renowned quality, and proven systems and support of Signature Homes enables us to give people in the Bay the new home they deserve,” says Craig.

Whether you start with one of their tried-and-tested plans or design your home from scratch, you’ll always have control over the finished product.

Design & Build

Signature Homes can help you Design & Build your dream home or adapt one from your existing plans, which is a great option if you’re after something a little different or have a tricky site.

Build from our Plan Collection

Decades of experience have shown that there are elements of great home design that are universal amongst our clients. With this in mind, Signature Homes created collections of plans that include almost any layout you can think of. If you have your own plan in mind, they can work with that too.

House & Land Packages

If you don’t have a section to build on yet, then a House & Land package might be the answer. These packages often feature newly-released land from developers that isn’t available to the public, and each section is matched with a range of plans that maximise the specific site and environment.

If you’re considering a new build, it’s worth visiting a Signature showhome to see the quality you can expect when you build with your local award-winning builders. With a brand new showhome located in Omokoroa, and one in Papamoa, these beautiful homes provide plenty of design inspiration for your own.

Signature Homes Tauranga & Bay of Plenty takes care of all the nuts and bolts, so you can relax and be confident your build is in good hands from start to finish.

On-time, on budget, with no nasty surprises and New Zealand’s most comprehensive building guarantees.

For more information, contact Signature Homes on 0800 102 105.

OMOKOROA SHOWHOME: Cnr Stingray and Ridge Drive, Harbour Ridge, Omokoroa | Open Tue-Sun ˜pm-°pm PALM SPRINGS SHOWHOME: ˜˛˝ The Boulevar d, Palm Springs, Papamoa Open Tue-Sun ˜pm-°pm OFFICE SHOWROOM: Cnr ˜˙th Ave & Fraser St, Tauranga Open Mon-Fri ˆam-ˇpm

Phone 0800 102 105 www.signature.co.nz

˝ June, 5 °˛°˛ 2020 °˜ August, °˛˜˝

life+style The Weekend Sun ˝

ˇ

June, °˛°˛ 2020 life+style The Weekend Sun °˜5˝August, °˛˜˝

The life and style of our local business owners On any given day, across our city, you’ll find mums and dads, grandparents, sons, daughters, entrepreneurs and risk takers opening up their businesses for another day ‘on the job.’

ASH GEE – Miss Gee’s – Downtown Tauranga

NAOMI HARRISON – Waipuna Hospice Shop – Greerton Village

Photos: Chris Parker

Some have risked everything for their business, some are striving for or trying to manage exponential growth, but whatever stage their business is at, circumstances of late mean that, right now, almost every business owner has the same common focus – rebooting their business post COVID-19 lock down and survival.

Owning and running a business brings its own unique set of challenges. Some have a lifestyle business, others simply want their business to increase in turnover so they can have a life outside of work! The hours are often long, and every day, whether you’re working or supposedly on holiday, your head is always in the business to some degree. The stresses can be huge but the rewards too. Every year is different and this one, more than ever.

For Ash Gee it’s been a unprecedented year indeed. She had only opened Miss Gee’s in Downtown Tauranga some five months before lock-down came along and threw everything upside down. In

establishing Miss Gee’s, nestled in Masonic Park, just off the Strand, Ash wanted to create a fun and vibrant space for likeminded people to feel at home in the CBD. A place with good food, good liquor and good music. A place with “soul”. And that’s exactly what she created.

Ash is also one of the geniuses behind Initiate – a fresh take on networking that brings young Tauranga professionals together. The bar and its namesake share many qualities, from a penchant for plants and loud colours to a natural ability to make you feel like you’re old pals.

Out the back of Level 3 Ash has the doors open again and the drinks are ready to pour, all she needs now is old friends and new popping in to say hi, share a yarn and a catch up.

Whenever you make a purchase locally there is a ripple effect across the community. The business owners are better able to pay their staff and suppliers, they can afford more product development, they can build a more sustainable business and they can in turn support other local businesses, community organisations and charities. So, when you make a purchase at the Waipuna Hospice Charity Shop in Greerton there’s a double ripple effect because you’re supporting a local business that directly supports a charity.

Luxurious Lakeside retirement in

MOUNT MAUNGANUI

Pacific Lakes Village has everything you need, where the best of city and nature meet.

The village is set amongst lush foliage and is just a short stroll to the beach.

Our spacious and premium villas and terrace houses are designed and positioned to make the most of our beautiful village surroundings and lakes.

Private viewings are now available, call us to make an appointment today (Viewings Covid-19 Compliant)

(07) 262 0191

pacificlakes.co.nz

242 Grenada St, Mt Maunganui Located across the road from our sister village, Pacif ic Coast and the beach.

˝ August, June, °˛°˛ 2020 °˜5 °˛˜˝

“Our local businesses need us right now, more than ever.

So, make it a great day for some locals.

life+style The Weekend Sun ˘ RODELLE PAYNE – Sisters & Co – The Mount

Buy Local. Buy Tauranga”

From small and humble beginnings over 30 years ago, Waipuna Hospice has grown to become one of New Zealand’s leading hospices. Their work is only possible thanks to the more than 800 strong support team of volunteers. Some of those volunteers work in the six Waipuna Hospice Charity shops across Tauranga and on any day you’ll find the Greerton shop abuzz. The goods they sell at the hospice shop in Greerton provide essential funds to one of our community’s most vital organisations that in turn provides specialist and compassionate hospice care to our community.

A visit to the Mount just wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Sisters & Co – hey ladies?! Described as a high-end department store that brings many of the world’s coveted designers to our doorstep, along with a heady mix of local New Zealand and Bay of Plenty designers. In fact, they boast over 50 globally renowned New Zealand and International designers from Karen Walker to Bassike, Deadly Ponies, See by Chloe and IRO to name but a few.

The department store concept came from Sisters & Co’s director – Rodelle Payne spending two-and-a-half years in London in her mid-20s. She was introduced to the likes of Selfridges, Topshop and Urban Outfitters, that led to a love of the all-in-one

store concept, something that was missing from the shores of New Zealand.

Since then Sisters & Co has grown into one of the country’s leading fashion department stores that provides an exquisite and sparkling fashion environment where clients are encouraged to take their time, enjoy a glass of bubbles and indulge in highend, gorgeous fashion. At Sisters & Co they believe shopping should be fun and fabulous and this is complemented with their in-store Styling Room providing the finishing touches from head to toe.

The experience doesn’t just stop at bricks and mortar though. Mirroring the same personal shopping indulgence is the Sisters & Co e-commerce site delivering divine fashion to your door locally, nationally and internationally 24/7 – just perfect when you can’t make it into the store!

As residents, many of us shop across the city and that’s a good thing, because when you spend locally you’re helping to save local businesses. Just like you, these businesses have others depending on them and every day they open their doors and work tirelessly to deliver products and services to us. So, make it a great day for some locals today, this week, this weekend.

Buy Local. Buy Tauranga.

Meet more locals here: www.buytauranga.co.nz

YOUR LOCAL RESTAURANT & BAR NEEDS YOU

Georgia Haywood - Manager ASTROLABE BREW BAR The Mount

Spending locally saves local businesses

BUY LOCAL

www.buytauranga.co.nz

DION DRAGICEVICH – Mexicali Fresh – The Mount

UP Floorstock TO UP 8

life+style The Weekend Sun °˜ August, °˛˜˝

TO

UP TO

Floorstock

Floorstock

Stock Clearance Floorstock

SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE Stock Clearance

Stock Clearance

Stock Clearance

Stock Clearance

HALF HALF PRICE PRICE

Bedding Bedding

SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

HALF PRICE

SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

Bedding

SHOP LOCAL & * SAVE FREE 36 MONTHS INTEREST

PLUS HALF on in store purchases $999 & over ‘til 30.6.20 Bedding

PRICE

HALF PRICE

SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

Discount offers apply to selected beds and bedding only, prices as marked. *500 Days Interest Free is available on in-store Q Card and Q Mastercard® Flexi Payment Plans & Purchases $999 & over until 30.6.20. Offer excludes Everyday Dream Prices, run outs, clearance, layby and not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Lending criteria, $50 Annual Account Fee, New Cardholder fee - $55 Establishment or Existing Cardholder fee - $35 Advance Fee applicable, terms and conditions apply. Minimum payments of 3% of the monthly closing balance or $10 (whichever is greater) are required throughout interest free period. Paying only the minimum monthly payments will not fully repay the loan before the end of the interest free period. Standard Interest Rate, currently 25.99% p.a., applies to any outstanding balance at end of Interest Free period. Rate and fees correct as at date of publication, subject to change. Mastercard is a registered trademark and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. See Counter for full details.

SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

Bedding