Handmade in New Zealand in Viva
Viva in the NZ Herald have been kind enough to run selections from the Handmade in New Zealand series.
Below is the story, roughly as it went out, with links in all the right places to the full stories and full photo essays by Duncan Innes about these amazing people that make up the local industry. The backstory is that we ran a series on the blog that interviewed and photographed local fashion craftspeople, giving a face, and showing the work that goes in to made in New Zealand clothing. Along the way we found a story of an industry facing big challenges.
Below Simon Pound, partner in the label, explains why we started this series and introduces five local lynchpins of the fashion industry.
Ingrid in the workroom.
Why Handmade in NZ?
Since starting the label we’ve been constantly impressed by the skill and dedication of the craftspeople and specialists in the local fashion industry who work to make our garments. However, from everyone we talk to, it seems that local production is in a shaky state due to the move by many labels to cheap offshore production. And it’s not over yet; designers are still going overseas -check the labels of prominent NZ designers and you might be in for a surprise. Talking with our suppliers we kept hearing how tough things are, and how mad/brave we were to be starting. As a strong story emerged we started an interview and photo series on our blog to get a record of what it means to be Handmade in New Zealand. At times it felt like it might be a last record, if so, it would be terribly sad. Each garment is special thanks to the experience of these people; as clothes become more disposable, with fast fashion and cheap imports, this is often forgotten.
The series we ran showed us an industry that has changed remarkably, but that also holds hope. Near everyone we spoke to said they thought the future lay in niche products with ecological or ethical underpinning. If, as a country, we can make things with integrity and tell the stories behind our products there might just be a future to local manufacturing. And this is important: losing this industry isn’t just about the jobs and knowledge that will go. It is also about keeping the conditions that allow businesses to grow. All of our local suppliers have helped us - they’ve shared experience, passed on contacts, lent us equipment, given favourable payment terms to help us grow and taken a punt on a little New Zealand operator. Try getting that from a factory on the other side of the world. We’re only here because they were here to help us.
To us, and the customers that support made in New Zealand labels, clothes aren’t just another commodity. They’re special things made by skilled people. So we thought we’d quickly introduce a few of our stars to you. To read the full stories and interviews, and see the lovely photo essays by Duncan Innes that show how each of these producers ply their trade, head to the links that go to the full photo essay, interview and story.
The team at Wall Fabrics, Des, Nick, Kate, Roger
Roger Wall and the team at Wall Fabrics are a big part of the reason many labels are in business. Fashion is a funny industry. You design roughly a year ahead. To start the process you visit fabric suppliers to get an idea of what might be available and what you can have made up specially.
You then make a sample range. After showing this to potential buyers and getting orders you take delivery of those fabrics. However, you still need to make the garments and deliver them to stores around the country and the world. You then wait to get paid. It can be many months between ordering cloth and seeing a return on a sale, and that is where the fabric suppliers come in. They support all labels, big and small, by providing terms that reflect the quirks of the industry.
Because of this they get to know a lot about the business as people come to them for help. They’ve seen people come and go and with their experience are a vital place for a new label to go and ask a fair few questions. Roger has helped us along the way, sharing his knowledge and guiding us through some big decisions, and he’s done the same for many others too.
Q+A Excerpt, Roger Wall.
What does the move to offshore production mean for the industry here?
It’s a damned thing for skills and experience within a country. What happens is that there’s no jobs for people who would go and work in sewing factories, no jobs for cutters, and it’s a sad thing for the garment industry.
What’s the future of the industry?
I think there is a very definite future for the industry here. I think the whole world is seeking a better way to do things. The people who stay in NZ and make a NZ made product have a distinctive edge. We need to show them how to do things better.
And tell me about your role supporting fashion labels?
We only support people of caliber. Good businesses are made by good people who have the right idea and have the right ethics, and also, can design. The most important thing in this business is the product. And that’s that.
Noelene Slaughter, Avenue Clothing.
One of the amazing things about the local industry is how people in fashion will help others. One example is the way Madeleine Richards - the buyer at Britomart boutique Made, reached out to make sure we got to know Noelene Slaughter at Avenue Clothing, telling us that she was the best, and perfect for Ingrid’s attention to traditional details. Maddy couldn’t have been more right, Noelene and her team are now one of the main makers of the clothes, providing the quality that is so important to the label.
Noelene’s been in the industry for 35 years, many of which she worked for Marilyn Sainty. She has loved the job and the industry, but now, with so much production going overseas, wonders if a career path will be there in the future.
Q+A Excerpt: Noelene Slaughter
What does the move to overseas production mean for skills?
It’s hard to find a good machinist –as they retire no young people are coming through wanting to sew. It means we are going to run out of machinists and we won’t have an industry. It means that more designers will need to go off shore eventually, even the ones that have tried to stay.
What do you think is the future for the industry?
It’s a bit sad really, I have students come in and I’m happy to teach anybody -but no-one wants to sew -so I don’t really know what is going to happen to the industry.
Johnston Press are a great outfit. We first went there because so many friends in fashion recommended them. They’re a family-owned local company that print things the special way –letterpress and offset –all very tactile and crafty work.
We’d been going through an agent trying to do swing-tags. Nothing was right and there were long lead times for us to see samples as they were being made up in China. We were getting depressed really at how hard and wrong it all was.
The difference, as soon as we went to Johnston Press, was unbelievable. Our contact, Jan Eastwick, one of the most wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful people we’ve met, immediately realised what we were after. She set up the letterpress and we got to see how it worked, and after making up our block we were able to come back and see the first swing tag printed by hand. We could give it the go-ahead right on the spot.
This experience helped us think about the benefits of being local as more than financial. Doing things locally is not as cheap as it could be by going overseas. But in the end, who wants to be the cheapest? That is a race to the bottom. We are really proud to work with Johnston Press as they make us beautiful business-cards, swing-tags and postcards that are special. All of them are letterpress and offset printed, debossed, using traditional skills and machines.
Q+A Excerpt: Director Glenn Simpson
What does offshoring mean?
The only advantage is that things are cheaper, clothing, whiteware cars, are all down in price. The man in the street can buy more stuff, cheaply for sure, but soon he won’t have a job because there is nothing he is producing. The end of it –I don’t know what it will be. For manufacturing anyway, it is hard to know where it is going to end.
Stephen Roy Whitby, North Shore Dyers
Stephen is an amazing dyer. Many of our fabrics we dye to our own colourways as having exclusive colours is so important to us. Often Ingrid will go to Stephen with a scrap of vintage fabric and say something like -‘Do you think you can get a peach like this but a bit stronger?’ -and he gets it so perfect that it makes you wonder if he can read minds!
We’re a small operation and find his work invaluable to standing out. It is cheaper overseas, but as Stephen tells us the cost then is environmental: “Dyeing involves using chemicals and water. I follow eco-standards. I can’t discharge water without that water being tested. In other countries it just goes straight into the waterways. My biggest expenses are water based: wastewater and water in. In other countries there is no eco concern.”
Talking to Stephen really hammers home the threat the local industry is under. He’s now the last commission dyer operating, where once 20 dyehouses competed. And he has gone from 12 staff to just him. Once he’s gone so are all those skills and possibilities, all that craft and art.
Q+A Excerpt: Stephen Roy Whitby, North Shore Dyers
Do cheap clothes have other costs?
Yes, I don’t understand how it is so cheap. I wonder if there are Government subsidies in places like China that are giving them dominance. You can buy made t-shirts for less than raw cotton costs on the world market. It is madness and you only have to look at all the businesses closing here to see the result.
How do you work, how do you get the colours just right?
A lot is intuitive, I always go off previous jobs –and I have thousands of those to call on over 30 years – so I vary the formula. If I don’t have one to work from I have to make a decision off my own head. You never know what will wash out as you adjust levels, so you learn what is going to change by experience.
Dyeing is an art form, not a science. The reason I’m lucky to still be here is that I am a good dyer. It’s still, for me, very difficult. It’s not like plugging in a knitting machine and then out it comes.
And what will happen to your skills and knowledge?
Unless I can pay for an apprentice I’ll be shutting down. I can’t afford it. The inevitable conclusion is that I will shut down in 5-10 years. And there will be no-one to replace what I do. I can’t afford to get a labourer. Survival for me is working alone until I’m too tired to carry on.
Paul and Upula Design and print
Every season we make exclusive prints. This is very important to us so that we can have something entirely of our own and because it is pretty much the most fun thing in the world to design, make and have your own print, perfect, just as you wanted.
We make runs of a few hundred metres. The process of making a print involves Ingrid drafting up a design and then getting a test screen made. The day the fabric arrives on the courier is keenly anticipated. It’s a bit like waiting for Christmas. Every morning we open the front door hoping that our present has arrived. A great result is always met with a squeal of delight.
The guys at Design and Print are gurus. They have the knack for getting the mix just right, and making sure that we can make special, exclusive styles quickly, easily and locally. Over the years their business has experienced change, like the rest of the industry, from offshoring of work. But they, like many other businesses have found a new niche –being small, responsive and special.
Q+A Excerpt Paul, Print Production Manager.
What makes what you do special here?
We make sure that everything we use is water-based and eco-friendly, right from the start.
How has your business changed?
A few years ago now we had 10 staff excluding owners, we’re now down to two staff. Off and on, as the work demands, we sometimes do four day weeks.
What does Made in NZ mean to you?
Made in New Zealand means supporting the locals.
See the printing process here.
IS Friends: Melanie Roger
Melanie is a great neighbour and friend to us and our Herne Bay store. Her lovely gallery is right next door to us and we love the chats, occasional glasses of wine and stories we get to share. Melanie represents some of our favourite artists and it’s always a treat to pop in and see her always changing and always excellent exhibitions. Also she always looks fantastic in her IS pieces! Below is a quick catch up on some of her favourite things.
A very quick what-you-do?
Director and owner of Melanie Roger Gallery right next door to Ingrid Starnes in Herne Bay.
Is it what you thought you would do?
As a child I was going to be a lawyer largely because I think I was very opinionated. From the age of 16 though I knew I would do something in the arts and I have followed that course ever since.
Is it the favourite thing you do?
Yes - alongside being a mother to my daughter Sofia – 7. I feel very lucky that I have been able to make a living doing things I love.
Have you a fact about yourself that might be surprising?
People are always surprised that I enjoy sci-fi movies so much. Preferably ones that COULD happen – environmental sci-fi end of the world type stuff. People are surprised at how messy my office is too.
Sam Mitchell, All I Could Know, 2012 Courtesy Melanie Roger Gallery
What would be your mastermind subject?
Nutrition. I am obsessed although often it’s a case of “Do as I say, not as I do”.
Is there anyone/anything you’d like the world to know more about?
Art and nutrition.
Your happy place?
Our home. It’s a big old homestead from 1895 with huge Pohutukawa and Oak trees. We moved in about a year ago and love it. We finally adopted a new cat – Gershwin – so now it feels even more like a happy place.
Richard Orjis, Bed In, 2010 Courtesy Melanie Roger Gallery
A song that you love, and why?
I am much more of a visual person so although I do really enjoy music, I often have no idea what I am listening / dancing to. I have often claimed that I am musically illiterate, but I do make up for my lack of knowledge and talent, with my enthusiasm. My daughter is very talented musically, so I live vicariously through her.
A book you come back to, and why?
Takashi Murakami’s recent book “1Q84”. It’s huge. It was my big last summer read that I couldn’t put down which was handy as there wasn’t much summer. It is so heavy that my hand kept cramping holding it. Hoping this summer will be better. I also love cookbooks and have a large collection of them. I don’t use them very much as I am more of a toss it all together and taste as I go type cook. I have recently taught myself to bake though (with the help of the cookbook collection) and am very much enjoying my new Kitchen Aid.
A place you like to escape to, and why?
Kare Kare Beach – actually any West Coast beach with some decent surf. A beach is not a real beach without some decent waves.
A painting or a photograph that you love, and why
Being an art dealer, that‘s a bit like asking me to pick my favourite child! I work with many very talented artists who all make amazing work.
A quote/motto/saying you like
They change daily and are usually based on something my daughter Sofia has come up with. She is very funny and wise beyond her years.
What is your takeaways treat?
Il Buco from the cover of the Ponsonby News
Il Buco pizza – they do a great vegetarian selection. I also like Fatimas and if we are feeling especially lazy, we get Sages Indian (based in Pt Chev) to deliver.
Have you a favourite vege shop or fishmonger or vintage store or some place that you love and want to share?
Flotsam and Jetsam for fabulous bits and bobs, Dominion Books for intelligent novels at a good price, Ripe Deli for amazing salads and savoury brioches. I am a big vintage fan and have picked up some amazing things over the years….but I’m not giving away my secrets!
Gavin Hurley, Little Alexander, 2011 Courtesy Melanie Roger Gallery
What blogs/online writing/ sites do you follow?
http://overthenet.blogspot.co.nz/
http://katherineisawesome.com/
Aortica
Earlier this year we met a lovely couple that produce this very cool magazine. Piero, Mone and their son Eliah came out here from Germany to profile Auckland and some of the creative types here. There are interviews with people like Gavin Hurley, Rebecca Snelling, Pikachunes alongside one with Ingrid. They took some great photos of our house and Simon wrote a wee love letter about Auckland for the issue. You can read that here( LINK).
The magazine is in at Mag Nation from today -check it out.
IS Friends: Kristine Crabb
A very quick what-you-do?
Dream about clothes and shoes and bags we’ll be making and wearing soon.
Is it what you thought you would do?
Yes I think so, it’s a dream come true (I didn’t think I’d be this lucky).
Fleetwood Mac dress
What do you love to do?
Being with my beautiful family and friends….doesn’t happen enough quite yet though. One day when I’m older I want to look back on my life and everything I have done and made and feel very satisfied..then I want to have the time to spend with my people.
I also love to read books, its a real joy in life. at the moment I’m obsessed with Lydia Davis, makes me feel less alone in my emotions.
Have you a fact about yourself that might be surprising?
My family is (distantly haha) related to explorer/privateer Sir Francis Drake and we also have nordic viking heritage. Unless my parents ‘told’ me that to explain a few things about us….
Privateer Extraordinaire
Your happy place?
a little bit tipsy (oops)
Sovereign dress
A song that you love?
At the moment I’m loving Neil Young’s ‘Harvest Moon’…..kinda says it all really, often makes me cry . Our new babe was born on a harvest moon, so I guess it’s a song for him.
A place you like to escape to, and why?
Our tipi in Coromandel, it’s wild bliss. No power, but running water and one of the most amazing pieces of beach and bush. Cooking on the open fire, swimming and sunning all day. We have 3 and 4 year old babes too and its the best place for them to grow and develop and us all to bond over summer.
Bliss
A painting or a photograph that you love, and why?
I love the work of my man Andrew Barber. His paintings are rather breathtaking and dreamy. I’m hugely influenced by his way of working, his intuitive use of colour and the scale he works on.
A quote/motto/saying you like?
‘you can do it’ it always whispers in my mind when times get tough or when I start to second guess myself (which is often!). It helps me to remember all the positive things in life too somehow aka stops me from being bratty, which is a little too often too.
Fashion Week Music Mix
We love putting together the music for Fashion Week. This year we worked with Andrew Tidball of Cheese on Toast. We’re big fans of his bfm show and have been enjoying his picks for more years than we’d like to think going back to before the Quay St Social Club, a club night he and another friend Beatrix Coles ran.
Our theme this year was Hunt’s End. It was loosely based around this idea of a weekend at an English country estate and the mixing of day with night, party and occasion. A little eccentric, a little fun.
So this led us to quite English, quite party places. Here are the full tracks in order with notes, and at the end there is a link to the mix as it was played at the show.
Our process was that we (Simon and Ingrid) picked some favourites and Andrew added some excellent tracks to the mix and he worked magic to order, mold and put together.
———
This opening track Simon chose as it sounds a little like the theme music for Brideshead Revisited, the perfect mood setter for an eccentric imagined posh Englishness.
Like last year, we like to play about 40 seconds of a track to set a mood and then begin the walk on a more energetic track. So it was the first bit of this up to the “Gloria! Gloria!”
Andrew then suggested this excellent new track - we loved it for the energy and swagger. It is a bfm favourite at the moment. bfm is on a lot at our house/workroom.
The next is another excellent addition from Andrew -this is a local artist and this video has such warmth and humour to it. Fun and odd and atmospheric. This was great loud -it is good to remember that the music at a show is at a high volume. We asked for it to be unreasonably loud.
The Smiths are one of Ingrid’s favourites. Simon used to listen to them an inordinate amount at Crane Brothers a long time ago also. So when we were thinking English and swimmy we couldn’t go past them. Originally we were thinking of ‘There is a Light’, but in the mix we needed the greater energy of this track.
And The Veils. This was a breakthrough. We had our friends Victoria and Friday round and were all racking our brains. Suddenly, The Veils popped up and, bam, this song jumped out. We all love this song and listened to Nux Vomica a ridiculous amount. We were so happy with this tune.
And then perhaps this is a music card every fashion label gets to play once -the quintessential fashion English song. We agonised a little as to whether it was too obvious -but got to thinking that if you are talking about an English party then you play tracks everyone knows and loves. And so it was…
And while we are in English legend territory - this is a song that we love from an artist that Andrew’s partner Christine of Mix it Up loves:
And then it was time for the pace to lift with a brand new song that Andrew pulled in. Cat Power is an artist we love to come back to:
And this was our final track. Listen from around 230 to see how this came in. It is the perfect ending, optimistic, English and amazingly on theme!
And here is how it all came together:
And head along to Andrew’s page for everything great about music!
IS Friends: Helene Ravlich
Perhaps the best thing to come out of the label are the people we’ve met. Helene was one of the first friends we met purely through the clothes. Very early on in the first collection, before the clothes were even produced or in any stores, Helene saw the lookbook on our friend Rebecca Wadey’s facebook. She then found us, emailed and asked to get hold of this crepe wool dress.
Helene looks amazing in the dress. Like a 1940s movie star, and she has brought that same style and presence to garments from every collection since. We often think we are lucky that the people who are wanting to buy the clothes are the kind of people we should be paying to wear them -and Helene is the perfect example!
We did a show at Mollies a few seasons ago and it called for someone to stand and announce the outfits. Often this would be something the designer would do, but if you know Ingrid you know she is a bit shy to stand in front of 100 strangers and talk about her clothes. We asked Helene and were honoured that she would present for us, communicating with the clarity, sparkle and professionalism that she brings to all her roles as a writer and editor across music, beauty and fashion (and many other topics too!).
A very quick what-you-do?
I’m a mother, freelance writer and copywriter, and have a beauty blog called Pretty Beautiful that can be found at www.mshelene.com
Is it what you thought you would do?
I think so. Writing is the only thing I’m – hopefully – really good at, and it comes so easily to me. It’s a joy to be able to do it on a daily basis and get paid for it!
Is it the favourite thing you do?
I believe so. That and spending time with my son Wolf and husband Jooles, the great loves of my life.
Have you a fact about yourself that might be surprising?
Ooh there are quite a few to be honest! When I was a little girl my dream was to be a rubbish collector one day. I was so enamoured of this idea that I started wearing a rubbish bag with holes for my head and arms ripped into it in preparation, after seeing a man hanging of a truck in exactly that. Another one is that I was a librarian for six years. It was my first “real” job and continued throughout both my degrees.
What would be your mastermind subject?
Either Lipstick or Eighties Hair Metal.
Is there anyone/anything you’d like the world to know more about?
Transcendental Meditation and what it can do for you and those around you. It’s a life changer!
Your happy place?
Anywhere quiet, warm and near the sea, with a pile of unread books lying about somewhere within arm’s reach.
A song that you love, and why, it doesn’t have to be your favourite song, just one that you love (the particular album, version is helpful so we can provide a link)
‘Sweet Child Of Mine’ by Guns n’ Roses. It’s from their debut album Appetite For Destruction and has been making me feel bloody brilliant since 1987. I love it so much that I walked up the aisle to it, another lesser known fact!
A book you come back to, and why?
Nick Cave’s ‘And the Ass Saw the Angel’. I have read it countless times and it never fails to make me cry, smile and swoon in equal measure.
A painting or a photograph that you love, and why?
I have a photo taken of me, mum and dad on the eve of my first Christmas. I am wearing a nappy and a hibiscus bloom behind one ear, and am clutching a large glass of champagne between my two chubby paws. The colour is really warm and we all look so happy.
A quote/motto/saying you like
“I wasn’t born. I was ordered from Room Service.”- Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Have you a favourite vege shop or fishmonger or vintage store or some place that you love and want to share?
No! That would be telling…
Thanks Ms Helene!
And if you’ll excuse this cropped photo you can see what we mean about the 40s movie star quality.
IS Handmade in NZ: Design and Print
Our wildflower print screen
Design and print
Every season we make exclusive prints. This is very important to us so that we can have something entirely of our own and because it is pretty much the most fun thing in the world to design, make and have your own print, perfect, just as you wanted.
We are not a big operation – we make runs of a few hundred metres. The process of making a print involves Ingrid drafting up a design and then getting a test screen made. The day the fabric arrives on the courier is keenly anticipated. It’s a bit like waiting for Christmas really. Every morning we open the front door hoping that our present has arrived. A great result is always met with a squeal of delight.
The guys at Design and Print are gurus. They have the knack for getting colour just right, and making sure that we can make special, exclusive styles quickly easily and locally.
Over the years their business has experienced change, like the rest of the industry, from off-shoring of work. But they, like many other businesses have found a new niche –being small, responsive and special.
When they once did big runs of thousands of metres they now do small runs well and have made a strong business out of being there to make things for the scale of local production.
Paul and Upula
The company is owned by Mike and Arun and we spoke with Paul, their Print Production Manager.
Photos by Duncan Innes Photography.
Our Paisley print
What is the process –how do you guys go about making a print for someone?
The Customer comes to us with a design – we’ll create a film and test screen. We colour match and sample, then make the film onto the big screens.
We use the film to make the big screen. The screen goes on top of the glass and film, you suck the air out, shoot the light through the film, everything hit by the light goes hard and the black areas wash off the screen.
You then dry the screens. Make a sample, put it on the machine and print. We go from dark from light – put the blacks on first and light colours last.
What we do is continuos printing. Wet on wet. That’s different to, say, a T-Shirt print where you might print one layer then let it dry, then print another.
Do you enjoy the process?
I’ve been doing it for twenty years, so yeah!
What makes a good printer?
It takes a bit of getting used to –and a bit of mixing and matching. A good matcher gets to know what they want and what is going to work.
What’s happened to the industry in your twenty years?
It has shrunk. It’s all specialised now.
In the heyday –we were getting 5000, 10,000 metre runs. Now we’re lucky to get 100m. Our biggest run is about 320.
Everything is cheaper offshore – so for big runs people just go.
What makes what you do special here?
We make sure that everything we use is water-based and eco friendly, right from the start.
How has your business changed?
A few years ago now we had 10 staff excluding owners, now down to two staff. Off and on as the work demands we sometimes do four day weeks.
And what do you feel the future is going to be like?
Future – hard to say. Quite a bit of what we do is specialised small run stuff and I think that will keep going. Everyone likes their own prints and their own thing.
What does Made in NZ mean to you?
Made in New Zealand means supporting the locals.
IS Artist: Kirstin Carlin
Mustard Kirstin Carlin 2012
IS ARTIST. Kirstin Carlin
We were introduced to Kirstin Carlin by our friend Imogen Taylor, another wonderful artist living and working in Auckland. Introduced in a very modern sense, we were immediately struck by her work Mustard beside Imogen in a picture on facebook! Imogen let us know about an event called Parlour -where artists open their living rooms to share their work. We traipsed along, our family of five and it was fantastic to see art in this way, informal, relaxed - at home. We caught up with Kirstin to learn more about what she does, as we like what she does very much indeed!
A very quick what-you-do?
I make paintings in my studio on Great North Road and do some freelance visual research type work for the advertising industry when it comes in.
Is it what you thought you would do?
I think so, I can’t seem to stop painting anyway.
Untitled, Kirstin Carlin 2012
Is there anyone/anything you’d like the world to know more about?
When I was finishing my MFA in Glasgow I was involved with Victor & Hester an exhibition/ publication based project working with international artists in the UK. New Zealand born, UK based lovely people Amelia Bywater and Emma Fitts still run the project http://www.victorandhester.com
Tell me about what you think about when you are painting?
I start off a painting by mixing paint; this can take quite a long time depending on how many colours I use, when I am making the painting I am purely focused on the formal aspects of the work. Using a mixture of pre-decided factors and some more intuitive decisions.
What songs or rituals do you like?
I usually listen to National Radio on my studio-mate’s stereo
Untitled Kirstin Carlin 2012
What response are you hoping to create in the viewer?
I want to make paintings that remind the viewer of somewhere or something but also feel fresh. I like to think the viewer will pick up on the underlying references to painting history and conventions. I endeavour to make paintings that are pleasant to look at and live with whilst still being somewhat challenging depending on the viewer.
Passive Aggressive Kirstin Carlin 2012
How did you come to art?
I started a Bachelor of Design at Unitec after finishing high school. I ended up majoring in painting and continued on from there.
Blindsight Kirstin Carlin 2012
Tell me about the Parlour event -that was pretty cool!
The Parlour event was really cool. Parlour consists of four talented, Auckland based ladies who approached me last year about the possibility of working together. I was part of the third project they have hosted in people’s homes. It was great being able to work with such organised people plus show my paintings on our pale blue walls - something it would be hard to make work in a gallery! Kirsten, Harriet, Vera and Lydia organised everything from the mulled wine to the accompanying text. There was an awesome turn out with a really relaxed atmosphere which encouraged more conversation about the work than the usual gallery setting.
“PARLOUR is a project group run by Kirsten Dryburgh, Harriet Stockman, Vera Mey and Lydia Chai. Our mandate is to provide the arts community with an exciting selection of exhibition spaces and situations for artists to show fresh, challenging and thought provoking contemporary art. We intend to use these environments to build warm relationships between the arts community, students and the public for the purpose of inspired conversation and the exchange of ideas.”
http://parlourgroup.wordpress.com
Your happy place?
Being on a roll in the studio, a glass of prosecco across the road at Coco’s Barretta, at the beach on a hot day (with small rolling waves so I am not too scared to swim), hanging out with my friends in London or Auckland, playing with my one-year-old niece.
THINGS YOU LIKE
A song that you love, I am not sure what this selection says about me, but I do like these songs!
Black Peter by Grateful Dead Workingman’s Dead album.
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash singing “Jackson’.
A book you come back to, and why
I’ve only read it all the way through once but I often think about Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary.
A painting or a photograph that you love, and why
I have a copy of this painting by George Baselitz on the wall of my studio, I have been channelling it in my own paintings…
George Baselitz The Messenger (1983)
Portrait of Susanna Lunden(?) (‘Le Chapeau de Paille’), Peter Paul Rubens 1622-25
I have been back to the National Gallery in London multiple times to look at this portrait by Rubens. It is amazingly beautifully painted and stands out to me from the rest of his work and other paintings of the era.
A building you like, and why
It’s only part of a building but I like the sculpture terrace at the Auckland Art Gallery. I like the commissions that have happened on it so far and it’s nice position next to Albert Park.
What is your takeaways treat?
I will just mention my favourite things to eat around Krd where we live!…. Everything vegetarian on the menu from Ken’s Yakitori, Mee Goreng from Sri Panang, Polenta Chips from Coco’s Cantina, Chilli Basil Tofu from Ruang Thong Thai in Mecury Plaza, takeaway coffee and coffee beans from Millers coffee on Cross St, Breakfast burrito from Alleluya Cafe.
Have you a favourite vege shop or fishmonger or vintage store or some place that you love and want to share?
Umm, I have bought loads of pairs of shoes from Vixen in St Kevin’s Arcade. There is usually a good pair of like new vintage loafers on the shelf.
Kirstin in her studio
What blogs/online writing/ sites do you follow?
http://joshuaabelow.blogspot.com
http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/
http://www.facebook.com/russelnorman
IS Friends: Zoe Walker
friend Zoe Walker
Every Wednesday a well-written, on-the-pace insert comes out in the Herald. It has great photography, spot-on topics and is consistently excellent on the local and international happenings in fashion. A big part of the reason Viva is so good is Zoe Walker, Fashion Features Editor. The results of the work at the team at Viva are always understood by designers. A spot in Upfront or a style appearing in the fashion pages gets the phone ringing and people walking through the door.
Zoe wrote a lovely story about the label before the last fashion week. To this day people from all walks of life tell us they saw it. The reach and influence of Viva is amazing, and it’s thanks to the consistent quality of the content they make, week after week.
In our IS friends piece with Veronica Crockford-Pound we spoke about the role that that Viva cover we were lucky to get had on our new business getting off the ground(LINK), and many other designers have told us the same. It’s part of a wider truth -that without the support of the local fashion media no designer would be able to make it here, especially if they are doing local production.
So this wee ramble of how the well-researched, thought through and produced media - the kind of media that Zoe exemplifies - is so important is rather a digressive way of introducing Zoe’s picks. Since Simon met her when she worked for Runway Reporter with Stacey Gregg at ACP he’s admired her taste and take on the world. Thanks Zoe for sharing these, especially the excellent reading list and book selection.
A very quick what-you-do?
I write. Officially as the fashion features editor at Viva, the Wednesday lifestyle magazine inside the NZ Herald.
Is it what you thought you would do?
Well, I wanted to ‘be a writer’ from a young age, but not necessarily a fashion writer. Growing up I was obsessed with magazines, and fascinated with how they fit into women’s lives –their influence, and that love-hate relationship. I suppose fashion is an extension of that.
Your happy place?
Home. No deadline. With my cat Jem.
A song that you love?
Circle Sky by The Monkees. Their movie Head is brilliantly weird, and the soundtrack is one of my favourites. R.I.P Davy Jones.
A book you come back to?
D.V by Diana Vreeland. Full of brilliant quotes, and takes on fashion. I generally despise flowery, over the top fashion writing, but Vreeland is an exception to that rule. One of my favourite passages:
“One never knew what one was going to see at a Balenciaga opening. One fainted. It was possible to blow up and die. I remember at one show in the early sixties - one put on for clients rather than for commercial buyers - Audrey Hepburn turned to me and asked why I wasn’t frothing at the mouth at what I was seeing. I told her I was trying to act calm and detached, because, after all, I was a member of the press.”
A building you like?
I love grand old buildings around Auckland that are easy to forgot about, or take for granted – like the museum, or the big old stone church on the corner of View and Esplanade Rd in Mt Eden. There are some incredibly beautiful buildings in my neighbourhood. I’m also obsessed with art deco houses. And while it doesn’t look too interesting from the outside, the old El Jay building on Kingston Street is another favourite – I can just imagine all of the treasures inside.
What blogs/online writing/ sites do you follow?
(Hover over text to go see links)
I don’t follow many blogs anymore. I do like Tavi, and Susie from Style Bubble – they both have an interesting and intelligent take on fashion, which I respect. Same with The Business of Fashion.
I love and hate The Cut blog on New York magazine’s website. Love that it aggregates fashion news and gossip in one, easy spot; hate that it aggregates - or takes - the work of others. Although that’s an internet wide problem isn’t it? Then the typical sites you would expect to find in a fashion writer’s favourites: the Guardian, NYT, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, the Financial Times’ style section, Style.com, Jezebel, US Vogue and UK Vogue.
IS Handmade in NZ: North Shore Dyers
Stephen Roy Whitby, North Shore Dyers
Stephen is an amazing dyer. Many of our fabrics we dye to our own colourways as having exclusive colours is so important to us. Often Ingrid will go to Stephen with a scrap of vintage fabric and say something like -‘do you think you can get a peach like this but a bit stronger’ -and he gets it so perfect that it makes you wonder if he can read minds!
We are a small operation and find his work invaluable to standing out. It is cheaper overseas, but as Stephen tells us the cost then is environmental. Talking to Stephen really hammers home the threat the local industry is under. He’s now the last commission dyer operating. And he has gone from 12 staff to just him. Once he’s gone so are all those skills and possibilities, all that craft and art.
How long have you been a dyer?
Since 16, trained by Bayer. in the UK, and I’m 54 now. I’ve been doing it in New Zealand for 34 odd years.
How has the industry changed?
Well, it used to be bigger.
Originally there were 20 dyehouses, doing various dyeing. In garment dying, maybe 6 houses ten years ago. Back then I had 2 factories and 12 staff doing a turnover of $1.4 million. Now it is just me with a turnover of $94 thousand.
What has happened?
All other commission dyers, well, they’ve all shut down. The last three shut in the first months of this year. I’m the only one left. It’s just me.
Why has it shrunk so much?
Turnover has disappeared and gone to third world countries. Retail is hard at the moment, making it worse. Most companies import to survive. You have to be niche to escape that.
How is it cheaper overseas?
Well, dyeing involves using chemicals and water. I follow eco-standards. I can’t discharge water without that water being tested. In other countries it just goes straight into the waterways. My biggest expenses are water based: 10% wastewater, 10% water in. In other countries there is no eco concern.
And so cheap clothes have other costs?
Yes, and I don’t understand how it is so cheap. I wonder if there are Government subsidies in places like China that are giving them dominance. You can buy made t-shirts for less than raw cotton costs on the world market. It is madness and you only have to look at all the businesses closing here to see the result.
What does NZ made mean to you?
I do work for small companies that are dyed by me in eco-friendly dyes. If it wasn’t for the eco side you wouldn’t be making in NZ. That’s the niche left.
A custom IS cloth
The conscious consumer is the last niche maybe?
Those companies doing it seem to be surviving. Struggling but surviving.
And what is the future?
I don’t see any work coming back at all. I sometimes do work for people who do China manufacturing and made a mistake and have to fix it up. But then they just find a better place in China for next time.
How do you work, how do you get the colours just right?
A lot is intuitive, I always go off previous jobs –and I have thousands of those to call on over 30 years – so I vary the formula. If I don’t have one to work from I have to make a decision off my own head. You never know what will wash out as you adjust levels, so you learn what is going to change by experience.
Dyeing is an art form, not a science. The reason I’m lucky to still be here is that I am a good dyer. It’s still, for me, very difficult. It’s not like plugging in a knitting machine and then out it comes.
And what will happen to your skills and knowledge?
Unless I can pay for an apprentice I’ll be shutting down. I can’t afford it. The inevitable conclusion is that I will shut down in 5-10 years. And there will be no-one to replace what I do. I can’t afford to get a labourer. Survival for me is working alone until I’m too tired to carry on.
IS Friends: Murray Bevan
Murray Bevan is an old friend and also the best in the business at publicity and press relations.We are really lucky to be in at Showroom 22. He took us on before we had a single stockist so he really believed in what Ingrid was doing and has helped build things from the very start. We count his help with the media as one of the big reasons we are in business today.
His professionalism and attention to detail are legendary. The way he approached these questions below is a perfect example of how Murray does everything -with wit, honesty and an eye for - and appreciation for - detail and things of great taste.
A very quick what-you-do?
I am the Director of Showroom 22 Ltd, a fashion & lifestyle-dedicated PR company.
Is it what you thought you would do?
Not at all! I studied architecture for 3 years after I left school, and before that I’d wanted to be a pilot, a chef and a hotel manager.
Is it the favourite thing you do?
I do love my job, yes. But I probably love taking my nephew to football every weekend just a little bit more.
A song that you love?
These songs all make me smile and I can play them over and over again.
‘Golden Slumbers’ by The Beatles
‘Midnight In A Perfect World’ by DJ Shadow
Have you a fact about yourself that might be surprising?
I once was plucked out of the crowd at Disneyland when I was 8 years old and I had to pull a sword from a stone as part of some Disney/Merlin/Wizard skit. It took a great feat of strength but i got there in the end. I got a crown, a robe and a certificate. I also auditioned to be the next Milky Bar Kid when i was about 9. I didn’t make it, but i got into the Milky Bar Kid’s Posse, so I was OK with that.
What would be your mastermind subject?
This is an awesome question. I think mine would have to be ‘The New Zealand Fashion Industry, 2000-2012.’
Is there anyone/anything you’d like the world to know more about?
Yes. I’d love to know more about when the world will end, what is at the end of space, and if the after-life has any construct of time.
Your happy place?
On the couch, with my cat, Sunday morning, poached eggs on toast, feet up, watching the mighty Arsenal tear some helpless team apart in the Barclays Premier League.
A book you come back to, and why?
Derek Henderson’s first book ‘The Terrible Boredom of Paradise’ because I’m a great admirer of his photos.
A place you like to escape to?
Bethells Beach if it’s somewhere I need to get to fast. Its vastness and openness keeps things in perspective for me. If I had more time I’d love to escape to Queenstown more often because it’s so quiet and beautiful.
A painting or a photograph that you love?
I really like Rene Vaile’s portrait photography style.
A building you like, and why?
There are too many that I love, all for different reasons. I think my favourite would have to be Phillip Johnson’s Glass House; it’s simple, it addresses its surroundings, using materials that enhance the usability and functionality of the space, and it’s beautiful.
What is your takeaways treat?
Either Mango Chicken Curry from Satya on Mt Eden Road, a Woodfired Margherita Pizza from Prego or a 1-person Chicken Feed from Bird On A Wire in Ponsonby.
Have you a favourite shop?
I’m not too much of a ‘hunter gatherer’ type person, and a lot of what I surround myself with is quite commercial and contemporary. My top picks would be ‘The Candyman’ in Mt Eden and ‘The Book Kitchen’ in Surry Hills, Sydney.
What blogs/online writing/ sites do you follow?
RunawayNow.com, Style.com (mainly Tommy Ton’s street style photos), Arsenal.com, and I’m an avid Instagram user/follower, too.
IS Friends: Nina Powierza
Nina & Kim of Nina & Co on the Ponsonby News Cover (Both looking amazing in IS)
Everyday we have someone walk into the store and ask after the beautiful flower arrangements Nina puts together for us. Nina is Ingrid’s cousin, and over many years Ingrid has loved Nina’s style. Nina’s daughter Josephine is also a great friend to us and until Jojo went off to Wellington often looked after our kids. Nina adds a really special element to the store and here are a few of her favourites.
A very quick what-you-do?
Work with flowers and Brides
What would be your mastermind subject?
Floristry Ha!
A song that you love
A book you come back to
The Magus by John Fowles. It was one of those books read in the eighties that just seemed so powerful. I moved to Greece after I read it.
A painting or a photograph that you love
Mum and Dad’s wedding photo, just such amazing style.
A quote/motto/saying you like
Be careful what you wish for.
A building you like
The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Turkey So Majestic and Mystical. Oh and the Auckland Museum.
What is your takeaways treat?
Fish and Chips
Have you a favourite vege shop or fishmonger or vintage store or some place that you love and want to share?
Jimmy fish man at the French Markets.
Is there anything you’d like the world to know more about?
The fragrance of flowers.
IS: Handmade in NZ. Johnston Press
Terry at the letterpress
IS: Handmade in NZ. Johnston Press
Johnston Press are a great outfit. We first went there because so many friends in fashion recommended them. They are a family-owned local company that print things the special way –letterpress and offset -very tactile and crafty work.
We’d been going through an agent trying to do swing-tags. Nothing was right and she had long lead times for us to see samples as they were being made up in China. We were getting depressed really at how hard and wrong it all was.
The difference, as soon as we went to Johnston Press was unbelievable. Jan, one of the most wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful people we’ve met, immediately realised what we were after. She set up the letterpress and we got to see how it worked, and after making up our block we were able to come back and see the first swing tag printed by hand.
We were able to see it was right and give the go-ahead.
This was the experience that really made us think about the benefits of being local as being more than financial.
Doing things locally is not as cheap as it could be by going overseas. But in the end, who wants to be the cheapest? That is a race to the bottom. We are really proud to work with Johnston Press as they make us beautiful business-cards, swing-tags and postcards that are special. All of them are letterpress and offset printed, debossed, using traditional skills and machines.
Below are two interviews. One with Glenn Simpson, Director of the company, and one with Jan Eastwick, -the star we deal with that our friends all told us we had to go see. Both chatted with Simon Pound, partner in the label, and the splendid photos are by Duncan Innes.
Interviewee, Director Glenn Simpson
How long has Johnston Press been around for?
The old man started it up –I’ve been here for 40 years –must have been going for 60 odd years or more.
Who started it, what is the story?
My grandfather was in the printing business, had a one-man band, and so my father got interested in it, and ended up buying the Johnston Press and we never changed the name!
Is it a family owned company?
Yes, by us three brothers.
Laurie Simpson maintaining the machine
What has the rise of offshore printing done to the industry?
That’s the problem with the industry. The big jobs go offshore.
Is it possible to compete with offshore printing?
You can’t compete. We can’t buy the materials for what the full job costs over there. It is hard to understand how it is possible.
I totally understand what you mean. We see clothes that are sold here that are made in China and we wonder how they can be so cheap. Fabric has been grown, processed, dyed. It’s then transported to factories where people have sewn them on machines they’ve bought and powered, they are fully made, shipped, transported, imported, tax is paid, rent and wages covered in the local stores and still something can cost less than what we would pay for just the fabric. The economies of overseas production are just crazy. How is it possible for something to have been made and traveled so far and be sold for less than an hour of labour costs here?
We see it too. It’s happening now, the only advantage is that things are cheaper, clothing whiteware cars, all down in price, the man in the street can buy more stuff, cheaply for sure, but soon he won’t have a job because there is nothing he is producing. The end of it –I don’t know what it will be. For manufacturing anyway, it is hard to know where it is going to end.
I think about America. The richest country in the word in the 1950s when they made everything, and now they are missing a middle class. What can we do to support local business and industry?
Buy what is produced here. Buy NZ made.
INTERVIEW: Jan Eastwick (Who also ducked our photos!)
How long have you been with the company?
17 years. I’m one of the new ones. One guy has been here since school and he is now 50.
The job is challenging & enjoyable, Johnston Press is a good company to work for with good people.
Noel, printer, 28 years with the company
What is a good day for you - what gives satisfaction?
When things go well –when you give someone good advice and produce a top job -the happier they are the happier I am.
What has changed since you started?
No longer film, with the plates. In terms of print production and service, nothing really. A lot of printing processes are the same they have always been, with minor changes –the same principals.
Lot of businesses have gone by the by, but a lot of customers are still with us and have been for years and years and a lot of it is referrals.
And what’s changed in the world?
Everything is a bit more modernized –letterpress is now mainly used for die cutting and scoring and special jobs like printing your cards – basically machinery is more specialized.
What do you do differently to keep doing well?
We give people a choice of stocks and print finishes, letterpress and offset. We focus on service, talking through the process, giving options, that tends to keep people here. We try to make things a bit more special.
We all know our craft here- we all have so much experience we can share that with people and give them good options and good choices.
And the machines are great!
You can print, emboss, foil, die cut, slit labels to shape –so much more you can do. We have a bigger letterpress machine for die cutting machine and embossing. Copiers can’t die-cut. The advantage of die-cutting is that you can print something and then do a specific shape around it.
Tell me about your team - are they young/ more mature? How much experience amongst them?
Truckloads of experience –me -40 years in print. Laurie, Glenn, Darrell, Terry, Dave. Oh god –we are so old! We are all averaging 40 years and there are about 10 of us at 30 – 40 years and 4 younger to keep us up to speed in 2012.
Terry
What’s changed?
With things going off shore fewer people are being trained – that is why we need to support NZ made, to keep the production here to invest & train our future.
Can you see a 40 year future?
In print? Dicey isn’t it –well, they always have paper –or will it all be ipads –surely you still have to. I’d imagine that books will always be around. Nice books anyway.
What does made in NZ mean to you?
Everything really! Things are better off made here I feel. It keeps the economy buoyant. We try to support local business.
IS Friends: Veronica Crockford-Pound
IS FRIENDS: Veronica Crockford-Pound
As Simon’s half-brother’s daughter (!) Veronica is a great mate and part of the family, so when we were looking to do our first lookbook it was her we immediately wanted.
Veronica was lovely and did it as a favour. We shot it in our garage, with the oil stains providing the kind of accidental character that sometimes works out better than any plan. Veronica, being experienced and perceptive, realised that we were very new to directing so went about offering up excellent shot after shot.
Veronica in the Kimono Dress from ISAW10
Our friend Warren Green, a fantastic DOP, was the photographer and there was something really special about it, enough so that when Viva featured Ingrid in a designers-to-watch feature they decided to take one of the images and put it on the cover.
That cover shot helped us get in front of stockists and immediately got the phone ringing. It really is one of the reasons that the label went from a passion to taking over first our house, and now all our days and nights!
So quite simply, had Veronica not been so great a model and had Viva not wanted to do the cover things might have been different. Seeing as she had done it as a family favour I’m not sure her agency knew that she would end-up covering Viva, so they too were good sports and I hope we didn’t cause too much trouble. Thanks 62 Models!
Veronica now manages the Sue Crockford Gallery and is a video director, making wonderful things like this collaboration with Lauren Gunn from Stephen Marr:
I’m currently finishing a music video I directed for Dear Time’s Waste’s upcoming single “Fortune”. Then we’ll go straight into filming another one for her next single. I love working with her because she approaches making a music video like a collaboration. To me her music is very cinematic so it’s inspiring to work with.
What do you love about directing?
I love the collaborative aspect. It’s all about the team you work with. The video medium is also a place where my knowledge of art history can be used in a fresh, contemporary way. My work is very referential.
What is a film you come back to?
I was very excited to see that The Shining is at the Civic as part of the upcoming film festival, until I realised I’m away the weekend it’s playing! I used to watch The Shining almost every weekend as a teenager. I loved Prada’s nod to the film in their recent collection too.
A song that you love.
What is the most unusual or exciting situation modeling took you to?
It led me to be a director.
What is something about modeling that might surprise?
In New Zealand it’s a small, close community so the teams you work with can become a sort of extended family. I loved that aspect. People often book you here because they like you as a person, above all else.
I remember the first painting I ever loved was Monet’s waterlilies triptych at the Moma, New York. I liked how the image dissolved into scumbled brushmarks as you moved up close.
Coffee from il buco in the morning. Now I live in Parnell it’d be Catch A Fish Takeaway and Gladstone Butcher for their incredible steak and cheese pie.
