August 2018 Archives

Wes Anderson-Like Cool in New Zealand

Wes Anderson-Like Cool in New Zealand

“An Instagram account dedicated to photos of locations that bear an uncanny resemblance to a stylised Wes Anderson film set – think balanced symmetry, pastel facades and cinematic setups – has contributions from all…

Neil & Liam Finn – Anger Plays A Part

Neil & Liam Finn – Anger Plays A Part

Father and son duo Neil and Liam Finn have just released their first album Lightsleeper together. Watch the official video to their track “Anger Plays a Part” here.    

Chennai-Based Chef Willi Wilson Curates Big Menu

Chennai-Based Chef Willi Wilson Curates Big Menu

New Zealand chef Willi Wilson takes on the helm at soon-to-open Chennai “garage-themed restobar”, The Mechanic Shop in the Indian city’s upscale area, Nungambakkam. According to The Indian Express, Wilson has curated a menu of…

Miranda Harcourt on “The Changeover” And Whānau Values In NZ

Miranda Harcourt on “The Changeover” And Whānau Values In NZ

“As a sought-after acting coach, Miranda Harcourt has worked with numerous major talents, including Nicole Kidman for her Oscar-nominated performance in Lion” and her “award-winning performance on HBO’s Big Little Lies. Together with her…

Michael Brett Draws on Bram Stoker for Ballet Score

Michael Brett Draws on Bram Stoker for Ballet Score

The task of piecing together the music for the West Australian Ballet production of Dracula has fallen to the company’s Auckland-born music coordinator, Michael Brett. The assignment extended to Brett watching the movies Polish composer…

Sam Neill Cooks up a Storm in New TV Doco

Sam Neill Cooks up a Storm in New TV Doco

Few performers can match the easy charm of New Zealander Sam Neill either on camera or off, but he is braced for outrage in response to his latest outing, as presenter of a History…

The Healing Powers of Manuka Honey

The Healing Powers of Manuka Honey

Freelance writer Chaney Kwak took his cancer-survivor mother on a road trip through New Zealand in search of the magical healing powers of manuka honey. He writes about his experience in an article for…

Neil and Liam Finn Video Premieres

Neil and Liam Finn Video Premieres

Despite its young cast, Neil and Liam Finn’s new video for guitar ballad “Anger Plays a Part” deals with grown-up problems in the real world. The single is on the duo’s new album, Lightsleeper, which is out now. In the…

EDGE #329: Rose Matafeo Wins Edinburgh, All Blacks Storm Bledisloe, Justice Summit, Best Gin +NYTimes, Guardian, Japan Times, Rolling Stone

EDGE #329: Rose Matafeo Wins Edinburgh, All Blacks Storm Bledisloe, Justice Summit, Best Gin +NYTimes, Guardian, Japan Times, Rolling Stone

News of Global New…

NASDAQ Milestone for Carl Sanders-Edwards

NASDAQ Milestone for Carl Sanders-Edwards

Carl Sanders-Edwards, founder of the New Zealand leadership development platform Adeption, has celebrated his graduation from NASDAQ Milestone Makers. Sanders-Edward’s photo and the Adeption logo were displayed on Times Square at the same time. Sanders-Edwards…

2008 Ladyhawke Debut Still Resounds

2008 Ladyhawke Debut Still Resounds

“ Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States (which was great),…

Aucklanders Share SH1 with Family of Ducks

Aucklanders Share SH1 with Family of Ducks

As a species, humans rarely take the time to exude kindness to each other, let alone our fellow inhabitants of this Earth. But motorists in Auckland recently provided a high-minded example of how to…

NZ Story – WOW in Wellington

NZ Story – WOW in Wellington

Each year, Wellington wows an audience of 60,000 with a surrealist catwalk and innovative and creative designs at WOW – the World of Wearable Arts. Watch New Zealand Story’s video here…

Be Charmed by Matakana

Be Charmed by Matakana

“As small villages go, the riverside village of Matakana has it all,” according to the Newcastle Herald’s Sue Preston. “Situated within the picturesque Matakana wine region with its boutique vineyards, olive groves and eateries,…

Okewa’s Rainwear Made From Recycled Plastic Bottles

Okewa’s Rainwear Made From Recycled Plastic Bottles

Wellington-based waterproof clothing brand, Okewa, which was founded by Nevada and Nick Leckie, has launched a new fashion collection made from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles. After Okewa’s project succeeded on Kickstarter, the company’s…

Best London Dry Gin on Earth is Scapegrace

Best London Dry Gin on Earth is Scapegrace

New Zealand’s Scapegrace Gold gin has been named the best London dry gin in the world at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. Scapegrace Gold took out the London Dry Gin trophy 2018 in London,…

Airbnb Launches Experiences in New Zealand

Airbnb Launches Experiences in New Zealand

“Think foodie tours, special effects workshops, and Southern Lights photography sessions,” Condé Nast Traveler’s Meredith Carey writes. “Now, with more than 15,000 Experiences spread around the world, Airbnb is adding New Zealand to the…

The justice summit — and the road from populism to principle

The justice summit — and the road from populism to principle

Mātua Zac (Anzac Wallace) made the news last week when he voiced his disapproval of the relatively low representation of Māori at the Hāpaitia Te Oranga Tangata criminal justice summit in Wellington. He had a…

Spencer P. Jones Inspired Countless Musicians

Spencer P. Jones Inspired Countless Musicians

Guitarist, songwriter and storyteller, New Zealander Spencer P. Jones, who forged his name in Australia and overseas with rock ‘n’ roll bands The Johnnys and Beasts of Bourbon, has died. He was 62. Born in…

Rose Matafeo Scoops Coveted Fringe Comedy Award

Rose Matafeo Scoops Coveted Fringe Comedy Award

New Zealand comic Rose Matafeo, 26, has won the biggest comedy award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her show Horndog, becoming only the fifth female comic to win the Edinburgh Comedy Award since…

Nevis Catapult, Queenstown, New Zealand

Nevis Catapult, Queenstown, New Zealand

This one is for all adrenaline junkies. With the Nevis Catapult, located in New Zealand’s Queenstown, you can be catapulted to 60mph in 1.5 seconds across…

ABs Lift Bledisloe Cup for 16th Consecutive Year

ABs Lift Bledisloe Cup for 16th Consecutive Year

New Zealand has won the Bledisloe Cup for a 16th consecutive year with a 40-12 victory over Australia at Eden Park in Auckland. Beauden Barrett scored four tries and kicked five conversions, while Joe Moody…

Get to Know the Brother-Sister Duo Broods

Get to Know the Brother-Sister Duo Broods

New Zealand duo Broods, comprised of Georgia and Caleb Nott, explain to Billboard magazine that they were born in Blenheim, but grew up in a town called Nelson. The name Broods was actually suggested…

NY-Based Designer Rebecca Taylor off to Paris

NY-Based Designer Rebecca Taylor off to Paris

“After 20 years in Rebecca Taylor is taking a year to fulfill her lifelong dream of living in Paris,” Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) correspondent Emily Mercer writes. “Twenty-some…

Smokescreens Blend NZ Pop and NY Art Rock

Smokescreens Blend NZ Pop and NY Art Rock

Smokescreens is a New Zealand band currently based in Los Angeles. Founded by Chris Rosi following the demise of his previous band, Plateaus, the group recently performed at the Hotel Congress in Tucson, Arizona….

Edinburgh Hosts Comic Alice Snedden

Edinburgh Hosts Comic Alice Snedden

“New Zealander Alice Snedden is well established in her native country as a comic, television writer and newspaper columnist, Fringe. It’s a breezy run-through of…

Conductor Gemma New Expands Her Horizons in Boston

Conductor Gemma New Expands Her Horizons in Boston

It’s been a summer of unicorns and rainbows for New Zealand-born Gemma New, according to the Hamilton Spectator’s Leonard Turnevicius. For the second summer in a row, New, music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic…

Jemaine Clement Stars in New Comedy The Festival

Jemaine Clement Stars in New Comedy The Festival

One half of the world’s favourite (and only) digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy-folk double act, Jemaine Clement has more than a Flight of the Conchords reunion tour on his plate this year. He’s been working on getting…

Meet Kevin Judd “Winemaker and Photographer Extraordinaire”

Meet Kevin Judd “Winemaker and Photographer Extraordinaire”

Kevin Judd is “one of the finest winemakers in New Zealand – or anywhere for that matter,” writes Tom Hyland in an article for Forbes, which profiles the winemaker and…

New Zealand Chefs Redefining Polynesian Cuisine

New Zealand Chefs Redefining Polynesian Cuisine

The kawakawa leaves are dark as jade and riddled with holes, the telltale bites of looper moth caterpillars. In another kitchen they might be thought compromised and tossed aside, but to Monique Fiso, a…

New Zealand’s South Island Beckons

New Zealand’s South Island Beckons

“Called the ‘Edinburgh of the South,’ here is where travellers can see blue-eyed penguins and Jurassic trees, savour a unique beer culture and enjoy cool glacial valleys,” Lai Reeves writes for The Philippine Star….

Horndog is Rose Matafeo’s Moment

Horndog is Rose Matafeo’s Moment

New Zealand-born comic Rose Matafeo’s show Horndog was a highlight of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe and it is also one of the London Evening Standard’s top picks to see in the UK capital. “Insatiable comedy fans…

Rolling Stone Loves The Beths’ Future Me

Rolling Stone Loves The Beths’ Future Me

This spring, Elizabeth Stokes, 27, quit her day job teaching trumpet to kids in Auckland. The reason: She was ready to tour the world with The Beths, the exuberant pop-punk band she’d started with…

Travelling to Potter Paul Lorimer’s Okinawa Haven

Travelling to Potter Paul Lorimer’s Okinawa Haven

Few people visit the Japanese village of Shinzato in Okinawa with its attractive but modest residencies and kitchen gardens. The evident lack of a centre to the settlement made finding the new home of…

Rose Matafeo Edinburgh Fringe Interview

Rose Matafeo Edinburgh Fringe Interview

Rose Matafeo has received a lot of praise for her recent show ‘Horndog‘ at the Edinburg Fringe Festival. She spoke to Edinburgh Festivals Magazine about…

WWE Rising Star Dakota Kai a Wrestling Trailblazer

WWE Rising Star Dakota Kai a Wrestling Trailblazer

Thirty-year-old Aucklander Dakota Kai signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) more than a year ago but every now and then, she still has to pinch herself. It’s easy to see why. Kai is breaking new…

EDGE #328: NZ Halts Foreign Property Sales, NZ in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Eatlist + All Blacks Dismantle Wallabies + Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Guardian, Daily Mail

EDGE #328: NZ Halts Foreign Property Sales, NZ in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Eatlist + All Blacks Dismantle Wallabies + Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Guardian, Daily Mail

News of Global New…

Anna Hansen’s Modern Pantry Celebrates a Decade

Anna Hansen’s Modern Pantry Celebrates a Decade

To celebrate its tenth birthday this month, New Zealand-raised Anna Hansen’s much-loved London institution, The Modern Pantry, collaborated with chef friends to create a special limited edition menu that runs until 9 September. Forbes…

Thomasin McKenzie Joins Top Gun Sequel

Thomasin McKenzie Joins Top Gun Sequel

Kiwi actress Thomasin McKenzie joins the cast of Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick opposite Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller. Dave Trumbore reports for

Respected News Presenter Greg Boyed

Respected News Presenter Greg Boyed

“Tributes are flowing in for respected TVNZ broadcaster Greg Boyed, who took his own life on Monday after a battle with depression,” writes Andrew Prentice in an article for the

Skateboard Photographer Jake Darwen Takes Off

Skateboard Photographer Jake Darwen Takes Off

Skateboard photographer Jake Darwen, 25, who grew up on Auckland’s North Shore and is now based in Los Angeles, shoots for the likes of New Balance and Element, often travelling to offbeat destinations in…

Meet the Feebles Inspires Happytime Murders Writer

Meet the Feebles Inspires Happytime Murders Writer

Danny Mulheron, Meet the Feebles writer, and American scriptwriter Todd Berger – for the R-rated puppet comedy, The Happytime Murders – recount almost 30 years of bad taste for an article in The Hollywood…

Riverdale’s KJ Apa in Spiffy Choice at US Awards

Riverdale’s KJ Apa in Spiffy Choice at US Awards

There was a lot of standout, expressive style on the hot pink carpet at the recent Teen Choice Awards (TCA) in Los Angeles, but one of the most trend-setting fashion moments came from someone…

All Blacks vs. Australia Highlights

All Blacks vs. Australia Highlights

The All Blacks have won the first Bledisloe Cup test match against Australia 38-13. The New Zealand team scored five second-half tries. Watch the match…

Christchurch Once Again Refugee Settlement Location

Christchurch Once Again Refugee Settlement Location

The announcement that Christchurch can once again be a settlement location for refugees represents an important step for New Zealand’s ambitions to increase the refugee quota and is a milestone for the city’s post-earthquake…

Yvette Morrissey Walks Scotland for a Cause

Yvette Morrissey Walks Scotland for a Cause

Most people choose to enjoy Scotland’s awe-inspiring views by bus or car, but New Zealand travel writer Yvette Morrissey, 29, has hiked a massive 864km on foot to take in the country’s beauty and…

Kentucky’s Peter Williams a Lauded Equine Artist

Kentucky’s Peter Williams a Lauded Equine Artist

New Zealand-born artist Peter Williams, a familiar figure in the paddocks of the most famous racetracks in the world, has died at the age of 84 at his home in Goshen, Kentucky, in the…

Akerei Maresala-Thomson’s App Changing Lives

Akerei Maresala-Thomson’s App Changing Lives

An app designed by New Zealand-based former gang member turned policeman Akerei Maresala-Thomson, to help migrating Pacific families adjust to their new lives, is now being used by thousands. White Ribbon ambassador and social entrepreneur…

Innovative Blister Protection Company Names CEO

Innovative Blister Protection Company Names CEO

“Walk On, the blister protection company known for its luxuriously soft Hyperfine™ merino wool product, has appointed Dr. Mark Davey as its first CEO.” The company, founded by former Milford Track…

Ganassi Never Concerned Scott Dixon Would Leave

Ganassi Never Concerned Scott Dixon Would Leave

After months of rampant speculation, whispers and gossip, IndyCar’s biggest free agent fish in years isn’t going anywhere. In 2019, and probably beyond, New Zealander Scott Dixon, 38, will fly the same banner he’s…

NZ Features in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Eatlist

NZ Features in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Eatlist

Lonely Planet includes six New Zealand classics in its first ever ‘Ultimate Eatlist’, which has ranked the “world’s top 500 food experiences”. The travel guide asked the planet’s top chefs, food writers and its own…

Jacinda Ardern On Phasing Out Single-Use Plastic Bags

Jacinda Ardern On Phasing Out Single-Use Plastic Bags

The New Zealand government has recently announced they will be phasing out single-use plastic bags. Watch this clip, published by the NZ Labour Party, to hear PM Jacinda Ardern…

California Uni Football Welcomes Lone Toailoa

California Uni Football Welcomes Lone Toailoa

Growing up in West Auckland in a family of Samoan heritage, Lone Toailoa spent his childhood playing rugby and practicing mixed martial arts. It wasn’t until he started toying with the Madden video game…

All Blacks Dismantle Stunned Wallabies

All Blacks Dismantle Stunned Wallabies

New Zealand delivered a clinic of counter-attacking in Sydney, scoring five second-half tries to blow away their hosts in this season’s Rugby Championship Bledisloe Cup opening encounter, rugby reporter Charlie…

NZ Fashion Designers to Have on Your Radar

NZ Fashion Designers to Have on Your Radar

New Zealand “have been making waves internationally with designers such as Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester and Zambesi often seen sitting pretty on the likes of Meghan Markle and Gigi Hadid,” writes Isabelle Truman in…

The Meg An “Utterly Outrageous Thrillfest”

The Meg An “Utterly Outrageous Thrillfest”

“The Meg is Jaws turned up to 11, an over-the-top creature feature starring a 20-metre-long prehistoric killing machine that comes from the very bottom of the ocean to cause havoc…