Forager Shane Harrison Finds Dinner in London
Shane Harrison, a New Zealander who came to London in 2002 via Ireland, has opened two restaurants, Shane’s on Canalside and Shane’s on Chatsworth. Harrison has also embraced foraging as a staple…
Blog Archives
Lonely’s Latest Campaign Embraces Beauty Of Ageing
As New Zealand-based label Lonely continues to break down barriers in the world of lingerie, they’re back with another powerful campaign for spring, this time around, celebrating the beauty of ageing. Their latest muse is…
Getting to Know NZ Explorer Helen Thayer
Helen Thayer left New Zealand in 1961 after marrying American helicopter pilot Bill, first living in Guatemala and Honduras, before settling in the United States. But, interviewed via email from her home at the…
It’s Time to Rethink Peter Jackson’s King Kong
“History has been too unkind to which should be remembered not as lumbering and mindless, but as majestic and mesmerising,” according to critic Chris Hartwell writing for…
Violinist Alexandra Lomeiko Performs in Worthing
Christchurch-born violinist Alexandra Lomeiko recently performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra. Chichester Observer journalist Phil Hewitt writes: “Lomeiko was born in 1991 into a family of musicians and started playing at the…
First-Class Tom Pritchard Celebrates a Century
Right-armer Tom Pritchard, who has just turned 100, was born in Taranaki and took 818 first-class wickets at 23.30 – sitting fourth on New Zealand’s first-class wicket-taking list behind Sir Richard Hadlee – but…
Niki Caro in Warsaw for Holocaust Biopic
Hollywood stars, including New Zealand director Niki Caro, recently hit the red carpet in Warsaw for a gala screening of a film about a Polish couple who risked their lives to hide hundreds of…
Discovery’s First Ever Global Intern is Ben Mikha
After 10 weeks, 10,000 entries and almost a million votes cast, Discovery Channel has found its first global intern, 25-year-old Ben Mikha from Auckland. As the inaugural Discovery intern Mikha will soon jet off to…
Footrot Flats Creator Murray Ball a National Hero
Murray Ball, the creator of the widely read Footrot Flats cartoon that celebrated rural life in New Zealand, has died in Gisborne at the age of 78. Ball’s immensely popular Footrot Flats strip, starring farmer…
Tami Neilson Has Canadian Fans Wanting More
In the opening slot on a recent North American tour with Canadian singer-songwriter Colin James was Tami Neilson, a Mississauga-bred, New Zealand-based dynamo whose 30-minute sets created a buzz with audiences. Neilson and her…
Christchurch Trends Among Connecticut Travellers
Among travel fare aggregator website Kayak’s Connecticut users, Christchurch has ranked as the No 1 trending destination. Nutmeg State users’ searches done between June 2016 and January 2017 for flights to the city between…
KJ Apa Shines on the Big Screen
Currently starring as the lead in hit television series Riverdale, which features characters from the Archie comic-books series, teen sensation New Zealander KJ Apa makes his big-screen debut in the moving tale A Dog’s…
Take Food Instagrams as Appetising as Sam Murphy’s
Vegan chef and author of Beautifully Real Food New Zealander Sam Murphy, 24, explains how to make Instagram food snaps really whet the appetite. Murphy posts pretty picture after pretty picture of glistening, brightly-coloured doughnuts…
Lang Leav’s Debut Novel Sad Girls out in May
International bestselling author New Zealander Lang Leav, known for her titles Love & Misadventure, Lullabies, Memories and The Universe of Us, is set to debut as a novelist this year. Leav recently took to
Wine Producers Balancing the Old with the New
New wave wine producing has been “unusually slow” to catch on in New Zealand, according to British wine critic Jancis Robinson, “even though the country’s wine business is enjoying an unprecedented level of self-confidence.” “The…
Nadia Reid’s Lovelorn Folk Perfectly Crafted
New Zealand singer Nadia Reid, 25, has “decidedly upped the ante” on her second album Preservation, according to Guardian reviewer Dave Simpson. “ ethereal, pensive vocals are cast against plangent folk-guitar shapes, but there is…
Todd Corporation Saves Canadian Mine Plans
The company behind a proposed tungsten and molybdenum mine in New Brunswick, Canada, which was running so low on cash six months ago it was borrowing money at credit card interest rates, is suddenly…
Warner’s Meg Helps Launch Kumeu Film Studio
New Zealand’s newest production facility, the Kumeu Film Studio is to launch thanks to a three-way partnership built around the China-Hollywood co-produced, action-adventure film Meg, according to an exclusive story in Variety. The studio facility…
Unusual and Unique Whiskey to Hit US Market
Premier spirit brand Stolen Rum, founded in Auckland by Jamie Duff and Roger Holmes, will release their 11-year corn whiskey in the United States this month. Paste Magazine’s Jim Vorel gives it a taste. “On…
Sailor Conrad Colman’s Work with the Ocean
Already haunted by the death of his father in a sailing accident, New Zealand-born Conrad Colman was forced to confront his own mortality during the Vendée Globe – a non-stop, 45,000-km, solo sailing race. “My…
Trevor Loudon’s Enemies Within Screens in US
Christchurch political activist Trevor Loudon’s documentary Enemies Within screened recently in northern Virginia. Loudon spoke about the film for the first time at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Loudon started his political action…
Ashleigh Young Wins Major Literary Prize
It is the kind of news we all dream of receiving, but New Zealand author and poet Ashleigh Young, 33, thought it was a hoax when told she’d receive more than $200,000 from one…
Lorde Joyfully Crashes Into Next Chapter
Lorde’s comeback single Green Light, is an “upbeat announcement of change,” according to the Atlantic, one of many international publications praising the “inventive” pop singer’s new direction. “People have been waiting for Lorde’s future for…
Rugby’s Sene Naoupu Makes Irish Times Top 30 List
To mark International Women’s Day, the Irish Times features 30 women who are shaping Irish life, including New Zealand-born rugby player Sene Naoupu. “In a short space of time, Naoupu has become a key player…
Salted Red Roo from Attica Shines
“The World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards are coming to Australia in April and it’s going to be a culinary tour de force like we’ve never seen before,” according to Good Food’s Callan Boys. “To…
Everyone Should Read This Fairy Tale
“Promised Land, a new children’s book that encourages LGBTQ acceptance (not to mention smashes any taboo around the subject) is so powerful,” Kaleigh Fasanella writes for Teen Vogue. “New Zealand-based authors, Adam Reynolds and…
James Sutherland Shaking Up Japanese Theatre
Founded in 2012 by New Zealand-born James Sutherland, you won’t be alone if you’ve never heard of the Tokyo-based International Centre for Theatre Arts, because few have seen any plays it has staged and…
Emilia Wickstead’s Latest is Sophisticated Off-Duty
“British designers have a reputation for making rabble-rousing fashion, but on the flip side of that anarchic coin is a traditionalist, lady-of-the-manor aesthetic. Emilia Wickstead is well acquainted with this rarefied milieu,”…
John McBeth Launches Book on Indonesia’s SBY
New Zealand-born veteran correspondent John McBeth captured the darker side of former Indonesian president Susilo “SBY” Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency in his new book The Loner: President Yudhoyono’s Decade of Trial and Indecision. The title is…
Brad McCormick Takes His Kids Show on the Road
New Zealand-born writer and performer Brad McCormick is taking his production of Sammy and the Snow Leopard, under the auspices of the ground-breaking children’s theatre company Travelling Light, to the North-East of the UK…
Monica Galetti’s New Venture Mere About to Open
Monica and David Galetti have left their chef and sommelier roles at Le Gavroche to start anew in Fitzrovia. They talk work-life balance, Brexit and the joy of champagne with the Financial Times. The couple…
Suzie Dawson Seeking Asylum in Moscow
Suzie Dawson didn’t set out to be an activist, but her involvement with the Occupy movement at the start of the decade led her to nut out and articulate her political perspective. The path…
Parkinson’s Disease Breakthrough
University of Auckland scientists have made a breakthrough in potential treatments for the debilitating Parkinson’s disease by identifying how it spreads in the brain. The scientists said they had the first strong evidence that the…
Nadia Reid’s New LP an Ode to Self-Reflection
Nadia Reid’s new video for The Arrow and The Aim, taken from her forthcoming album Preservation, was shot in an abandoned house surrounded by stunning landscapes in Mt Somers, just outside of Christchurch. “I guess…
Conrad Colman Completes Vendée Globe
New Zealander Conrad Colman, 33, has written a new chapter in the storied history of the Vendée Globe crossing the finish line of the eighth edition of the non stop solo round the world…
Inside Cassandra Ellis’ Bright London Haven
Interior designer and author New Zealand-born Cassandra Ellis and her husband Ed Prichard, a branding creative director, live in a split-level, two-bedroom apartment in a converted school in Battersea, London. Inside, according to the…
Erakah’s Story of Musical Success
Born in Fiji, Erakah spent part of her early years in the country before being adopted by a family in New Zealand. Over there she discovered she had a talent for singing resulting in…
John Feeney’s Kenojuak Returns to Screen in US
Ngaruawahia-born John Feeney’s 1964 short film Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak, about Kenojuak Ashevak, the first Inuit woman involved with a printmaking co-operative in Cape Dorset, Canada, was recently shown at the Brunnier Art Museum in…
Conductor Grant Cooper Brings a Heavy Hitter
Guest conductor New Zealand-born Grant Cooper recently packed his SUV with a homemade, giant hammer and drove from West Virginia to Albuquerque to lead the New Mexico Philharmonic through the hammer blows of fate…
Yogi Kate Middleton Holds Her Breath in Camel
New Zealander Kate Middleton, 29, is the woman behind a series of images which feature the yoga instructor and freediver performing incredible underwater acts, the Daily Mail reports. Middleton can hold her breath for an…
Quinn Gardiner-Hall Inspiring Other Kids to Run
New Zealander Quinn Gardiner-Hall is running the Antarctic half marathon to prove that he is capable of the distance even if he is just 11 years old. Gardiner-Hall lives just outside of Auckland in Waiuku…
Connecting with Director Tusi Tamasese
A gripping film about redemption and the relationships that can ultimately lead to a fresh start, One Thousand Ropes left audiences eager to question Samoan New Zealand director Tusi Tamasese after its world premiere…
Robert Muldoon Our Own Feisty Protectionist
“What would you think of a Western democratic leader who was populist, obsessed with the balance of trade, especially effective on television, feisty and combative with the press, and able to take over his…
Living the Fantasy of Gandalf
New Zealand is the backdrop for Indian photographer Akhil Suhas, 21, who spent six months touring the country documenting his 15,000km journey. Suhas featured locals and tourists dressed up as the wizard Gandalf in…
Tape Face Hits Vegas
New Zealand performance artist Sam Wills, aka Tape Face, has begun a highly anticipated residency at The Flamingo in Las Vegas. He doesn’t call himself a mime, but he swears that’s only “because I know…
Leonard Kaminski Clearing Laos’ Deadly Legacy
Per capita, Laos boasts the inglorious distinction of being the most heavily bombed nation in the world. Between 1964 and 1973, more than two million tonnes of ordnance was dropped on the country in…
Bending Time With Artist Daniel Crooks
The New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist Daniel Crooks is known for his technically precise, hypnotic video work. His new show, Parabolic, on at Anna Schwartz Gallery in Melbourne, is about subverting our simplistic,…
Ladyhawke Truly Compels in Manchester
“Synth-pop legend Ladyhawke delivered a flawless performance at the intimate Manchester Academy 3 venue” playing “a set of old and new tracks from her decade career in the music scene,” Mancunion journalist Lydia Ransome…
Coping with Changing Trade Patterns
“The future of British trade after Brexit is shrouded in uncertainty. It is an unprecedented process, so it is hard to know where to look for clues as to how it may work out,”…
Xero’s Rod Drury on Succession Plans
Succession planning is critical to the ongoing health and longevity of a company. New Zealand-based software company Xero’s succession plans were put to the test with the unexpected announcement that chairman, Chris Liddell, was…
The Inland Road Makes for a Satisfying Debut
“In the stunned aftermath of a fatal road accident, a directionless 16-year-old half-Maori runaway drifts with unpredictable consequences into the lives of strangers in New Zealander Jackie van Beek’s assured first feature, The Inland…
Disney Coup for Director Niki Caro
The new live-action Mulan remake has secured Whale Rider director Niki Caro to helm. According to online women’s magazine, Bustle, “The Hollywood Reporter issued the reminder that Caro will be only Disney’s…
Celebrity Endorsements Around Every Corner
She lives in one of the most picturesque and exclusive areas in California – Montecito. But even media mogul Oprah Winfrey, 63, was blown away by New Zealand’s stunning views, while taking a break…
Lindauer Portraits a Window into Colonial History
“Gottfried Lindauer’s portraits present a collective history of colonial New Zealand, capturing individual identities in a time of great social change and upheaval,” Hyperallergic correspondent Claire Voon writes in a review of the recent…
Georgia Fowler Closes Yeezy’s NY Show
New Zealander Georgia Fowler, 24, has already walked for Victoria’s Secret, secured spreads in Vogue magazine and has been touted as the new face to watch in her industry. If the model’s It status…
Neil Finn’s Sound a Lifelong Process
Neil Finn will headline the second Skyfields outdoor concert at the picturesque Bluff headland in Devonport, Tasmania on 11 March, and will be joined on stage by Crowded House member Nick Seymour. “We’ll be able…
