Andrew Reeve’s Craft Beer Business Honest Brew Delivers
A year ago from his small London apartment, New Zealander Andrew Reeve (pictured far left) launched his startup business Honest Brew. Now, he makes and sells his own craft beer and also…
Blog Archives
New Zealand’s English Has a Distinct Linguistic Identity
“New Zealand English is like English, but different. And it’s developing in a direction all of its own,” according to New Zealand copywriter Sam O’Flaherty in a piece for the Guardian. “Tumeke!” “Enough about the…
Writing Struck a Chord for Author Anna Smaill
According to the Independent, New Zealand author Anna Smaill’s debut novel The Chimes is “superb … intriguing, ambitious and strikingly written.” Harper’s Bazaar tips it for “book of the year.” The setting is a dystopian…
Niki Caro’s Latest Feature Hits the Ground Running
New Zealander Niki Caro is the director of McFarland, USA, a Disney film based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a predominantly Mexican-American high school starring Kevin Costner. McFarland,…
Lorde and Joel Little Back into the Recording Studio
Teenage global “phenom” Lorde will hit the studio in a matter of weeks to begin work on a follow-up to her acclaimed debut album, Pure Heroine, according to Billboard. The big news didn’t come via…
Teddy Tahu Rhodes Commemorates Gallipoli at Sydney Opera House
Two of the best opera singers from New Zealand and Australia will come together on Anzac Day for a special commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of Gallipoli at the Sydney Opera House…
Composer Annea Lockwood Celebrates Waterway Sounds
Christchurch-born composer Annea Lockwood was one of nine artists represented at a recent audio and visual art exhibition in Manhattan, New York called “Foot Notes: On the Sensations of Tone,” an exhibition which celebrated…
Rainbow Hunters Find Their Violet in New Zealand
One mother and two young boys are on a trip around the world to seven countries to find the origin of seven colours. The Rainbow Hunters, as the trio are called, are…
Cycling an Exceptional Route from the Alps to the Ocean
The 78km Twizel-Omarama section of the South Island’s Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail “is simply exceptional,” writes Andrew Bain for Australian Geographic Outdoor. “Twizel isn’t Queenstown. It’s not Wanaka, and it’s not Nelson. This South…
Geoff Sewell’s Guerilla Opera Singers Hit Exclusive Parties
Former Amici Forever tenor New Zealander Geoff Sewell and his wife Simone Lanham run London-based Incognito Artists, a group of performers who specialise in “guerrilla opera” – available for hire as “chefs,”…
Luke Willis Thompson Exhibits at NY’s New Museum
Walters Prize recipient, Auckland-based Luke Willis Thompson, 27, is one of 51 young artists participating in New York’s New Museum Generational Triennial, a “hotly anticipated” show which will explore the frontiers of digital technology,…
Glenn Martin’s Jetpack Dream Achieves IPO Liftoff
In 1981, a young aviation-obsessed university student, New Zealander Glenn Martin, began working on his dream to invent the world’s first commercial jetpack, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. In late February the company he…
Scott Baigent’s Eight Degrees Brewing Increases Capacity
Four years in and New Zealander Scott Baigent’s Eight Degrees Brewing company, based in Ireland, is increasing production capacity tenfold. Baigent, (pictured right, with head brewer Mike Magee) a former engineer and Australian…
NZ’s Beauty Garners Tongue-in-Cheek Buzzfeed Response
New Zealand, and why travellers should think twice before visiting, features in a tongue-in-check tourism photo essay on Buzzfeed. The image above of Mt Aoraki mirrored on Lake Matheson is just “urgh”. “The second you…
New Zealander James Lucas Wins Oscar for Short Film
Christchurch-raised James Lucas has won an Oscar in the category Best Live Action Short Film, for his “moving” and “well-deserved” The Phone Call, a star-studded film he co-wrote with friend, Briton Mat Kirkby. “Previous nominee…
BBC’s Adrenalin-Fuelled DJ Zane Lowe Looks Ahead to LA
The “faintly tearful” DJ Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1’s “most enthusiastic music fan, explains why his stomach is churning at the thought of saying goodbye,” bowing out of the network after 12 years for…
Emilia Wickstead on BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund Shortlist
New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead, the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton’s go-to for gowns, has made the British Fashion Council (BFC)/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund shortlist. Wickstead also made the shortlist in 2013 and 2014. The…
Martin Crowe Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
Cricket’s “most stylish batsman” Martin Crowe, 52, has been inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame on Saturday, the terminally ill former national player describing it as a “great honour” and…
Lydia Ko’s Latest Caddie Lands the Top Gig
Lydia Ko’s search for the right caddie has been an intriguing storyline for the media throughout her short span on the LPGA Tour, but it appears Australian bag man Jason Hamilton, for the foreseeable…
Hagley Oval Integral to Christchurch’s Regeneration
Cricket’s World Cup and the return of top-level sport to Christchurch’s Hagley Park has been integral to the city’s regeneration since the devastating earthquake of 2011, says the Guardian’s Mike Selvey. “To a visiting eye,…
Gill Pattison’s Yangon Gallery Part of Myanmar’s Creative Boom
Owner of Yangon’s River Gallery, New Zealander Gill Pattison is part of the city’s creative boom. Myanmar’s art scene is flourishing since military rule was scaled down in the country. “Life in Myanmar at this…
Breakers a Basketball Outlier With an Inside Track
“The New Zealand Breakers are the most unconventional team in Australia’s National Basketball League,” Scott Cacciola begins in a feature article, part of a series chronicling good basketball around the United States, and the…
That’s ‘70s for Karen Walker in New York
For spring 2015 it was photographer Valerie Finnis. For autumn 2014 is was New Zealand’s suffragettes. This time around, for her autumn 2015 collection presented at New York Fashion Week, Karen Walker focused on…
New Zealand Trounce England at Cricket World Cup
“At the hands of an urgent New Zealand superbly led by Brendon McCullum” Engand’s defeat at the Cricket World Cup in Wellington, “went beyond the realms of simple humiliation and entered that of fantasy,…
New Zealand Beats Britain in Men’s Pursuit Final
New Zealand has beaten Olympic champions Britain in the men’s pursuit final at the track cycling world championships in Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France, the team’s first ever world title and the seventh fastest…
Emilia Wickstead’s Trademark Polish Gets a Bit of an Edge
The Duchess of Cambridge and Samantha Cameron are regular clients of fashion designer Emilia Wickstead and would have been able to pick something straight off the catwalk from her morning show at London Fashion…
Zane Lowe to Leave BBC Radio 1 for Apple in US
The presenter of BBC Radio 1’s popular weekday evening music show, Auckland-born DJ Zane Lowe, 41, is moving to the United States after 12 years at the station to take up a role at…
Mike Campbell Scores Top Spot in Men’s Health Man Comp
Sydney-based personal trainer, New Zealander Mike Campbell, 33, has been named in the top six of Australian Men’s Health magazine’s Man competition. The competition calls for blokes who are in top shape and the best…
Berlin’s Pie Addiction Is Growing
Named in tribute to Berlin-based Josh Joblin-Mills’ grandmother, famed for her home-cooked meat pies back in rural New Zealand, Oma Marnies has been stacking up a loyal customer base since it opened…
Savouring Views in New Zealand with Julian Robertson
As the co-founder, chairman and chief executive of the US$30 billion investment firm Tiger Management L.L.C., American Julian Robertson, 82, has achieved a high profile in the world of finance. Robertson, who owns three…
With Bombastic New Single UMO Channel Stately Soulful Music
New Zealand-born Ruban Nielson’s Portland-based three-piece Unknown Mortal Orchestra makes the Guardian’s daily playlist, with their “bombastic” new single Multi-Love. “Such was the oddball beauty of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s introverted second album II that Multi-Love…
Karen Walker Taps Instagram Sensation Toast the Dog
New Zealand designer Karen Walker and four-legged Instagram sensation Toast the Dog, the droopy-tongued pup rescued by American comedian Josh Ostrovsky and wife, Katie Sturino, both don shades for Walker’s spring 2015 eyewear campaign. “A…
There Is No Occasion That a Pavlova Doesn’t Add to
“Most New Zealand and Australian rivalries are fought on the rugby field, the cricket pitch or the netball court,” according to the Vancouver Sun’s Tracey Tufnail, who includes her own family’s recipe for the…
Comic Artist Ant Sang Draws on East and West for Inspiration
Award-winning comic artist Ant Sang, who was a guest at this year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition, draws on Western and Eastern influences having spent his childhood and teenage years in New Zealand and Hong…
North Island a Land of Volcanoes and Vineyards
Over the coming six weeks, the world’s greatest cricketers will be zig-zagging across New Zealand. So for the cricket fan the Independent’s David Whitley suggests, that’s a fine excuse to disappear to the other…
How Jemaine Clement Became 862-year-old Vladislav
Being a vampire wasn’t entirely new to Jemaine Clement, co-director and star of What We Do In The Shadows. His first credited role was playing one in a 1995 horror short film called Blood…
Peter Gunn off to Italy for Young Chef Competition
A mighty fine plate of beef short ribs with roast celery vinaigrette has secured Attica sous-chef, New Zealand-born Peter Gunn a trip to Milan in June to compete with the world’s top up-and-coming kitchen…
Hobbit Trilogy Unmitigated Financial Grand-Slam for All Parties
“The Hobbit trilogy has been incredibly successful on a domestic and worldwide stage,” Forbes contributor Scott Mendelson writes. “The three-film trilogy cost around US$765m to produce and made US$2.916b worldwide thus far. Yet no…
Terraces One of Best Tourist Attractions That No Longer Exist
Ask a New Zealander what happened on 10 June 1886, and they’ll tell you the planet lost its “eighth wonder,” says CNN, who deem the Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana one of…
Ross McEwan Gets down to Business at Royal Bank of Scotland
Very few chief executives of big banks know how to brand a cow, what to do when calving season starts, or how to tell Angus from Shorthorn cattle. Except, that is, Ross McEwan, Financial…
Paula Morris Makes Lucrative Short Story Comp Longlist
Auckland author Paula Morris has made it onto the 19-strong longlist for the 2015 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, the world’s richest prize for a single short story. The award – now…
Simon Baeyertz Helping Reclaim Puerto Rico’s Food Paradise
New Zealander Simon Baeyertz, a “music-business refugee” who once worked with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, is now the owner of and the driving force behind Caribbean hotel El Blok. Along…
NZ Open Their Cricket World Cup in Style
“New Zealand fulfilled the hopes of a capacity crowd, celebrating another landmark in the rebirth of , by defeating Sri Lanka by 98 runs,” the Guardian’s Vic Marks writes. “It was a well-nigh flawless…
New Zealand Both the Hipster and Tipster’s Choice
No longer merely the cool underdog that overachieves, New Zealand is a genuine World Cup contender, according to the Hindu, with Brendon McCullum’s men now possessing a gilded opportunity to go where none of…
Black Grace Touring Retrospective in the United States
Choreographer Neil Ieremia and his contemporary dance troupe Black Grace are currently on tour in the United States, firstly performing their 20-year retrospective programme, including Gathering Clouds, for Philadelphian audiences. Wellington-born Ieremia said that his…
Panicked Super Rich Buying up NZ Bolt Holes
Hedge fund managers are buying up remote stations and land in places like New Zealand to flee to in the event of civil uprising against growing inequality, it has been claimed. With growing inequality and…
Geologists Solve Tectonic Mystery with Explosives
Local geologists may have finally explained how tectonic plates shift by blowing up hundreds of kilograms of dynamite in a 100km line from Glendhu Rocks in the Wairarapa to Queen Elizabeth Park on the…
Atea Oceanie a Cool Brand of Insouciance Hard to Beat
In just two years of being, the London-based womenswear label Atea Oceanie, founded by New Zealander Laura Myers, has risen through the ranks with its clever fusion of sportswear and fashion, Wallpaper magazine reports. Armed…
Bill Culbert’s Exhibition Most Engaging to Hit Sydney in Years
“The work of internationally acclaimed, New Zealand-born, France-based artist Bill Culbert has the potential to change the way you shop as well as the way you view art,” begins Nicholas Forrest in a review…
Anna Smaill’s Debut Novel Communicated Through Music
New Zealand poet Anna Smaill’s debut novel The Chimes, reviewed in the Independent, is “dystopian fiction but not quite as we know it.” “Smaill draws on her training as a classical violinist to create a…
Singer Brooke Fraser Sheds Her Pop Folk Skin
Following a trio of successful folk-pop albums, Wellington-born singer Brooke Fraser, 31, re-emerged in 2014 with Brutal Romantic, a collection of dark, nervy electronica that doesn’t easily invite reductive descriptors like “organic” or “rootsy.” A…
Damaged Christchurch Mirrors Relationship in New Film
The feature-length Sunday, which has its Australian premiere at the 9th Byron Bay Film Festival, is set in Christchurch a year after the 2011 earthquake, where scenes of damage, poignancy and hope provide a…
Planting Trees in Public Spaces Leads to Healthier Society
University of Canterbury research has suggested that planting trees in public places could lead to a healthier society. The university research analysed the activities of 12,500 New Zealanders and found people living near parks and…
Danielle Cormack’s Toughest Role Yet
Auckland-born actor Logie-nominated Danielle Cormack, 44, came to the attention of Australian audiences playing a feisty and imperious solicitor in the ABC drama Rake. The character that followed in Underbelly: Razor was no shrinking…
ACT MLA Meegan Fitzharris Sworn in at Assembly
Incoming ACT Legislative Assembly member New Zealand-born Meegan Fitzharris introduced herself as “the first MLA from Gungahlin” at her maiden speech delivered when the former bureaucrat and government staffer was sworn in…
Stephen Hunter’s On-screen Transformations Continue
You might not recognise New Zealand actor Stephen Hunter, 46, from one of his biggest film roles without a bushy red beard, a huge, ring-shaped plait of red hair and a lot of bulky…
