Our People

Ali Mau is no stranger to Kiwis, having graced our screens for over two decades – yet what many might not know is that she is much more than just a journalist and advocate for women’s rights – she’s a passionate horse rider and an ardent pursuer of dreams. 

As a school leaver, Gemma McCaw’s life took an atypical trajectory from that of your average Tauranga teen. While her mates were heading off to uni, Gemma was thrust into the world of international hockey.

My biggest inspiration for colour was from my mum’s mum, Josephina Maria – she wore colour, but never in a haphazard way. Blush lips, white blouse, with a beautiful flowing pink/red skirt, perhaps matching shoes. And all from the Salvation Army.

Lyndsey Fineran, Artistic Director of the Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki, has the dubious distinction of being the first Life & Leisure interviewee to nominate a thoroughly unremarkable desk chair as her ‘best seat’. She promises she can explain.

Designer Jane Avery is a passionate advocate for slow fashion and the skill and knowledge that surrounds her industry as a furrier. Holding the flame for the tradition in Aotearoa, she encourages us all to embrace wearing fur with confidence and pride.

Mike Taylor is a seasoned professional whose vision and leadership has propelled Pie Funds from a small investment advisory firm to one of New Zealand’s premier wealth management specialists. We talk to him about how working with a skilled wealth manager could be the key to unlocking your financial potential. 

Two Canterbury sisters have turned a love of design and creation into a fashion brand centred around sustainability, ethical practices and bringing a smile to their customers.

When Marlborough winemaker Matt Thomson finds time to sit around, the seat he’s most keen to occupy is one that wears a good lick of sea spray.

The Art of Storytelling

As film producer Jane Mahoney reflects on her life, there is one clear theme running through it – the art of storytelling. The visual collection of imagery to cohesively tell a story; to emote a reaction and create connection. Something she has achieved, without doubt, in her most recent and most personal undertaking.

Unexpected joy

The psychology behind the colour yellow portrays it as a symbol of joyfulness, happiness and energy. It is a colour that brings a smile to your face. A colour that in the home environment is often shied away from – but one that can bring joy in the most unexpected places.

Every Life Fully Lived

One of the country’s most nurturing and happy environments for people with learning disabilities owes its existence to a doting aunt some 80 years ago. Today, Hōhepa Hawke’s Bay, a not-for-profit organisation, continues to support people with intellectual disabilities with opportunities to grow and experience every life fully lived.

Weaving Together Threads of Ancestry and Identity

For Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa chair Paula Rigby (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngāi Tūhoe), leadership is fundamentally about respecting and empowering others and working together to nurture and preserve mātauranga Māori. Words Kim Newth, Photos Kelly Shakespeare.

Merino Memories

With wool at the forefront of so many in the fashion industry today, we reflect on one of New Zealand’s earliest wool fashion brands and delight in its origins.

Wellington commercial product and food producer Nikki Astwood takes us behind the scenes of her bold and intricately crafted still lifes. 

Tucked away in one of the eastern bays of the Banks Peninsula, Cornelia Holten and her family are quietly building a local herb farm treasure with a global reach.

As Anthony (‘Tony’) Gibson and his family celebrated 60 years of his father’s company in September 2024, he reflected on the role a humble pickup truck played in its history. 

Caring for cast iron

Kate and Levi Slavin have taken a ‘dying art form’ and given it a new lease of life with their cast-iron cookware collection.

The fifth annual Sculpture Festival at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre features work by some of the country’s best artists; we talk to curator Koji Miyazaki about what to expect.

Finding that balance between rural living and corporate career has been a challenge many of us have encountered and navigated. For Sophie Hurley, it has culminated in a fashion brand that has grown beyond her wildest dreams.

Rob and Mary Ann Burrows were looking for their dream hill block when they sold their 275-hectare flat family farm Beechwood in Culverden nine years ago. While on the hunt, the couple thought the small holding of eight hectares on Marshmans Road in Ashley would do them for the time being. They now describe it as their forever home.

A lifelong passion for V8s led to Julian Cameron fulfilling his dream pastime of building his treasured Ford 1966 MKII GT40.

When Dunedin artist Simon Richardson starts talking about his best seat – a sleek chrome wire affair – it seems like he’s misunderstood the brief.

Helping people successfully grow vegetables at home is a welcome new career for an experienced entrepreneur and event manager.

Farmers, product designers and entrepreneurs Ben and Ness Dickie were a natural choice for our cover story this issue with their beautiful home and property in Waverley, Whanganui creating an enviable lifestyle. Here Ness shares an insight into her journey and love of colour.

Standing in front of a piece of art by Fiona Kerr Gedson is a captivating experience. Where at first glance they appear to be blocks of colour, a closer inspection reveals the texture and layers of the individual feathers that have been used to create them.

A house made of rammed earth, described by its owners as an “above- ground rabbit burrow”, suits one of the country’s most extreme climates and allows its inhabitants to connect to the elements should they choose.

Six generations of a Canterbury family have brought fresh ideas to the distinctive rolling hills of their Banks Peninsula farm.

Michelle Wilson’s diverse upbringing, from urban Ōtara to rural Kaiaua, offers a unique lens on community, culture and leadership.

A pair of serial entrepreneurs are right at home in the province where they were born.

The Future of Happiness

Dr Cheryl Doig explores why a holistic approach, when it comes to educating, parenting and governing should be considered.

Knitting it all Together

In Orbell Street, Sydenham – once a hub for textile manufacturing in Ōtautahi Christchurch – most of the knitwear factories have long since closed. One of the last remaining is Weft Knitting Company. We meet the company’s tenacious founder Hugh Douglas, whose influence and impact extends well beyond the factory walls.

A patch of remote farmland in Abel Tasman helped two sisters take their first steps towards healing. Now, they’ve created a retreat for others to do the same

When Selina Tusitala Marsh wants to still her mind, she escapes into the arms of an ancient pōhutukawa.

Eating with the eyes: How Resene colour influences NZ Life & Leisure’s food editor Emma Boyd

As the old adage goes, “The eyes eat first.”