Our People

A house so leak-free it might pop if air were pumped into it delights its owners-designers, who smile every day at its light and effective footprint.

Young mother Renee Cadigan is developing a self-sufficient life and teaching her boys valuable life skills at the same time.

Diving is a study in time and motion, breath-taking synchronicity of mind and body. The aim, as always, is perfection.

Many hours of hard work have driven a designing couple to great career heights. It helps that they like each other — a lot.

Leaving Auckland for a bare Taupō block prompted a young couple to build an unfussy life from total scratch, savouring every moment.

A strong public service background has given Sonya Rimene the experience, networks and relationships required to help influence Crown decision-makers to advance and support the aspirations of iwi/Māori.

More is more when it comes to handbags, hot sauce and living life to the max.

Around Nelson, off-road female friendships are born from a need for speed.

Despite managing a rare — and sometimes debilitating — illness, Natalie Robinson-Tantin is an active participant in a world she’s designed with living colour.

A Dunedin designer’s beautiful bespoke garments incorporate wild pest fur. No wonder Central Otago’s plentiful rabbits steer well clear of Jane Avery’s tiny Earnscleugh holiday cabin.

His gallery is a Gypsy Caravan, he is possibly a gypsy himself, but Blair Somerville is far from lost in the world of fantastical art.

All the limes grown by this Gisborne family have prickly personalities but that doesn’t stop them from being in great demand.

Life in Aotearoa is celebrated in a bach and matching tiny house on the Horowhenua coast.

The child of two cultures, Lyzadie Renault found that where she was born is not actually where she belongs. The journey to find her true place, however, has been unexpected.

Karl Lagerfeld said of the Jag: ‘It’s an idea of beauty with no standard.' Scott Wood, who inherited one from his dad, has come to agree.

Daily swims and barefooted adventures lured this British couple to Aotearoa. When a siren call came a second time from across the sea, they followed — and never looked back.

As part of her multimedia movement Nuku, journalist and author Qiane Matata-Sipu amplifies the voices of indigenous wāhine. Two women share their stories.

An infatuation for genus Rhododendron keeps a park budding with rare shrubs, hybridization and thousands of blooms.

Many artists spend their entire lives searching for inspiration. But for David Trubridge, the natural world has everything he could need.

It’s no wonder Josh Hill’s pigs produce melt-in-the-mouth cured meats, feasting as they do on a diet of Canterbury sunshine and homegrown chestnuts.

When this athlete decided to ramp up her exercise regime, she never envisaged the impact a new sport would have on her physical and mental wellbeing.

A spirited Waitomo clan have filled their lives with art and adventure, exploring every nook and cranny of their region and sharing some of its best bits with visitors.

Akaroa Salmon wins NZ Life & Leisure's Spirit of NZ Award for its three decades of high-quality food production and careful stewardship of fish stock.

These two houseplant devotees find calmness and joy from decorating their spaces with flora.

Forester by training, teacher by career, Francesco van Eerd found his true calling distilling, blending and selling perfumes with fragrant Victorian flair.

Tiny-home living isn’t just for the green-minded. According to a Christchurch dad, it’s the perfect playground for a father and son.

Self-taught builder James Brown focused on his tribal leadership role while strengthening his community to withstand the challenges of treaty negotiations.

A once-familiar face and voice across the nation, Linda Clark is now more likely to appear in court than on the television news, having swapped the world of journalism for the law.

A new mum’s dissatisfaction with disposable nappies leads to the birth of a business.

After 40-plus years of developing a large property, Michael Edwardes is beginning to recognize that he is more than okay at this gardening business.

A television and film producer moves south to be with his partner and practises semi-retirement by starting an e-bike festival.

Pole vaulting requires energy, endurance, timing, technique, strength and control. According to Olympian Eliza McCartney, it’s also fun.

It took Lynda Perry 40 years to realize her dream of joining the police, but it’s been worth the wait.

Five generations of the Blundell family have made their home at Riverhaven in Clevedon, south-east of Auckland, first as farmers, then orchardists, and now artists.