Our People

Resurrecting an old cottage, once home to nuns, thrilled its owner and the judges of the 2020 New Zealand Architecture Awards, who pronounced it an overall winner.

One couple’s journey to running the fastest-growing snack company in New Zealand — from baking cheesecakes in the United States to crafting the perfect crisp in the South Island.

Italian flair comes to Ōhakune in the form of a racy little italian number.

Julia Whaipooti never shies from being an agent of change, whether speaking at the United Nations or fighting for equality and equity within Aotearoa’s justice system.

On a hillside on Waiheke Island, an artist has found her niche, creating the designs for colourful Kiwiana homewares and accessories.

A musical couple in Geraldine fosters joy — and a nationwide community — with the little lute that could.

A love of foraging in the hills of Central Otago is at the heart of a natural health business that's transforming wild herbs into wellness.

Skye Macfarlane and Jed Tweedie ditched life in the middle of Auckland City for a remote block, self-employment, and an organic market garden with a million dollar view.

Willing friends pitch in to help this Paraparaumu couple make their zesty award-winning limoncello.

A vision to reclaim their ancestral language prompted these Dunedin cousins to create a bilingual resource for future generations.

When two artisan gin-makers wanted to source the best organic botanicals, they created a very special garden.

Zonda Beneficials provides insect predators for use in horticulture and small-seed production and breeds bumblebees for commercial and domestic pollination.

A couple, seeing the wood within the trees, set out with a long-term vision for a new home and an alternative forestry industry.

Regard for the land remains firmly at the heart of this family after half a century of love, loss and regeneration.

Two former winemakers are creating gin and other spirits, capturing the essence of the region in which they live.

The vibrant spontaneity of a city where a circus troupe might suddenly appear amid the colourful buildings appealed to the creative spirit of this film-maker. So she relocated to Mexico's San Miguel de Allende— and never left.

A couple of legal high-flyers and their twin girls are now enjoying a slower way of life in a basic-but-beloved bach on the West Coast.

On the best of days, the grueling sport of race walking feels like dancing to New Zealand’s top-ranked female competitor Alana Barber.

A boat builder with itchy feet, huge ideas and a young family finds his spiritual home in a tiny-but-mighty King Country town.

Love them or loathe them, Lothlorien Winery’s founders believe their beloved feijoas have a budding future as more people grow to love them here and abroad – starting with their sparkling feijoa wines.

She never expected to be a radio newsreader, nor the voice of a mobile network. But these days Mary-Jane Tomasi is broadcast far and wide.

Helping people to find their “why” is the life purpose of a Wānaka-based couple who find answers in the mountains.

Helping a tribe navigate a Treaty of Waitangi settlement can be long and tumultuous, says the chief executive for Tauranga iwi Ngāi Te Rangi, Paora Stanley.

This couple has built a first-rate life among the drylands of north Canterbury, spiced up — as if it were needed — with classic cars and a cottage with a view that rolls on forever.

Originally designed in late-1950s communist Czechoslovakia, the Czeta was rebranded to NZeta when it reached Aotearoa. One, now meticulously restored, helped this bike-lover through a mid-life crisis.

Food writer Kristina Jensen celebrates a special couple and their favourite tomato.

Two management consultants have exchanged the corporate world for a country life dedicated to sharing the joy of mushrooms.

Two Nelson farmers are keeping things local, churning their A2 milk into ice cream produced just minutes down the road from their milking sheds.

A ballad of birdsong, rushing water and rustling kauri caused this photographer to swap the crowded streets of inner-city Auckland for the gravel roads of Donnellys Crossing.

The nut butter industry, known to be tough to crack, didn’t unnerve this health-conscious couple. Four years later, their nut buttery stocks more than 400 retailers nationwide.

A nostalgic summer activity reaches new heights in the hands of a Bay of Plenty performance artist.

The sixth generation of a Hawke’s Bay farming family is bringing style to an historic landscape.

Two of Valda Poletti’s ancestors arrived from England, settled on land near New Plymouth and burned the bush and forest to make way for pastures of ryegrass and clover. Valda has done precisely the opposite.

Boutique owner Karan Gregory has an eye for business based on experience earned, not learned.