More than just an arts hub, Foundation Gallery in Leigh has a culture-conscious, community minded visionary at its helm, Hillary Austin.

Interior Designer, Shanly Simpson, has a keen eye and pays great attention to detail. She also places value on being aware of clients’ needs and wishes. But most importantly, for her, it’s about going with the flow.

Amber Armitage is a stylist and art director with an ever-evolving style and eye for the inspirational.

Switchback is the home of New Zealand-made, custom skate apparel and homewares. Inspired by their love of skate culture and their beautiful home in Aotearoa, Switchback have crafted a rad range of nostalgic apparel and skate decks, as well as carved a path for people to design their own.

Lucy Smith took up sewing her own clothes when she inherited her Nana Joan’s sewing machine. These days she operates an online boutique, Joan’s Fine Fabric, specialising in natural-fibre dressmaking fabrics.

Having spent over 20 years working in the marine industry as a boat and superyacht interior designer, it came naturally to Amy to be in that realm, only this time land based. “I’ve had some time out with some big health and life changes, so this was a really exciting project to dive into,” says Amy. “The project is designing by the seat of my pants, we had a lot to achieve within a tight time frame and keeping costs down as much as possible – then throw a pandemic into the mix.”

A client’s dream for their forever home and a team of local craftsmen helping to bring that vision to life, produces the perfect balance between design and function. A property to excite the senses.

Bella Property Group is a building company based in Mangawhai, specialising in beautifully-crafted, high-end cabins and tiny homes.

Passionate about the environment and animal health, young farmer Caleb Ellis has big dreams for the Mangawhai farm, and providing beef and lamb to the local community is one of them.

Subtropical fruits such as pineapple, papaya, and bananas abound on roadside stalls and stock the supermarkets on our neighbouring islands, providing a highlight and taste explosion for those travelling. So why not here, in New Zealand?

As the summer winds down and the days shorten spare a thought for the complex interactions that abound in your garden. Above ground the weather, plants, birds, animals, insects and microorganisms all play a part. Below ground is just as important and similar in complexity. Think about a network of living inhabitants from worms to microorganisms, in addition to minerals, humus, plant roots and decaying organic matter. The magic is that it is all linked up with the top half and at the end of the day it pretty much runs on organic matter of one kind or another.

Growing food at home has become a hot topic, especially since covid, so local permaculturist, Trish Allen is offering another course in the Matakana area