Our city is a unique blend of heritage architecture and cutting-edge creativity. We’re big enough to support ground-breaking ambitions and small enough for authentic connection. We welcome new stories to enhance our ever-growing community and new residents and businesses find the support they need here.
This is a place of collaboration and support where people and ideas are welcomed, and difference is valued. We embrace the hundreds of thousands of individual stories that have touched our community, and we celebrate the value of adding more.
Sam Monaghan
Business owner
Sam established Monaghan's Barbershop in 2016. With a focus on quality craftsmanship, Sam has created an authentic, laid-back environment where customers can come to relax. Monaghan's team of barbers has grown significantly and is recognised within the community as a premier service provider. For drop-in customers, watching barber chair transformations take place as they wait is an entertaining part of the experience!
Wen Xiong
Storyteller
Wen says she is...Trying to be a magical teacher, trying to be a magical storyteller, and trying to be a good person. As her devoted following of enchanted, mesmerised children and parents shows - she is succeeding at all three.
Marty and Marilyn Vreede
Pakohe Whanganui Ltd
Marilyn and Marty Vreede not only make and offer harakeke (flax) papermaking courses, they also design and manufacture Māori educational resources. These exceptional resources are used in early childhood education, including kohanga reo, right through to wānanga (tertiary). Marty and Marilyn love to share their knowledge and welcome visitors to learn alongside them.
Liberty Bracegirdle
Retail Owner
Recycle the Label is a boutique with a difference - perfectly mixing sustainability and goodwill. This retail outlet sells high-quality secondhand clothing and donates unsold items and a portion of its profits to Women's Refuge. Liberty was inspired to open her store after volunteering at a pop-up clothing shop at Women's Refuge. Recycle the Label's customers support sustainable fashion and love shopping in a way that benefits their community, while they grab a gorgeous bargain.
Frances Stachl
Jeweller
Frances Stachl is a contemporary jeweller with a devoted following nationally and internationally. In her treasure-filled workshop, Frances produces her craft-based one-of-a-kind pieces that she has said are in many ways like “changelings”. Frances' jewellery pieces become treasures for their owners and each has its own unique story.
Natalie Bradburn
Business owner, designer
Natalie Bradburn says her business, CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN, is a research project that thinks about the bathroom and everything in it. It’s about dirt, slime and dust as much as it’s about space, form and colour. It’s an architectural inquiry into the most complex room in the house, explored through text, object making and spatial settings.
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