The word ‘Kintsugi’ has quite a simple, literal meaning. Kin means gold and tsugi means to join or fix. Christchurch creative Nobuko Okamoto has been practising Kintsugi for over seven years and still considers herself a novice in the art. Alongside her studies and work, she’s been fixing ceramic pieces for clients here in New Zealand for about a year now. We visit her in her home studio to chat about the slow and delicate process of Kintsugi and what she loves most about it.

Michael Gilling has been designing and crafting wooden things since he was a little boy. From his first toy boat to recent commercial projects under his business XYLO Woodcraft, Michael has always shown an eye for detail and simplistic form. Despite his talent and achievements, he's also one of the most down to earth people around. We sat down with him to chat about his passion for good craft and what he's been working on.

Dominic Ellett is passionate about heritage and workwear, and clearly has an eye for curating some of the coolest brands and products around town. We sat down with the man behind Indigo & Provisions to chat about how things began for our favourite Arts Centre store and some essential pieces we should be picking up this Winter.

With 2021 on its way out and the countdown to Christmas picking up pace, we’ve done the research for last minute gift buyers who are feeling the panic. 

Thirty years ago, Robyn and Steven Martin chose Barrytown as their home and 15 years later they started offering workshops for people to make their own knives out of a piece of red hot steel. As Steven puts it, “most people make their living clacking away on a computer, and there's very few people who get an opportunity to get a chunk of red hot steel and whomp it, it’s enormously satisfying”.

There's a certain satisfaction in pouring over a worn old paper map, imagining yourself exploring valleys and crossing rivers. However, you can get a whole lot more information from a few very useful online tools.