In a country like New Zealand, where the population sits at somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 times as many sheep as people, it's reasonable that there would be sheep shearers around every corner. Combine that with the natural human tendency to compete and it just makes sense that you'd also find sheep shearing competitions, which is exactly what Casey did in the Hokitika public library.
Read MoreShipping Up To Wellington
The ferry from Picton across the Cook Strait takes about three hours. That's ample time, on a day as fine as the one we had, to stroll the multiple open decks, do some reading or snoozing, and in general contemplate what it must've been like back in the day (as they say) when ships were made of wood, food was rations instead of a la carte buffet bars, and the distance to the next island/continent, if there was one, was completely unknown. Staring at the shadow of land in the distance, with nothing but ocean in the other direction will put these kinds of thoughts in your head.
Read More(Hand)Made In Nelson: Part Two
Along the way this year, we have sought out makers of all kinds - observing, discussing, listening to and absorbing different styles of practice, aesthetic, approach, and creation from vegetables to prints to ad campaigns to, now, jewelry. Each place and person/maker resonates with us in some way, be it process, product or, often, both. In this case, our threads of thoughts and conversations from the past were brought full circle, spanning ethical sourcing, community dynamics, process, time, and healthy capacity.
Read More(Hand)Made In Nelson: Part One
In different ways, the classifier "Made in Nelson" cropped up long before we made it anywhere near the small city, never mind knew where it was specifically. From a fortuitous internet-based discovery of a local jeweler, to various and delicious beverages investigated while in Rangiora and on our South Island road trip, to ever growing mentions of a well stocked weekend market, Nelson had quietly carved out it's notch in our landscape as a place not to be missed.
Read MoreNotes From A South Island
New Zealand's South Island. Where to begin? It's home to the hip college town of Dunedin, the mighty and mysterious fjordland, a (probably) magical rain forest up the west cost, and more Lord of the Rings filming locations than you can shake a stick at.
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