Aotearoa New Zealand Design
In the beautiful country of Aotearoa New Zealand, the landscape is celebrated through design that honours the environment and the culture that takes care of it. We looked at four businesses — from handcrafted rugs and compostable packaging to locally designed and made furniture, lighting, and objects.
Words : Emma-Kate Wilson
RESIDENT
Founded by Simon James and Scott Bridgens in 2011, Resident brings luxury and sustainability into the same sentence through their Aotearoa-conceived furniture, object, and lighting designs. The design house pairs with makers and artisans spread out in places like London, Paris, and Stockholm; with their work seen in high-end interiors around the world.
The brand is on a roll, as seen at Milan 2022, in a Swedish penthouse apartment, the New Zealand Design Pavilion in San Francisco, plus winning numerous global awards, such as the Sacha Chair by Philippe Malouin taking home the Interior Design’s Best of Year award in the Residential Seating category.
Resident’s ethos reflects their heritage – coming from an isolated island nation, Simon and Scott learned to take to a resourceful approach, doing more with less, and became driven to make inspirational design widely accessible.
BETTER PACKAGING CO.
In a post-covid world where everything is ordered online, Better Packaging Co.’s founders, Rebecca Percasky and Kate Bezar, saw the waste from the eCommerce industry and decided to change how packaging is produced. The result is Better Packaging, made from bioplastic; the ‘plastic’ can be put directly into home compost bins where it degrades back into plant matter. In addition, the business commits 10% of its profits back into protecting our environment — revolutionising how we order online, while bringing a little bit of clever New Zealand design into every home.
‘We’re the first in the world to make courier mailers and poly garment bags from 100% recycled ocean bound plastic pollution. We work with disadvantaged communities from some of the most polluted coastal communities in South East Asia to clean up their beaches and waterways and prevent the build up of plastic in our oceans. Our operations are ethical, sustainable, certified and traceable. Our impact and the impact we make on behalf of our customers is therefore measurable,’ says Kate.
Having seen first hand the amounts of packaging waste associated with the rapidly accelerating eCommerce market, Better Packaging Co. specialise in packaging to support the industry; from courier satchels and padded mailers, to poly bags and labels - making sure it’s all packed with impact. Photo: Courtesy of Better Packaging Co.
Founders Rebecca Percasky and Kate Bezar from Better Packaging Co. Photo: Courtesy of Better Packaging Co.
“At The Better Packaging Co. we believe we have a responsibility towards our environment and the people and creatures who inhabit it. We know our company’s existence is not singular, it is part of a bigger system of people, values, communities, organisations and nature.”
Better Packaging Co. design revolutionary, customised packaging solutions for the new eco-nomy – a circular economy in which generating waste is not an option and the earth’s resources are not treated as infinite. Photo: Courtesy of Better Packaging Co.
NOA BLANKET CO.
Based in Tauranga, Noa Blanket Co. brings New Zealand’s love and history with wool into blankets rich with Māori design. Founders Whakaawa and Joshua Te Kan use the wisdom of Tūpuna, weaving their collective stories, to treasure and to share. As such, the collections of blankets are both a celebration and a commemoration of family; welcoming in all those who use them.
As Whakaawa and Joshua share, ‘as we sat in Te Poho o Kahungungu, we were in awe of its beautiful design and our shared experience. From this space, Te Whare o Te Whakaiti — The House of Humility was created so that we may be reminded to always carry ourselves with confidence and humility as we work for our people on behalf of our ancestors and the generations to come.’
‘An advocate for traditional knowledge transferral and leadership succession, we wanted to design a blanket to recognise the relentless pursuit of knowledge that Huikākahu embodied,’ says Noa Blanket Co. Photo: Courtesy of Noa Blanket Co.
Noa Blanket Co. founders – Whakaawa and Joshua Te Kan. Photo: Courtesy of Noa Blanket Co.
Noa Blanket Co. weave luxury New Zealand Wool blankets that share unique stories. Intentionally drawing on Māori design, made in Aotearoa and released in a limited series format. Photo: Courtesy of Noa Blanket Co.
CITTÀ
Well-loved Kiwi brand, Città is a testimony to design, now held in over 500 stockists worldwide. Launched by Margot Acland in 1989, after an inspired trip to Italy in her early 30s, Margot began importing Italian ceramics into Aotearoa. Today the design team is led by Imogen Tunnicliffe and David Moreland from their studio in Mt Eden, Auckland. By partnering with like-minded artisans and manufacturers, their products are made ethically and sustainably, covering a range of furniture, lighting, textiles, and accessories to shape living spaces.
The company are constantly looking for new designs that push boundaries while remaining decidedly luxurious and at the height of comfort — for example, Città has been working on designing woven fabric to upholster the Daily armchair and sofa.
‘The Daily chair is a modern take on a classic mid-century style armchair, and so we want to design a fabric that is sympathetic to this era, whilst also being relevant today,’ says Imogen. ‘We haven’t collaborated at this level across the two sides of the design department, and I’m excited that we will be producing an item that will be 100% designed by our design team.’
