“It’s been a long process to get here,” says Ruben Maurice, breathing a sigh of relief. The owner/operator of Mount Albert’s newest watering hole, Bar Martin, has had to weather a number of uncertainties thrown up by Covid and the Council at different times over the last year, just to get the front doors of his new establishment open. But it has finally happened, and thank God for that.
Bar Martin is the latest in what seems to be a trend towards neighbourhood spots that really emphasise and encourage community. A result, perhaps, of the way this pandemic has ushered in a new perspective around supporting local. The bar itself is intimate without feeling claustrophobic, its front window (through which the afternoon sun streams) offering an inviting tableau of small tables, set against a simple palette of dark timber, crisp white and tones of blue. The vibe is welcoming and inclusive, as ideal for friends catching up as it is for young families wanting a relaxed place to enjoy some food and a drink in the afternoon. (Maurice tells me that it is both “kid and dog friendly”).
From left: The interior features dark wood and crisp colour accents; The meatballs are not to be missed
Out the back, a courtyard with communal tables offers the perfect spot to make the most of long, summer evenings. “We are also opening a small shop in the bar soon where people can get takeaway beers and wines as well as re-fills from the bar’s taps,” says Maurice, explaining how he plans to make use of Bar Martin’s off-license.
On the menu, a number of simple, tasty bites, serve to perfectly complement Bar Martin’s interesting selection of wines (a mix of both conventional and low-intervention). The coppa stagionata (cured pork shoulder) with roast hazelnuts is a definite highlight, as is the sardines with Kōpiko sourdough, seaweed butter and lemon, and the meatballs are not to be passed up.
Above and beyond its food and wine offering and tastefully-appointed fit-out, Bar Martin really has captured the kind of charm you might expect from a beloved neighbourhood spot — one that has been there for years. As Maurice tells me, a focus has been placed on working with and supporting local producers and suppliers, stemming from a desire to support fellow owner/operators, and the whole vibe of the place is sure to draw in local punters who feel the same way.
Ensuring we don’t pull the curtain on summer too early (despite most of us being back at work), Azabu Mission Bay is keeping the good times rolling with its lively new series, Cocktails, Eats & Beats.
Set to start this Saturday and run from 3pm until 6pm every Saturday for the next six weeks, the series, presented by Roku Gin, will deliver seriously good music (thanks to DJs like Bobby Brazuka, Frank Booker, Manual Bundy, Hudge, Chip Matthews and more), refreshing drinks and tasty food. A potent combination, particularly when enjoyed in Azabu Mission Bay’s sprawling, sun-drenched courtyard.
Bobby Brazuka
So, make the most of the season by grabbing some friends and indulging in a cocktail or two to ease into the weekend. We’ll be there… will you?
Cocktails, Eats & Beats will take place from 3pm until 6pm every Saturday from the 23rd of January until the 27th of March.
East, an intriguing new eatery on Nelson Street, is the realisation of a passion project for its vegetarian owners, the Jhunjhnuwala family. Armed with a love for the vibrant and complex flavours of Asian cooking and a desire to create an eatery that heroed taste as much as it upheld an ethos of sustainability, the Jhunjhnuwala family assembled a team of experts to help bring their vision of an entirely vegetarian venture to life.
Advising on the menu and helping to develop the eatery’s creative presence was renowned hospitality consultant Andrew Glenn (co-founder of Waiheke’s The Oyster Inn), while on the drinks side, Simon Kelly lent his years of experience in the wine and spirit industry to developing East’s beverage offering (which has seen it become one of the few restaurants in New Zealand to boast a 100 percent organic and vegan wine list).
From left: Design firm Luchetti Krelle are behind the sleek interior; Seventy-five percent of the menu is vegan
In addition, Ben Legget took up the post of consultant mixologist, offering his impressive expertise to East’s comprehensive cocktail list. (Highlights include the Umeshu Dandy — a mix of Mars Cosmo Maltage whisky, sweet vermouth, houraisen kanjuku umeshu, coffee, pimento bitters and lapsang souchong atomiser — and the Shochu Sesame Sour — combining hombo shuzo shocho, lemon juice, honey, sesame grapefruit and hops bitters.)
Not forgetting the fit-out, East’s sleek interior was created by award-winning architecture and design firm Luchetti Krelle (responsible for restaurants like Longrain in Tokyo and Acme in Sydney). Inside, a modern monochromatic palette offers an oasis of calm, lent depth and originality by geometric flooring and tonal moments like lush, forest green seating and jewel-toned walls.
From left: Dan Dan noodles; The interior features forest green seating and jewel-toned walls
On the menu, flavours are vast and varied but presented in a way that feels carefully curated and concise (the sign of an experienced hand at the helm). Head Chef Harmeet Singh (formerly the head chef at one of Mumbai’s leading Asian restaurants, Bamboo), leads an experienced team in the kitchen, representing the culinary traditions of Japan, Hong Kong, China, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. This diverse spread has materialised in dishes like Dan Dan noodles, Peking jackfruit pancakes with tapioca chips and plum sauce, Southern Thai yellow curry, steamed mushroom Cheung fun and ginger caramelised bang bang shitake mushrooms. Seventy-five percent of the menu is vegan, 70 percent of it is gluten-free, and all of it is designed to share.
What seems to set East’s food offering apart, is the process of meticulous experimentation and the development of special techniques undertaken by those in the kitchen, which has resulted in dishes that deliver the necessary flavours and textures without having to rely on meat. The chefs even created all of their own sauces, including a nham jim, a prik man pla and a special vegan ‘XO.’ As such, the menu is a treat for the tastebuds, running the full gamut of pan-Asian flavours, from the sweet to the sour, to the piquant, to the all-important umami — and everything in between. Importantly, you don’t have to be a vegetarian or a vegan to enjoy a meal at East. Its food is delicious, inclusive and certain to find fans among the ranks of meat-eaters as much as it is to delight the herbivores who now have another tasty option in Auckland.
Words Margie Riddiford | PHOTOS Jeremy Hooper | 4 Jan 2021
Detail-oriented, meticulous and passionate about design in all its forms, Jessica Walker is a renowned architect and so much more. Bureaux, the firm she started in 2010 with business partner Maggie Carroll, stands apart from the rest of the industry for the way it tackles its projects from all angles, encompassing the interior design and all the finishing touches to make the architecture of a home or a commercial space come alive.
Walker’s hard work has seen her carve out a niche for her business, which has seen Bureaux responsible for designing some of the most impressive homes in the country.
Here, she discusses sustainable design, guilty pleasures and why there really are no shortcuts in her line of work.
I grew up in a housewhere we were always making. Both my parents are makers, my dad did industrial design and my mum is a fashion designer. My playroom was dad’s workshop, playing in-between the bench saws and drills and my mum’s industrial sewing machines.
My parents spent years cycling around Europe after they graduated university. They went there with nothing and embarked on a huge adventure, living in tents, getting odd jobs along the way. But a couple of years into it, they fell pregnant with me, and so I was born right in the middle of the trip. They had me in Switzerland which is where they happened to be at the time and then they just kept going, I think for another nine months. Still cycling, still staying in tents, and they would strap me onto their fronts. It’s pretty wild. So I feel like that spirit of adventure and imagination is just in my DNA.
I’ll never forget the night I met two architects at a party. After high school I was actually planning on studying medicine. But during that summer, I chatted with two architects from New York who told me how much they loved their jobs. It was so aspirational, these grown up people talking about their work like that. And it was like a switch for me. Overnight, I realised that actually, architecture might be a better fit. It really was like a light bulb moment. I feel so lucky to have found my ‘thing’ so early. Not everyone does.
There are no shortcuts in this line of work. I studied for eight years, undertaking a Masters after my architecture degree and when I came out of school, the GFC meant that there really were no jobs for architectural graduates. It was demoralising. So I did my own thing for a few years and then Maggie [Carroll] and I started Bureaux, still in the midst of an economic slump. We took on all sorts of crazy jobs, anything we could get our hands on. It was challenging but it was fun, and it pushed us to our creative limits. Those days really set us on our course of wanting to do more than just architecture. We also loved interiors and events and those things that can work perfectly alongside architecture, so that’s what we’ve done.
People often assume that, because we’re women, we’re interior designers, which we’re not. We’re registered architects. So, one of the biggest challenges for us has been defining who we are and being able to hold on to our passion for interiors while having the confidence to say, ‘yes we’re architects but we do it all’.
Very few practices in New Zealand combine architecture with interiors in the same way we do. A lot of our friends, some of New Zealand’s most successful architects, don’t want to do interiors because they see them as a distraction from their core business. Whereas we see them as something that adds to the work we do. In most of our projects, our criteria for taking on a project, is us being able to do everything from A-Z. So we do the architecture, we do the interiors and the soft furnishings and often even take over the finishing touches, like crockery and bed linen.
Having been in business for 10 years now, the biggest change we’ve seen is a consciousness about the environment. It has become a major global issue, and is widely accepted as something that we, as architects need to take some responsibility for. We’ve struggled with it because our clients are not necessarily that interested, but we really need to be championing good practices in that area.
Sustainable designis not about composting toilets or solar panels on the roof, it’s about good design that lasts. There are so many more complexities to that idea than just the obvious ones.
What makes New Zealand unique in terms of architecture is the lack of people here and conversely, the underdevelopment. You get these phenomenal opportunities to start from scratch in areas like Britomart, an amazing precinct that I remember not being there. There are so many opportunities for meaningful urban development that, in more densely-populated cities, just couldn’t happen.
I am a total architecture geek so it’s hard to pick my favourite buildings. But outside of New Zealand, I love Peter Zumthor’s work in Switzerland. His buildings are total perfection. Thermal Vals specifically is an earth-shattering experience. My other favourites are in the States. When I used to visit my brother in LA, I would go to places like The Schindler Kings Road House and the Sheats-Goldstein Residence, and then last year, Maggie and I went to Fallingwater just outside Pittsburgh. I get the most excited by those early, mid century modern houses, and I definitely pull inspiration from them for my own designs.
Warmth, tactility and layering are my three core tenets when designing. I love a layered, multi-dimensional interior. With our buildings we are always really focused on the materiality. How things feel to touch and smell, and of course warmth, so that spaces don’t feel cold and empty. My husband would call me a maximalist, he always goes on about the ‘tings’ I have everywhere. So it really is a reflection of what I love too.
Replica furniture is an absolute no for us. Or replica anything, really. And although it can be really hard to be original and new in design, at Bureaux, we tend to go for timeless rather than on trend and try to always find something new, even when we’re looking elsewhere for inspiration.
Maggie [Carroll] really is my great life partner. I was incredibly lucky to find her because there’s just a magic that happens between us when we sit down to design together or discuss ideas with a client. I trust her completely and she is one person who, in all aspects of my life, I know will be honest with me and I think that’s really important.
We’ve had some incredible people offer up advice and guide us as our business has grown, like Pip Cheshire and Marsh Cook and Lindley Naismith and Jane Aimer who have been so generous with their time and have been really candid about their own businesses. They broke the ground for us to do what we’re doing now. And even the generations below them, like Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon — Maggie worked with them for a time before we set up Bureaux and they’ve been really supportive. The architecture and design community here, particularly the bubble I’m in, is unique in that it’s incredibly collegial and for that, I’m grateful.
Mike Thorburn is someone I really admire in business, I just love what he has created at ECC. He has cultivated this wonderful culture of generosity and warmth, and over the last few years I’ve watched Andy and Richard [his sons] really come into their own. Now, I can just call them if I need something and they’ve been given agency to just own that business and take it beyond what Mike did. It’s a testament to Mike’s business that he is able to relinquish some of that control because it’s not easy.
I want to feel equally nourished and fulfilled by both my business and my family. Happiness is something that is really important to me and so I’m conscious about how I achieve a work-family balance that is going to make me happy. You can bump up ambition or wealth or looking good or all sorts of things on your list of priorities. But for me it’s happiness in work and at home. It is a challenge sometimes but it’s something that I’m constantly working on.
90s RnB, in the bath with a book and maybe a little tequila is my favourite way to relax if I’m feeling quite frazzled.
I want my legacy to be about the clients and their children and their friends whose lives have been enriched by the homes we’ve created. Those stories are the ones that matter to me. We get clients calling up all the time saying how much they’re enjoying the spaces we’ve made for them and it means so much. That’s why we do what we do.
My children think I’ve done a pretty good job designing our new kitchen at home, which is nice. “It’s a pretty good job, Mum,” they say. But in all seriousness, it’s great that my kids think it’s cool that I work and I hope that they will take something from what I do.
Words Margie Riddiford | PHOTOS Jeremy Hooper | 24 Dec 2020
Is being good at cooking an inherent, or a learned skill? I had assumed it was the latter. But when I put the question to Hercules Noble, a culinary wunderkind whose star is on the rise, his answer is characteristically balanced. “You do need courage and you definitely need to be a bit bold, but cooking is mostly instinctive,” he tells me, before offering a caveat, “that doesn’t mean you have to be naturally gifted, it just means that you have to have had enough experience.”
Experience, it seems, comprises most of Noble’s culinary education. He grew up in an open-minded, creative home with parents encouraging him to pursue something that he loved. His mum even helped him get his first job in the kitchens of Little & Friday. After deciding against a traditional university degree, Noble sought work on a vineyard in Bandol, in the South of France — the same vineyard, in fact, that his father had worked on when he was of a similar age. At the Châteaux de Pibarnon, Noble learned as much about food as he did wine, spending his mornings sorting through grapes and his afternoons at the local markets, sourcing ingredients for dinner, which he would cook for the whole domaine.
“We had access to the incredible produce of the Mediterranean,” he explains, “but we also had food coming in from places like North Africa.” He pauses, “have you ever had a fresh date? Not the dry ones we get here, but a truly fresh one? They’re incredible.” Noble (and his food) made such a good first impression that he was invited back to the Châteaux the next summer, and the summer after that, hosting pop-up restaurants and parties that helped him to refine (without knowing it at the time) the socially-focused, open style of cooking he would eventually offer his clients as a private chef.
Noble’s ability to grab opportunities and learn as much as he can from the people who subsequently fall into his orbit, has served him well. For example, when a family friend in New York was diagnosed with cancer, the young chef offered to fly over and manage the strict diet his friend’s illness demanded. “Having to research, track and weigh everything I was cooking, I learned a hell of a lot,” he tells me, “like the fact that cruciferous vegetables should always be chopped 45 minutes before cooking, because it allows an enzyme they contain to multiply, upping their nutritional density.”
Last year, Noble was invited to spend lockdown as the private chef for a large household in Coatesville, where he was given a carte blanche to cook breakfast lunch and dinner for around 15 people everyday. “I have a habit of not thinking about things and just sort of jumping into them,” he tells me, “but it was so much fun, I really thrive off that sort of thing.”
Noble’s ability to think on his feet in a creative way is the backbone of his prowess in the kitchen. And the fact that he is where he is without any formal training is quite astounding. “Lots of YouTube,” he divulges, laughing, when I ask about where he turns for guidance. “And, honestly, Jamie Oliver,” he continues, “he gets a bad rap sometimes because he does accessible, simple food, but I’ll often go back to his recipes when I need some inspiration.”
In fact, simplicity seems to be one of Noble’s guiding principles. He creates hyper-seasonal food that is pared-back, wholesome and infused with unexpected elements, dreaming up original flavours that aren’t tied to any specific ‘cuisine.’ His oeuvre is defined by the combination of his versatility and a natural tendency for balance. A menu by Noble might include dishes like roast peppers with capers and white anchovies, mozzarella with marinated apple, guava and macadamia and plum and rosemary tart. When he caters a pop-up restaurant or a party (as he sometimes does at establishments like Ponsonby wine bar, Annabel’s), he might cook spiced chicken and mushroom tacos with date and garlic aioli or snapper ceviche with burnt orange and burnt baby capsicum on an open grill.
Despite having worked around the world, Noble tells me his favourite kitchen is still the one on his family’s land, Brodie’s Creek on the Karikari Peninsula. Up there, the oven is wood-fired, the stove-top is al fresco, the ingredients are grown on the land and the living quarters — like Noble’s self-made shipping container bedroom — are stripped-back and refreshingly unpretentious. “Being at Brodie’s and having my own garden is what inspires me,” he says. “It’s easy to say ‘seasonal ingredients’, but when I actually have those things growing in front of me, and I’m standing in the sun in this beautiful environment with an open fire to cook on, and friends and family to cook for, that’s what I love.”
Noble’s affinity with the land up north inspired him to start working towards using only ingredients grown and sourced in New Zealand. He recently started making sourdough which has found a keen audience on Instagram for its unique iterations like olive-rosemary and orange-dark chocolate. He has also started using fresh-from-the-farm dairy to create flavoured butters that will accompany the bread. “I think Covid-19 has been a bit of a warning,” Noble says, “it’s given us an opportunity to knuckle down and support local a lot more.”
Noble’s love for food is amplified by the freedom he has around it. Freedom to be creative, considered and challenged. To offer dining experiences that are tailored specifically to the individual and to change his modus operandi when he feels like it. Success, for this chef, doesn’t mean scaling-up or creating products for the masses. Instead, it’s about keeping things personal. “I like to listen to what someone wants and respond with original ideas. Experimentation is where the creativity comes in,” Noble explains, “which, I think, sets me apart, and allows me to feel connected to the people I cook for.”
Words Margie Riddiford | PHOTOS Claudia Smith | 9 Dec 2020
One of New Zealand’s most widely-recognised fashion exports, and ambassador for skincare brand Emma Lewisham, Georgia Fowler has reached milestones other models only dream of, charming a notoriously difficult industry with her down-to-earth approach and easy going attitude — both hallmarks of her Kiwi upbringing.
Fowler’s enviable portfolio is a veritable who’s who of fashion’s biggest names, having walked for the likes of Chanel, Miu Miu, Balmain, Armani, Alberta Ferretti, Jeremy Scott and more. She has graced the covers of magazines like Elle, Numéro, L’Officiel and Harper’s Bazaar and appeared in the lofty pages of Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, CR Fashion Book and W Magazine.
But for this globally renowned model, 2020 has offered up a chance to look beyond modelling alone, with Fowler recently launching her eponymous website on which she shares everything inspiring her in fashion, design, beauty and wellness. Here, she divulges what she has learned from fashion so far, and where she wants to go next.
My dad, an athlete, taught me the importance of coaching myself. Be better. Do better. Try harder. That’s how I approach most things. So I would say I’m determined, family-oriented and a bit of fun. Definitely a doer.
I am a bit unaware of how other people see me but I think it’s for the better. I would hate to be super aware of what other’s opinions were because we are so often our own harshest critic, and sometimes that’s enough. I just try to stay focused on what I’m doing and never compare. As long as I’m making myself proud, I’m okay with not being everyone’s cup of tea.
I built my own website over lockdown because I had so much time, and so I’ve recently started producing my own shoots. After the industry here was forced to take a step back, I think everyone realised that they wanted to create things they actually cared about. So there have been lots of people eager to collaborate which is exciting. As a model you’re constantly dressed up as someone else’s concept, and you have very little say on the outcome. That’s what I find so rewarding about what I’m doing now. I’m asking who is Georgia Fowler beyond just being the model in the shoot? I’ve never focused on behind the camera stuff before but I love it.
Social media has allowed models to show more of who we are, rather than being defined by our portfolios. Everything is more personal and once you start to become known as a ‘name’ rather than just model 24 in the line up, you realise that you have a voice and you start to understand how to use it authentically.
That said, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect models to suddenly have to start sharing their personal or political views on every world event. Just because you’re in the public space you shouldn’t have to feel that sharing or not sharing your opinion on something will determine whether you’re chosen for a job. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great if someone wants to delve into that and speak about what they believe in or their backgrounds, but I don’t think it should be an expectation.
I was 15 when I started in this industry, which was too young. Now, I’m noticing that models starting out seem to be getting older, which is something I feel strongly about. It’s irresponsible for 16-year-olds to front major ad campaigns that are directed at adult women. What is that showing society? It’s a pretty big concern. Women are scared of ageing and scared of their natural bodies but really, it’s because children are being held up as the standard. For me, seeing supermodels in their 40s and 50s doing campaigns is incredible. The mindset is changing but it still has a way to go.
I’d advise younger models looking to get into the industry to hold on to who they are. When I was starting out, I wanted to please everyone and so I would be on set trying to be one character one day and another the next. If you absorb it all too much, you forget who you are, or what you stand for. I’ve always had agents saying that I needed to be this, or that, or more grungy or more sexy, but it’s impossible to please everyone in this industry.
I used to dream about doing the Victoria’s Secret show and the Balmain show and shooting for French Vogue and VogueItalia, so when I was booked for those, they were pinch-me moments. I have to say though, it was hard to be celebratory at the time because everyone around me was doing similar things. I had to remind myself to take a step back and remember what it meant to me.
Inez and Vinoodh shot me for French Vogue and they were the biggest photographers I had worked with at the time. That was a surreal experience. They both shot simultaneously so there were two cameras and they took the images as if they were art.
In my first Victoria’s Secret show, I was expecting a bit of a competitive atmosphere but it wasn’t like that at all. I was standing off to the side, not knowing where to go or what to do with myself and Adriana Lima invited me over to sit with her and really showed me the ropes. I remember thinking, ‘woah you were on my diary when I was a kid’.
When I did the Chanel Cruise show, we were standing backstage waiting to walk the runway and I remember Karl Lagerfeld standing there, drawing us in the clothes he designed. I’ll never forget it.
Casting directors were my ‘in’ into the industry. I did quite a bit of work with Anita Britton and Katie Grand. They got me my first Miu Miu show and from there LOVE Magazine and a number of other opportunities. Before I met them I had definitely been a bit pigeon-holed into the role of sexy commercial model. But they saw something different and gave me my first high fashion runway. Everything else major came from that. I didn’t even get Victoria’s Secret until after that show. All I needed was someone to take a risk on me once and that’s the main reason why I’ve been able to pursue so many different realms in my career.
Walking the runway makesme feel powerful. It’s a total rush. And seeing the likes of Naomi Campbell and other big name supermodels going back and doing runway now is incredible. But doing a runway show is like going to a big party where you’re not really socialising with anyone, so it’s exciting and it’s a vibe but you’re not establishing any relationships long term. For that reason I do prefer photoshoots and editorial work.
I don’t miss the craziness of doing four fashion weeks in a row. The old fashion week set-up was never really sustainable long term. I’d sometimes have 20 castings a day for maybe one “yes” (if that). I hope the fashion calendar remains changed after this year. A lot of designers are pushing back on it at the moment so it’s an exciting time for them. I often wonder how they get the creativity to even come up with so many collections in one year. I think people are becoming more aware and asking questions like, does everything need to be so seasonal? How is this affecting the environment? What am I going to love today, tomorrow and next year?
I would love to work with Steven Meisel and Steven Klein! And I would love to do something with Edward Enninful or Riccardo Tisci. There are definitely so many more things I want to do with modelling, but at the moment I’m content that I’ve ticked off a few of my goals.
Forget about looking ‘hot’ on a shoot. If you’re on set, take in the clothes and the makeup and don’t be afraid of adapting and taking some risks. The thing that can transform you from being just a pretty girl into being a really good model is letting go of some of the fear you have about being weird and experimental and doing something different.
The person I look up to the most is my sister. She’s just the coolest. She’s wise beyond her years and very centred and caring, so if I’m being irrational, I’ll call Kate first and she’ll always come to my rescue with some sage advice.
Dr Seuss once said, ‘those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind,’ and it’s a saying that always stayed with me, kept me sane and grounded, and aware of who and what is important.
There aren’t many hairdressers in New Zealand who’d be able to lay claim to a career like Paul Serville’s. One of the most respected practitioners of his craft, Serville currently presides over three salons and a hugely-influential training academy. It is the Servilles Training Academy that has, perhaps, been Serville’s most impactful venture, a way for him to leave his mark on the industry he has loved for so long. Behind his accolades and experience, Paul Serville’s success seems to reside in the fact that he has never lost his passion, and his unrelenting ability to pass that sense of purpose onto others. Here, he shares what he is proud of, what he is still learning and why entrepreneurship is in his DNA.
In 1968, I saved up two dollars to go to the best salon at the time in the country. It was a wonderful experience. They washed, cut and blow-dried my hair (which people at the time thought was a fad) and it was so amazing that I came home and told my mother that that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make other people feel that good about themselves.
Back in those days, you had to learn how to do the perfect cut. Since then, it has become about a lot more than just a great haircut. Nowadays hairdressing is about creating a wonderful experience that people come back for again and again and again. I noticed that hairdressing became very important after lockdown — I think people realised how much they relied on it to feel good. It just proves to me that hairdressers have a huge impact on people’s wellbeing.
When I started, my inspiration was taken from the great cutters of the world — people like Vidal Sassoon, Trevor Sorbie and Trevor Sharpe. But now I find inspiration in other fields too, like interior and architectural design and the people in those industries like Philippe Starck. I really enjoyed the process of bringing our new Cityworks Depot salon to life.
Servilles’ newest salon in City Works Depot Auckland, designed by award-winning architect Jack McKinney.
What I’ve noticed about life lately is how unpredictable it is. But maybe that’s ok, because it gives us this renewed chance to make the best out of the situation.
I think I’m most nostalgic about the wonderful eras that I’ve been a part of. From the trends of the late 60s through to the Bodgies, the Widgies, the Mods and the Rockers that were cool in the 70s, and which kicked off the Hippies (of which I was one) and the Punks. The 70s was a very cool time — a great era to have lived through.
I look up to Davide Bollati, owner of Davines (a line of hair care we stock in the salons), who took over his parents’ company 20 years ago and turned it into this incredible, sustainable global brand. He embodies the values of his business, and lives by the culture he creates. I think he is an inspiration to anybody who knows him or has spent time with him. He seems to always be thinking about what he can do to make the world better, and this shows in his actions.
I am most proud of what I have been able to do for my trade and for my profession in this country. Being able to help New Zealand stand out for its hairdressing talent on the global stage has been one of the privileges of my career. And I’ve seen the way it has helped hairdressing businesses here feel excited about the future. We have put so many great people through our Servilles Academy, many of whom have gone on to be great leaders in the industry.
If there is one thing I’m still learning, it’s about myself. That never stops. But age has allowed me to become so much more thoughtful and considered about things. As a young person I was very full on, making decisions without thinking of the consequences. I was unsettled, always looking for the next best thing. I approach things now with a lot of thought, I’ll always sleep on things before making a decision.
To me, the worst era for hair was, without a doubt, the 80s. Just think about that Flock-Of-Seagulls hair… it really wasn’t great. The best eras for hairdressing were the 70s. The 70s was such a great time for learning, everything was so new in the development of hairdressing, so everything felt exciting and fresh and revolutionary.
Hairdressing is a wonderful trade because it’s part of a feel-good industry and the fact that it’s fashion-adjacent makes it all the more fun. Our academy experienced a massive surge of applicants after lockdown because, all of a sudden, it felt like there weren’t as many jobs out there, and hairdressing and makeup both felt like viable options. Seeing all the trainees coming through our academy, I feel really optimistic. What I’m focusing on at the moment is really trying to help people realise that they can have a varied career and an amazing future in this industry.
I think entrepreneurship is in your DNA, I’ve always been a goer, a leader good and bad. But having a strong sense of self-esteem is really important. I’m pretty fearless when it comes to some shit. People at work will affirm that, but that’s also part of being a good entrepreneur.
The advice I give to any person coming into this career, particularly the young ones, would be to focus on learning learning learning. Put your feet on the ground and keep your vision and your dreams alive and don’t let things get in the way of you achieving what you set out to. I always say to the students at the academy, the only person who will get in the way of you not achieving what you want, is you.
Being defined by a career can be hugely liberating for people who are happily employed. But for some, finding their true calling via a fulfilling vocation can come later in life than expected. With a hugely successful career in a multinational tech company already well established, Emma Lewisham did the unthinkable and left to launch her eponymous skincare brand.
Based on the underlying principle of producing ethical products that offered proven results without any nasty additives, her skincare line was born from extensive research, backed by science. The brand’s stratospheric rise has seen it recognised globally in the notoriously tough-to-crack beauty industry.
Here, the entrepreneur talks about her journey so far and reveals some of the lessons she has learned on the road to redefining beauty.
I was on track to be the first female CEO of a multinational tech company before leaving to start Emma Lewisham. I worked there for eight years and worked my way up from an entry-level marketing role to leading marketing and strategy for New Zealand, becoming one of the few women in the company’s global strategy group. The culture there was very traditional and very male-dominated, so I had to work really, really hard to get to where I did, but the experience helped me better understand everything that goes into running a company, from operations to product development to customers.
Looking back, I can’t really believe I left. I was on a clear path in my career and it took a big leap of faith to leave that behind. Lots of people questioned my decision, but I think what it came down to was a belief in me that there was something that needed to happen in the beauty space. I can’t explain it, but it felt significant enough to turn me away from an opportunity that would have been a real trajectory.
I’ve never been able to just put up with things I don’t believe in. I’m willing to walk away from things that don’t feel right. At that company, I had proven that it was possible to overcome the norm, and when I found myself in a place where I had to decide whether I wanted to continue pushing past that glass ceiling, I chose to trust my instincts instead, and move in a completely different direction.
Most people don’t know how unregulated the beauty industry in New Zealand is. The last major changes to New Zealand’s beauty regulations were close to 100 years ago, despite research proving how important skincare is to our overall health. The seeds of creating my own line were sown when I learned that a product I’d been using contained a known carcinogen. It was an ingredient that had also been used in products for cleaning sewer pipes. It was so unsafe that it had been banned in Europe and Japan, and my doctor told me to stop using the product immediately. But when I tried to find safe skincare alternatives that were natural but that also had evidence-backed results, they didn’t exist. It became clear that natural, non-harmful ingredients came at the compromise of results.
Beauty can be really harmful for the planet too. It has always been important that what I created was not only uncompromising on the health of people but also, that of the planet. I wanted to establish a new sustainable way forward from the ‘take-make-dispose’ model of beauty. I want Emma Lewisham’s legacy to be about the positive impact we had on people and the planet — to change the beauty industry for the better.
I had to be the change I wanted to see. This meant building my brand from the ground up and creating a line of 100 percent clean, natural products that would be as results-based (if not more so) than their non-natural counterparts. Proving you don’t have to compromise performance for natural products. The Emma Lewisham brand was three years in the making, because a lot of the work we were doing was pioneering in the skincare industry.
Self doubt does come in sometimes, and I wonder what on earth I’m doing, but that’s why it was so important to start Emma Lewisham by validating the need in the market for our product. And doing thorough research. It’s one of the things I’ve found I can always come back to. Holding that purpose and belief close is what gets me through tough times. Remember, you can have the best looking brand out there, but if you don’t do that early research, you’ll only go so far.
Having good people around me was instrumental at the start. Catherine de Groot was one person who helped me early on by giving me the confidence that I was on the right path, as she had been on a similar one. I also found a sounding board in Sir Noel Robinson (business hall-of-famer) who’s actually a family member but is now the chairman of our board.
It’s important to be tenacious, to think critically and to problem-solve creatively. I set out to redefine beauty and inspire our customers to do better, so it’s been crucial to have a never-say-die attitude. My friends would describe me as the most driven person they know. I just have a fire in me that doesn’t let me believe things are impossible. I’m not someone who rolls over, and it’s really important that I don’t when it comes to my brand because there have been a lot of hurdles in getting to where we are. Emma Lewisham skincare was built on this idea of determination in the face of doubt. Everyone said the Skin Reset Serum would be impossible to create, but thankfully we’ve proved them wrong.
What we are creating is truly so challenging. To develop high-performing, luxurious products that are 100 percent natural is known in the beauty industry as the hardest standard to meet. Rarely have all three been achieved all at once. So the road was a long one. There’s a reason most brands use synthetics and silicones; they’re much cheaper and more predictable in the lab. When you’re using natural waxes and emulsifiers the first challenge is getting them to feel as luxurious as the synthetic versions. That alone, was a lot. Striking the balance of something that absorbed into the skin and didn’t feel sticky while using natural ingredients that each have a life of their own, was really time consuming. It took 52 iterations, to get the Skin Reset Serum to feel how I wanted it to feel. That, combined with the high concentration of actives we wanted to have in every product and it was just curveball after curveball. One of the keys to getting this right was the fact that we told our scientists not to worry about the price of ingredients. We just wanted the best product. So we had the scope to source some of the most innovative ingredients globally. Which ultimately got us over the line.
I was always encouraged by my father to be my own person, to ask difficult questions and to stand up for what’s right, even if it’s unpopular. This advice has been a theme throughout my life, especially in my career over the last ten years, and it’s stood me in good stead for where I am today.
My grandmother was one of the first female CEOs in New Zealand and she has been a huge inspiration to me. She is incredibly hardworking and she never bought into the belief that she was any less equal than her male counterparts. She knows how to hold her own and she has an incredible inner confidence that I always looked up to. I would talk to her when I was working in my previous job and would be in meetings where there were 100 men in the room and I’d be one of two or three women. Me being in my late 20s, it was daunting sometimes, even though I knew I’d worked hard and that I deserved to be there, and I’d often have to deal with the men questioning my judgement or dismissing my thoughts. But she always reminded me to stand my ground and remember my worth. She’s 89 now and still working and doing incredible things.
In a crisis, I call my husband first. He was working as a lawyer but now he’s come to work with me at Emma Lewisham and to help with our daughter so that we can have that work-family balance. He’s very methodical and grounded and a real asset to me personally and professionally.
Commercial success doesn’t have to come at the cost of the planet or its inhabitants. I’ve always been impressed by business leaders who recognise this in the way their companies operate. Two New Zealanders that come to mind are Tim Brown from Allbirds and Maggie Hewitt from Maggie Marilyn. This was also the idea behind our Emma Lewisham Beauty Circle, where we teamed up with TerraCycle to incentivise people to recycle their empty beauty containers. It’s all about encouraging a more closed-loop system. Our goal is to be 100 percent circular by 2021.
Early on, I set my ownmanifesto for what success looks like to me, so every decision I make has to align with that. I think it was because I had my first child at the same time as I launched my business and the traditional measures of success — money, power, titles — didn’t feel like they were driving me. I try to live authentically in the moment and to always have meaningful connections with my husband, my daughter and my close friends. Having my own definition of success from the start of this journey has been so important. It’s easy to get lost in your career, or to let it define you and that’s when you can lose sight of what true success really is.
It’s so important to wear a broad spectrum SPF30+ every single day — even in winter. Skin ages because collagen and elastin fibers break down. Exposure to UV speeds up this process. If you want to keep your skin looking and feeling as young as possible, you absolutely need a moisturiser with SPF incorporated into the formula.
If history has taught us anything about how fashion will emerge from Covid-19, it’s to never underestimate its resilience. Fashion, despite being an industry that is often eulogised at the first sign of economic downturn, is on a path to greater things — and it certainly won’t be wearing sweatpants when it gets there.
World War I and the Spanish Flu of 1918 saw the explosion of creativity and the glamorous flapper style of the 1920s. World War II gave rise to an era of inimitable elegance (think Christian Dior’s iconic New Look). The Vietnam War prompted fashion to be used as protest, and in its fragmented wake was left the hedonistic beginnings of disco. Time and time again, when humans have faced hardship, fashion has become a channel through which to divert our residual angst, displacement, relief and gratitude. And it’s no different now.
For those of you extolling our recent lockdowns for the way its work-from-home nature changed what was deemed ‘appropriate’ office attire, all I’m going to say is enjoy your tracksuits while you can. It’s true that Covid-19 has ushered in an age of leisurewear, while many high-end brands and retailers have struggled, but there also seems to be a sense of optimism bubbling under the surface of luxury fashion — the positive promise of necessary change.
Dior’s New Look ‘bar suit’ from 1947
Pre-pandemic, the fashion industry had (in many ways) been stripped of its essence; compromising its inherently creative nature for the sake of sales and wider industry interests. Now, the question has become one of whether designers and consumers can return to the art at the centre of it all. As Anna Wintour recently articulated in a conversation with Naomi Campbell for the model’s YouTube show, “we need to celebrate the art of fashion, and the design of fashion. And maybe we just need to all slow down and enjoy it much more, and not always be saying ‘what’s new?, what’s next?’”
This idea of a return to creativity and a renaissance of glamour (glamour in its most elegant, timeless, expressive form mind you) is being indicated through the optimistic designs of some of the collections unveiled earlier this year; their sparkling textures, joyful tones and focus on luxury with a practical twist, all central to the idea that ‘dressing up’ isn’t dead. How could it be?
As we again get used to life with, if not yet fully, partially eased restrictions, we find ourselves in a position to start dressing up again, to consider how we will support the future of fashion in this country and to embrace the creative freedom that fashion gives us to express who we are, and how we feel. That isn’t to say that ‘dressing up’ means continuing the rampant consumerism that got fashion into a mess in the first place. It simply speaks to an idea, it expresses optimism for the future and it points to the way fashion will be used to symbolise the new attitudes of a new era (as it has done for generations).
Cher, Elton John and Diana Ross pictured in 1975, at the height of the disco era
Clothes capture a moment in time by giving it physical form. By virtue of the way they express an individual’s identity, they also serve to reflect our experiences. And when experiences are collective, they come to symbolise significant societal change. Now that the flaws of the fashion industry have been laid bare, designers are reacting by returning to craft. They are creating clothes that don’t play by the old rules, balancing the principles of luxury with more practical considerations and encouraging us to stop viewing fashion through the trend-driven lens of ‘newness.’ In this way, we can hopefully discover a new kind of glamour, indulge in sartorial self-expression and make more conscious, creative decisions around getting dressed.
As Marc Jacobs said to British Vogue Editor, Edward Enninful, “creating isn’t done in a vacuum or a bubble. It might be done within the bubble of our fashion world, but it is the stimulation of the entire world that is the catalyst, that gives us the drive and the energy and the passion to create…. it [creativity] will never stop — it’s absolutely essential.”
With designers changing their modus operandi and collections starting to indicate a reaction to the austere and casual styles we have all been touting for months, how will we not want to dress up in all our finery when this pandemic is over? How can we not be optimistic about a future that includes a more conscious, considered and caring fashion landscape?
When we’re twirling around a dance floor dressed in sequins that throw dappled light onto the bodies around us, our joy will be all the more palpable when it’s born from recent memories of a time when we couldn’t dance, when sequins could only be seen (and definitely not appreciated) by our cat, or a nosy neighbour. And so, as we once again face down a global threat, we must keep in mind the power of fashion to be a harbinger of change; the cock-a-doodle-do at the dawn of a new era.
Ben Bayly keeps himself somewhat under the radar. Known for creating versatile menus that balance international influences with local flavours, Bayly’s particular style of wholesome cuisine has been honed over years of experience working in Michelin-star kitchens in London and Paris, and immersing himself in the culture of places like Northern Italy.
Not one to forget his roots, Bayly has built a respected name for himself in New Zealand for both the award-winning restaurants he has helmed, and now, the ones he has established himself: The Grounds in Henderson, Aosta in Arrowtown and most recently, Ahi in Commercial Bay. But, despite Bayly’s accolades, his approach is grounded in hard work and celebrating the simple things — friends, family, and creating experiences that are truly fulfilling — which is why his food continues to resonate long after the tables have been cleared.
Aosta
Restaurants tend to be a risky investment, so running them successfully is all about understanding how the financials actually work. A lot of people can make nice food, but turning that into a commercial reality is another thing. When I was in my 20s, I focused on working in the best restaurants I possibly could. In my 30s I was trying to make a name for myself. And now, in my 40s, it really has become about understanding the ins and outs of how a restaurant operates.
That’s the greatest challenge. You need to know how much you’re spending daily and how much you’re taking daily, because if you’re not able to be nimble around spending, and you leave it too late, the horse will have already bolted. So it’s about constantly making sure you’re not going backwards… and if you are going backwards, doing something about it, fast. It creates an interesting juxtaposition between seeing dollar signs above everything you do and still putting love into your dishes, keeping one eye on the money and one eye on the creative and experiential side. The risk versus reward is not great, which is why you just have to love it.
I’ve had to learn to be good with money. You might be the best chef in the world but when you’re opening your own business you have to be able to find a way of raising the capital to get it off the ground. So you should start as early as you can. So, when you’re working at a restaurant, start figuring out how it makes money. Ask yourself how it can afford to pay your wages? As an employee, be super proactive in helping the restaurant you work for be successful. Learn the prices of everything, from pork belly to chives, to bottles of wine and work out how much that bottle of wine has to be sold for to pay the rent and to pay the staff. And when you start to understand that and you start to run your costs right, and you make your mistakes using other people’s money, you’ll be in a much better position to go out on your own.
If you’re working in a restaurant, and have aspirations of owning your own one day, I’d advise you to walk into your work and pretend you own it. Just walk in the door and say, ‘this is my restaurant’ and approach your work through the lens of an owner. And if you do that for a few years before you open your own place, you’ll be fine. That, combined with working at the best restaurants possible, with the best people possible, who will teach you. If you’re keen to know.
Photo: Jeremy Hooper
I want to scale up. I’ve never been interested in having a small, 20-seat-type place in a back alley somewhere. That’s not to criticise that, or say there’s a right or wrong way to run a restaurant, but that’s just not what works for me. What I often suggest is for people to think about how to build something where they can create small incomes from multiple places and diversify their income. I’ve got my Italian restaurant down South, I’ve got my family one out West and now I’ve really got my dream restaurant, Ahi, where I feel I can really express myself, so that’s probably enough, for now.
I love the freedom of working for myself. That was the main appeal of owning my own restaurants. I love not having to answer to anyone (to a degree) and having freedom around time and finances. But that does come with its own risks.
I always say to my guys, open your own restaurant, I’ll help you, I’ll teach them what I know because I know that when I’m showing them these things, my restaurant will be in better hands. (Even if it might only be for a short time.)
Looking back, I’m happy with the way my life has played out — no regrets. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be right now than New Zealand. I always thought that I wanted to travel more, but the regrets that I thought I would have as I grew older have dulled, and I’m much more aware that there is actually a silver lining to everything. You can’t sit around wishing you did something. There’s a path for everybody and you just have to follow it. I’m quite a driven person and I really don’t know why. But I am, so I’m always trying to do something.
Success in this industry is 80 percent attitude, 20 percent talent. If you’re a young person and you’re wondering whether this is something you’d be interested in, it’s an amazing career. But you need to have the right attitude. If you do, you’ll go far. It’s like that old saying about eating an elephant. How do you eat it? One bit at a time. You slowly earn things and become better at things, but it’s certainly an industry that requires determination and a bit of courage. I don’t consider myself very successful yet but I am tenacious, hardworking and not afraid of failing, which has helped.
Between age 16 and 30 I was lucky enough to work with some great head chefs who pushed, encouraged, bollocked and inspired me. These days I don’t have to look much further than my wife and kids for inspiration and motivation. I’ve also been working alongside our Executive Chef Mike “The Russian’’ Shatura for 12 years now and we’re still going strong.
I spent 10 years living and breathing the food culture of different countries and cooking their cuisines. It made me ask myself: what is New Zealand food? Kiwis are such well-travelled people (we’re like the Irish) and I think we don’t know the answer to that yet. It’s going to take time. There are a number of chefs and restaurateurs out there doing awesome ‘New Zealand’ food, so I think we’ll be closer to understanding what New Zealand cuisine is in a few years. As more people come back, the landscape of food here will change, especially as the next generation comes through. New Zealand is such a young country and we’ve been heavily influenced by migration (in the last hundred years we’ve grown dramatically in population and diversity) and while we might have hangi and pavlova and lamingtons and custard squares, we don’t really have our own ‘super-dishes’, or distinctly regional dishes. And it’s probably not something we’ll be able to determine for a while now.
Businesses that are brave, kind and have a social conscience are the ones that most impress me. Kōkako coffee is one that comes to mind, led by Mike Murphy who is someone that I’ve only just started to get to know. Now he’s providing the coffee at Ahi. I’ve also recently become involved with a company called Citizen, with similar values again around sustainability and waste and rescuing products and food that would usually end up in landfill.
Ahi
Both my grandfathers had boats and they would take all us grandkids fishing any chance they could get. From my perspective, if I had the money and the time to have a boat and do the same with my kids and grandkids, then I would consider myself successful.
I love watching shows like Chef’s Table on Netflix, not for the food necessarily but to listen to how the brains of these modern chefs work, how they create, what inspires them and what their eureka moment was.
Being motivated is just in me. I’m not really sure where it comes from but I always need to be busy doing something. Maybe it has something to do with my upbringing? My parents always worked really hard when I was growing up and nothing was taken for granted.
My brain is always “on.” But I love escaping into a podcast. I often find myself listening (selectively) to Joe Rogan, he has some really fascinating people on his show. I also listen to The New York Times podcast and I really love a show called Meateater. He’s a hunter and activist who’s actually all about protecting animals.
Late night snacking is my guilty pleasure. I know it’s bad for me but I love it. If I’m really hungry at night, I’ll always have two eggs, fried in butter and eaten with hot sauce and toasted tortillas. Then I’ll brush my teeth and go back to bed. I probably should just have a protein shake or something, I know that would be better for me… but the eggs taste so much better.
I love serving customers and being involved in the experiences they have at my restaurants. You have to love that process if you want to be successful in this industry. You want to always be striving to exceed customers’ expectations.
New York restaurateur Danny Meyer is someone I really admire. He says that you don’t have to be the best restaurant, you just have to be everyone’s favourite… I like that.
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