Putting a luxury spin on a very familiar summer wardrobe staple, these laser-cut flip flops by Italian-made brand Carlotha Ray are so pretty, they’re almost too good for the beach.
Made from sustainably-sourced rubber, they’re a feminine take on the humble jandal, a shoe that has been re-adopted by the fashion set and on runways for the past few seasons as a chic and minimal sandal option for every day.
Founded by designer Mariela Schwarz Montiel, the scalloped silhouettes and delicate perforations of Carlotha Ray shoes are inspired by porcelain and the filigree metal architecture in the garden of her home in Limoges, France.
Sustainability is important to the designer, with each and every shade of the sandals naturally dyed with Earth-friendly materials. The likes of medicinal herbs and flowers are used, as well as plants like olive, pomace, artichoke, pepper, pomegranate, almond and walnut husks, and soil and vegetable carbon.
While there’s no denying our hearts (and stomachs) will forever be fond of a good eggs Benedict and a fat stack of pancakes, there’s nothing quite like taking your taste buds for a test drive. From croffles to mushroom doughnuts, these eateries are dishing up some of the most innovative brunch fare in Auckland.
Winona Forever Come for the cabinet treats, stay for brunch at Parnell’s popular Winona Forever cafe. Alongside offerings like soft shell crab bruschetta and lemon goat cheese omelette, you’ll find the insanely decadent seasonal pavlova, served with prosecco elderflower fruit jelly and heaps of seasonal fruit. A scoop of sorbet seals the deal.
The Candy Shop Newmarket’s The Candy Shop is the winner of Denizen’s inaugural Hospo Heroes Most Innovative Brunch award, and for good reason. Every item on the menu is a step above, with the croffles (yes, that means croissant waffles) coming with vanilla ice cream, chocolate crumbs and the option to add maple fried chicken. Drool.
Bestie Taking prime position in the back of St Kevins Arcade, a spot in Bestie’s sunny atrium may just be the best way to start the day. Bold and never boring, the menu features deliciously clever dishes, with the ‘Roast Dinner’ providing a cheeky take on a traditional favourite with corned beef, housemade hash cake, poached eggs, crispy Brussels sprouts, lemon sage stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Wild mushroom doughnuts from Honey Bones
Honey Bones Like bees to honey, you’ll find both locals and hungry visitors migrating to Grey Lynn’s Honey Bones seven days a week for a taste of its inventive Middle Eastern-inspired menu. In a step up from classic mushrooms on toast, the wild mushroom doughnuts are nestled on a bed of whipped Persian feta with basil and zhug (a fresh, herby hot sauce). Be sure to add a perfectly poached egg.
Simon & Lee Parnell’s Simon & Lee is the place to be for brunch, especially if you lean towards the lunch side of the portmanteau. Executing Modern Korean fare with undisputed expertise, Simon & Lee’s menu spans smashed peas on Freedom loaf and eggs Benedict with kimchi, to baos, dumplings and some of the best fried chicken in town.
Little Bird Arguably the most innovative of them all, Little Bird perform all matter of delicious alchemy to create the raw, plant-based dishes that are served daily at its Ponsonby outpost. Chickpea and kimchi pancakes, lentil dosa and savoury herb waffles with cashew hollandaise are just some favourites.
Williams Eatery’s bone marrow toast
Williams Eatery Don’t consider a stroll around Wynyard Quarter without pencilling in a brunch date at Williams Eatery. Sun-soaked and family-run, Williams draws on Lebanese and Italian flavours to create its delicious all-day menu, of which the bone marrow toast with smoked eggplant and sourdough is a particular favourite.
Ozone Coffee Roasters We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — Ozone’s kedgeree is the dish that just keeps on giving. The Westmoreland Street coffee roasters do so much more than a good brew, with the aforementioned smoked fish kedgeree, field mushrooms with fermented chilli and Coromandel mussel fritters all offering a brunch experience above the usual.
OdettesEatery This City Works Depot favourite pumps from morning ’til night, with brunch being no exception. Experts at taking familiar favourites and elevating them to new heights, the prawn omelette with ricotta, spanner crab, fennel and lime oil is the perfect example of Odettes’ exceptional brunch offering.
With a vision to encourage technology to evolve as rapidly as its customers’ lifestyles, Samsung is acknowledging that now, people use their televisions for far more than, well, watching television. The evolution of the smart TV is something that Samsung has largely driven, pouring time and effort into researching and creating innovative products that make all of our lives easier. And this new release is set to continue the trend.
Recently announcing The Terrace and The Terrace Soundbar, Samsung has expanded its portfolio to create an entertainment system designed specifically for the elements. The Terrace is a robust, durable, 4K QLED television that is set to bring the entire experience of consuming TV indoors, to the outside — a bid by Samsung to utilise technology to further connect the spaces in a home.
The television itself offers a crystal-clear display thanks to anti-reflection and adaptive picture technology (allowing visibility without annoying glare), a brightness level of 2,000 nits (really bright) and a high motion rate, which makes it perfect for watching sports with friends or for tucking up with the family on a warm summer’s evening to watch a movie.
The Terrace’s accompanying Soundbar completes Samsung’s outdoor theatre offering, delivering a high-quality, rich sound thanks to its distortion-cancelling technology that promises to drown out environmental sounds.
Ballooning out from the body in a parade of sculptural forms, statement-making sleeves are shaping up to be this season’s must-wear style.
Whether you go full puff-ball in a dress that’s equally voluminous through the body and skirt, or focus on the arms while juxtaposing a sleek silhouette elsewhere, puffed sleeves are endlessly chic and available in myriad iterations.
Clockwise from left: Ballet blouse from Mahsa; Ganni tie neck shirt from Workshop; Bonita bodice from Paris Georgia; Beaufille rieu blouse from The Undone
While there’s nothing quite like melting into a delicious novel, you can’t beat the gripping appeal of a great non-fiction book. Eye-opening and educational, these recently-released works are sure to expand your horizons.
Belabored: A Vindication of The Rights of Pregnant Womenby Lyz Lenz A witty and irreverent defense of the autonomy of women, this book dives into how history, religion and culture have shaped the way we treat pregnant women, and makes an impassioned case for trusting them to choose how to treat their own bodies.
Caste: The Originsof Our Discontentsby Isabel Wilkerson Examining the underlying caste system that still holds sway in American society, this book’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning author examines the hierarchy of human division. Exhaustively-researched, revelatory and eye-opening, Caste takes us on a necessary journey below the surface.
Successful Agingby Daniel J. Levitin Debunking the age-old myth that ageing equals unhappiness, neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin outlines evidence-based tools around how we can embrace nature’s course, age joyously, and get the most from our lives.
The Sirens of Marsby Sarah Stewart Johnson Planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson taps into our fascination with the ‘Red Planet’ by tracing the history of humans’ search for life on Mars. Carefully crafted and superbly told, this beguiling book really holds a mirror up to our anxieties around being alone in the universe.
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Closeby Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman What does it actually take to nurture a friendship? Here, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman hilariously and honestly document the journey of their relationship over the last decade. Inspiring and entertaining in equal measure, this book asks us to reexamine how our own relationships are formed and preserved.
Vesper Flightsby Helen Macdonald Based around human connections with the natural world, Vesper Flights comprises a series of essays including accounts of wild boar, mushroom hunting, crane-watching in Hungary and the strange phenomena of birds’ nests. It is fascinating and informative, a study in observation from one of the world’s most respected nature writers.
Begin Again: James Baldwin’s Americaand Its Urgent Lessons for Our Ownby Eddie S. Glaude Jr. James Baldwin has been here before. Here, Glaude delves into Baldwin’s journey as a longstanding civil rights activist in an effort to highlight, as Baldwin did, a way to push forward even in the face of the disillusionment and despair around race in America.
Empty Planetby Darrell Bricker andJohn Ibbitson An award-winning journalist and a leading international social researcher make the provocative argument that, contrary to popular discourse, global population is on the brink of decline. Deeply-researched and utterly compelling, this book reimagines our demographic future, and offers guidance on how best to navigate its complexities.
An engagement ring is one of, if not the most, personal things we’ll ever wear. As the intention is for the wearer to be sporting their engagement ring for many years to come, the notion of choosing a ring that reflects the wearer and couple’s individuality is of utmost importance.
Harnessing this philosophy is local engagement ring company Nolan & Vada. Designed and handcrafted in New Zealand, with loved-up customers all over the world, Nolan & Vada specialises in coloured stone engagement rings, the demand for which is on the rise.
“We believe every person and couple is unique, and colour is so personal,” says the company’s founder Bharat Jain. “Our rings help people express this uniqueness, and help their individuality as a couple shine through.”
Colours hold powerful associations, helping us to channel a mood or celebrate a memory. Those who engage in colour therapy will know the power of various shades to manifest particular emotions, and what could be a more beautiful emotion to channel than love and commitment?
The team at Nolan & Vada uses sapphires to create their stunning, bespoke rings. While we all will be familiar with classic, royal blue sapphires, the stones present in various memorising shades: from deep, forest green to sparkling, blush pink. Each stone is rare and sure to appeal to those who eschew the conventional for something even more special.
Nolan & Vada is also a sound choice for those who keep environmental considerations top of mind. Its sapphires are hand-picked from reputable traders who prioritise earth-friendly practices, and most of the metals used are produced from recycled jewellery waste within New Zealand and Australia.
With 50 percent of the company’s sales coming from overseas, people all over the world are choosing Nolan & Vada for custom designs. “The most exciting journey is choosing the gemstones,’ says Bharat. The happy couple might choose a stone that matches one of their eye colours, and the Nolan & Vada team has even helped someone choose a ring that matches the colour of a prized bicycle.
“We work really hard to choose the right gems for the couple, and work around the design on the centre stone.”
Interestingly, in a recent study conducted by the jeweller, 40 percent of the women surveyed said they would seek out coloured gemstones as opposed to a diamond engagement ring. With such demand for their exquisitely designed and finished rings, the team at Nolan & Vada is excited to be growing their horizons, creating sparkling works of art from our corner of the world, helping couples all across the globe capture the essence of their love.
Refined yet sturdy, with linear and curved lines working in harmony, the Raoul server side tables are crafted to dress the home with sophisticated elegance, rendered with a rippling marble top and metal base. Its ingenious design cleverly overlaps a sofa or ottoman, providing effortless integration and practicality — a boon when versatility is a key consideration of the space.
Opera Contemporary offers fresh and appealing solutions for those looking to update their interiors with luxury furnishings, and represented in this is a bespoke viewpoint, blending tradition and innovation. Harnessing these ideals, the Raoul server side tables are able to be configured in a range of different shapes, sizes and finishes, offering tailored possibilities to the individual that make for exquisite additions to the contemporary home.
Local clean beauty pioneer Emma Lewisham is on a roll. Her eponymous range of luxurious, scientifically-backed skincare is renowned nation-wide for its high performing results that use 100 percent natural ingredients — from targeting pigmentation with the cult favourite Skin Reset Serum to the recently released Supernatural hydrating night range.
Now, the brand has turned its hand to another, very important, step in our skincare routines: cleansing. “I’ve wanted to release a truly efficacious, but 100 percent natural, cleansing range that was true to our brand’s core for many years,” says Lewisham. “I believe cleansing is often a second thought; people don’t place enough importance around properly cleansing and exfoliating. It’s the underdog of the skincare industry, and I’ve set out to change this.”
The latest additions to the product artillery are the Illuminating Oil Cleanser and Illuminating Exfoliant, both working hand in hand to encourage a radiant, clear visage.
The Illuminating Oil Cleanser is a daily go-to, containing 23 high performing actives that bathe the complexion with hydration and antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins. Aiming to detoxify, brighten and hydrate the skin’s complexion, the formula harnesses a signature blend of four prized flower enzymes that gently exfoliate away dead skin cells. It also transforms into a milky emulsion on contact with water, meaning its finish is residue-free, a boon in the world of oil cleansers.
Regular exfoliation is an important partner for daily cleansing. It helps to stimulate cell turnover, revealing smoother, fresher skin, and aids with product absorption.
Emma Lewisham’s Illuminating Exfoliant contains natural lactic acid (also known as AHA) derived from maize, and willow bark (BHA), functioning in tandem to break down the dead skin cells and excess sebum buildup. For those who like the feeling of a good scrub, round jojoba beads exfoliate the face physically yet gently, and wonder-ingredient Pentavitin replenishes hydration, holding 1000 times its weight in water.
From her clean ingredients to the positive environmental effects of her new refillable, recyclable Beauty Circle program, Emma Lewisham’s vision is considered every step of the way — and we (and our skin) are all the better for it.
If there’s any designer who’s going to entice us into new suit after being told for most of the year that leisurewear reigns supreme, it’s Helen Cherry.
The first drop of the prolific New Zealand designer’s summer 20 collection has launched, showcasing in abundance the easy elegance the brand is known for.
With Cherry’s trademark sharp tailoring receiving an update, we’re particularly drawn to the Rae blazer, an effortlessly sophisticated jacket that is anything but staid, thanks to its relaxed silhouette. Rendered in ink wool melange, a piece like this has myriad styling options for the nine-to-five and beyond.
Paired with the brand’s ever-popular Cigarette pant — also crafted in matching dark blue wool this season — and a shirt or T-shirt, it’s a look that commands instant polish. The Flynn pant is another versatile staple this season, featuring a wider, longer silhouette that lengthens the legs and hangs stylishly over the ankle.
Whether elevated with heels or finished with sneakers for casual cool, there’s no denying Helen Cherry’s suiting remains both a timeless and irresistible addition to the modern woman’s wardrobe.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, chances are you have heard about East Street Hall, the new collaborative venture from the hospitality maestroes behind Bar Céleste and Annabel’s wine bar — Nick Landsman, Emma Ogilvie and Henry Mitchell Temple.
Situated just off Karangahape Road on East Street, in what used to be the community hall of the Samoan Church, the soaring mid-century space is airy and light-filled, with an eye-catching colour palette curated by renowned interior designer Katie Lockhart and a large courtyard out the back.
Having been christened last week with one hell of an opening party, East Street Hall has already solidified its reputation as the place to go if you want to let loose — however, the culinary offering is anything but an afterthought.
Left; Spiced margarita and gin & tonic; Right: Charred kumara with crème fraîche and dill
The focus is on Jewish Israeli fare, a diverse cuisine loved by the East Street team for its freshness and vegetable focus. Being half Jewish, Landsman also grew up eating the style of food, simple yet delicious and varied, and both Ogilvie and Landsman ate a lot of it during their time living in Paris.
Helming the East Street kitchen is head chef Henry Onesemo, whose CV spans the likes of Apero, Lillius and Michael Meredith’s previous fine dining restaurant Meredith’s. When the team was deciding what cuisine to serve at this new venture, they looked at what was missing or could be added to within Auckland’s food-scape, and while Céleste and Annabel’s are both Euro-centric, a Mediterranean lean felt right for East Street — food that’s easy to share, moreish but also healthy, and goes well with a fresh, herbaceous cocktail.
Snacks span flatbreads, flavourful dips like baba ghanoush, capsicum tapenade, a daily hummus — the one we tried was fragrant with toasted fennel seeds — and spiced nuts. Small plates encompass a beautiful raw snapper dish with green chili, red onion, coriander and harissa; a falafel plate; Israeli chopped salad; and smoky, charred kumara, served with crème fraîche and dill.
Left; Beef short rib with cauliflower puree and jus; Right: Katie Lockhart-designed interiors
Larger dishes comprise a whole roast cauliflower, simple yet singing with savoury flavours, served with schug (a Mediterranean herby hot sauce) and tahini; chicken schnitzel; and a beef short rib. Rich and tender, the short rib is plated with a creamy, silken cauliflower puree and a deeply concentrated jus. The Pita section is sure to be a popular go-to, with fish, lamb and falafel options served with fresh herbs and sauces.
In-keeping with Céleste, and increasingly Annabel’s, East Street’s wine list features predominantly organic, natural wines, including an impressive selection of magnums — may we suggest the magnums are a clever ordering tactic if you’re with a group and want to cut down on time spent waiting for a drink. The spiced margarita is extremely moreish, as is the generously proportioned gin and tonic.
With a strong events focus, the team at East Street Hall is set on becoming a dynamic, cultural space, with DJ Soraya LaPread curating the music offering, and plenty of room to hold any number of happenings. And, even if your eventual goal is to let your hair down and have a boogie, with the excellent culinary offering we suggest you get there early enough for dinner.
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