Art By Nature…With A Little Help

The legend of The Mermaids’ Tears says that sea glass is created by the tears of Mermaids cried for sailors lost at sea. Other myths say that Neptune banished a mermaid to the bottom of the ocean when she calmed the sea to save a Captain who lost his footing and fell overboard. Mermaids were said to call lost sea-men to themselves for eternity but this Mermaid interfered in human affairs and so was punished – banished – never to see her true love again. Seaglass is said to be the crystallised tears she cried for her Captain.

Whatever the case, this gorgeous natural glass is mysterious and beautiful. Canadian-born artist Michelle Amirault (now residing in Taranaki) is fascinated and in awe of nature’s creation and pours this love into creating exquisite and unique jewellery pieces with seaglass.

The process she employs is respectful of nature. She retrieves the glass which has been naturally tumbled by the sea and then rubs it with organic coconut oil to make the darker colours more transluscent. Next, Michelle either drills or gently wraps the glass with non-tarnish silver wire and sometimes adds small details like silver-wrapped Korus or tiny gemstones like Peridot, Hematite or Quartz.

Together, nature and Michelle have joined forces to bring you something extraordinary. If you would like to own your very own sea glass creation, they are available for a very reasonable price through www.nzgift.co.nz and www.toggle.co.nz .

Enjoy!

Annie xxx

OY!

For Bobby and Adriana Ferdian, art is an affair of the heart. The creative couple started out as high school sweethearts anwd 12 years and 1 baby later, they are the genius behind OY Prints.

OY is no ordinary art. It is Kiwiana without being cliché, humorous without being sarcastic and incredibly well designed and completely unique. Their famous character ‘Kiwiroo’ is, yes, you guessed it, a cross between a Kangaroo and a Kiwi, Bobby describes it as an object as folklore, sort of like the Yeti or the Lochness Monster’ who only appears when ‘Ozzies and Kiwis call a truce!’. Hmmm, I’m not sure I like the idea of that, but I certainly like their art!

My favourite is the print pictured here. It is just the best of everything! Looking at it reminds me of being a child gazing up at a neat poster on my wall, imagining cool and magical lives for all of the characters. It is every bit as cool today.

Adriana and Bobby complement each other. Bobby, who has had a love of art since childhood, comes up with the designs while Adriana takes care of the admin side of things. But don’t be fooled into thinking that Adriana doesn’t have a key roll in OY. Bobby comes up with the idea, shows it to Adriana and “she gets back to me with a sarcastic opinion like “that sucks” or “that’s not funny” at which point Bobby argues but ends up giving in because “secretly I think she’s right.”

Both have other regular jobs and OY is in actual fact a sideline project which they work on when the inspiration hits them. Both Bobby and Adriana hope that OY becomes something they can do full-time. With the rate it’s going, I wouldn’t be surprised at all!

Check out the Ferdians’ pieces at www.toggle.co.nz.

FREE Atomic Coffee!

When you are sent a bag of free coffee there is, naturally, a sense of gratitude that wells up within you. So it is fair to assume that any write-up about the coffee company in question is going to be slightly biased and the report, somewhat favourable.

However, the moment I took my first whiff of Atomic’s ‘Veloce’ coffee beans I was sold.

I can only describe their Veloce blend as the most aromatic, dreamy and cheeky coffee I have ever tasted.

To ensure I truly was not swayed by Atomic’s fantastically cool bag design or the fact that this was 100% Fair Trade coffee, I decided to test the brew on my coffee connoisseur friends who would be completely honest.

Straight after the beans were ground, the coffee immediately went into the plunger (I highly recommend this practice) from which a beautiful sultry-sweet fragrance filled the air. As soon as everyone had taken their first mouthful it was evident that this was a true crowd-pleaser.

Coffee aficionado, Stephen, said it delicious because it was rich and strong without being bitter. His wife, Ann, summarised my thoughts exactly: Atomic’s Veloce is the “perfect coffee for everyone.”

It is neither too potent nor too weak, it is sweet yet sensual. It even stood in for the usual pre-dinner drink – the air still tinged with the excitement of a rare coffee find, and the three of us swirling and sniffing our coffee as if sampling a fine wine.

The best news is that you too can get a free bag of Atomic beans when you spend $50 or more on www.toggle.co.nz. And with Christmas around the corner it is the perfect excuse to buy an awesome gift from New Zealand’s coolest artisan website and a treat for yourself.

If you can’t wait to get your hands on a packet right now, New Zealand’s Atomic Coffee is available where all good coffee is sold.

Annie

Pacific Perfume

“A perfume is an intimate object; it is the reflector of the heart.” Emanuel Ungaro.

This philosophy has been the basis of the award-winning duo that is Francesca Brice and Kate Jason Smith, founders of Pacific Perfumes, and the philosophy that has just scored them a major Perfume award in New York, beating out a branch of Estee Lauder, for first place.

Pacific Perfumes, as amazing as they are, have never forgotten their humble beginnings.  Cue Greece, some 20 years ago.  Young mum, Francesca, wanted to live the Athenian dream but needed to find a creative way to fund it as jobs were scarce. She took in some hand-poured perfumes in small ceramic pots to a local souvenir store not expecting them not expecting to sell any. When she returned 3 months later the staff had been frantically trying to get hold of her to tell her that they had sold every pot!

Fast-forward to New Zealand in 2003 and Kate bumps into Francesca and as the two talk, Kate takes out a small ceramic pot and describes her love for the perfume container she bought in Greece some years ago. “Surely this couldn’t be one of mine!” Francesca said – but indeed it was!

Today the two hand-make the most exquisite Pacific-inspired hand-poured perfumes and soaps.  The Artisan perfume range is a 100% natural pure botanical perfume. The range is deliciously warm and sensual, fascinating yet sophisticated. Some contain extremely valuable and prized ingredients such as the Biblical Frankincense. The original range is created from essential oils and fragrance compounds (man made) and blended into a creamy solid base.

Now I like perfume but I wouldn’t say it is a great passion of mine.  That is until I tried some samples of these perfumes for myself! I have been completely won over by Love the Mango and Pacific Goddess.  The first reminded me of what I can only call a mango and honey nectar and the second with it’s delightful floral and fruity notes took me straight back to my honeymoon in Rarotonga some years ago.

I could go on and on about the delightful reusable wooden pod which contains each understated yet delightful fragrance and also about the incredible packaging that can be transformed into a cool pop-up designer palm tree.  I could mention the stand-out articles in The Herald on Sunday or Urbis magazine or the fact that their retro-look soap packets are designed by none other than Café L’Affarre designer, Donna Cross.

But at the very reasonable price of $28 for a synthetic based perfume or $55 for a 100% natural one, you can experience this magic for yourself!

Treat yourself to a little Pacific Perfumes indulgence on Toggle: http://www.toggle.co.nz/pacific-perfumes.html

Annie