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It's a commonish bird, but I'm stoked to finally get what I consider to be a good shot of a dunnock (Prunella modularis). Normally they are hopping around on the ground, which I don't think makes for as nice a shot as a perching bird. It's amazing how fussy I've become … View moreIt's a commonish bird, but I'm stoked to finally get what I consider to be a good shot of a dunnock (Prunella modularis). Normally they are hopping around on the ground, which I don't think makes for as nice a shot as a perching bird. It's amazing how fussy I've become considering I didn't even know they existed two years ago - everything small and brown was a house sparrow. Now I've got my eye in I can see they are quite different.
The bellbirds, aka korimako, have been into the tree fuchsias. I saw two today with their faces covered in purple snort. It is lovely having lots of bellbirds in the Hutt. I put out a bowl of sugar water and they like to stop by for a sip (as do the little wax-eyes, aka tauhou).
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Found on Riverside Drive, Alcatel cellphone 2 degrees network. Saturday at around 3.45pm. Please contact me and I will return it to you on proof that you can unlock it. The battery is at 12% so you have limited time to call it. I will hold the phone until Monday when it will be dropped at the … View moreFound on Riverside Drive, Alcatel cellphone 2 degrees network. Saturday at around 3.45pm. Please contact me and I will return it to you on proof that you can unlock it. The battery is at 12% so you have limited time to call it. I will hold the phone until Monday when it will be dropped at the Lower Hutt Police Station.
Hello everyone,
It is National Grandparents Day today. Share your stories about your grandparents and we might publish it in our next newsletter.
Have you been celebrating the day in a special way?
Wellington Airport is currently calling for tenders for the Airport Flyer bus service.
Hutt South MP Chris Bishop is taking an interest in the process and is advocating for a service running from Lower Hutt.
He lists his priorities as.
1. Making sure there is a direct Hutt-Airport bus service.
2. … View moreWellington Airport is currently calling for tenders for the Airport Flyer bus service.
Hutt South MP Chris Bishop is taking an interest in the process and is advocating for a service running from Lower Hutt.
He lists his priorities as.
1. Making sure there is a direct Hutt-Airport bus service.
2. Ensuring it accepts Snapper and appears on the real-time boards. In time, it should be part of the integrated ticketing network too.
3. He does not care if it is a commercial or a subsidised service run by the regional council.
What would you like to see and who should pay for it?
Today is the International Day of Older Persons! It's an important day for everyone to recognize and say thank you to older people for their amazing contributions to the world, from mentoring and volunteering, to sharing experience, being in paid work and much more.
To acknowledge the … View moreToday is the International Day of Older Persons! It's an important day for everyone to recognize and say thank you to older people for their amazing contributions to the world, from mentoring and volunteering, to sharing experience, being in paid work and much more.
To acknowledge the occasion, we have just released our October SuperSeniors Newsletter, you can read it here: bit.ly...
The day is also special as it marks the start of the WHO’s Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020 to 2030, you can find out more about it here: bit.ly...
The thickest and most resistant of all commercial natural fibres, coir is a coarse, short fibre extracted from the outer shell of coconuts.
Coconut coir or, “Coco coir”, is a very versatile resource that is harvested from a fibrous layer underneath the exterior shell of the coconut. Since… View moreThe thickest and most resistant of all commercial natural fibres, coir is a coarse, short fibre extracted from the outer shell of coconuts.
Coconut coir or, “Coco coir”, is a very versatile resource that is harvested from a fibrous layer underneath the exterior shell of the coconut. Since coconut growers consider it a waste product, its utilization is highly sustainable. You may have heard of coco coir being used in gardening, but there are many applications for it across multiple industries, beyond horticulture. Here are 10 interesting facts about coco coir that you probably didn’t know!
• Coco coir has many uses including in textiles, upholstery, making rope/fishing nets, environmental cleanup and horticulture, floor mats, doormats, brushes and mattresses.
• There is brown coco coir & white coco coir, each with different properties. When coconuts are ripe, they produce brown coir which is used in gardening and horticulture. White coir is harvested from unripe coconuts, and is much finer and lighter, it even floats on water. This makes it ideal for fishing nets, brushes, and finer textiles.
• Coco coir works well as a snail deterrent when used in the garden.
• Coco coir is highly absorbent and can hold up to 10x the water as peat moss. Some use it as a sustainable alternative to peat moss
• People often use coco coir as bedding in terrariums for snakes, lizards, turtles, and spiders.
• When used for gardening, coco coir is usually packed in a compressed brick. You need to soak the brick with water which allows it to expand substantially. You can then use it as a growing medium or potting mix additive.
• Coco coir contains very low levels of nutrients, so you can’t normally use it as the sole growing medium for plants, EXCEPT, you can use it for microgreens due to their extremely short grow cycle. This is because they don’t require soil nutrients. You also use coco coir in hydroponics since you add the nutrients directly into the water.
• You can re-use coco coir several times in gardening as it retains its properties over time.
• Because of its highly absorptive properties, people sometimes use coco coir to help clean up oil spills and other caustic fluids.
• People use coco coir in litter boxes and animal bedding because of its highly absorptive capabilities. It is much more sustainable than traditional clay cat litter pellets, which don’t break down. Coco coir also absorbs much more liquid than hay, straw, or newspaper which people often use as animal bedding.
These are just a few of the many interesting characteristics and applications of coco coir. In the spirit of sustainability, the utilization of coco coir is a sound environmental practice. Spread the word and take a step in a more sustainable direction.
Price Smart provides a good range of evergreen native plants at a competitive price. If you are looking for low maintenance and visually stunning local plants to complete your garden, we have them for you. Mini Toe Toe, NZ Iris, or Carex, and many more.
For inquiries about products and services … View morePrice Smart provides a good range of evergreen native plants at a competitive price. If you are looking for low maintenance and visually stunning local plants to complete your garden, we have them for you. Mini Toe Toe, NZ Iris, or Carex, and many more.
For inquiries about products and services Give us a call at 027 548 9818 or email us at info@rpicesmart.co.nz.
Resene and Your Home & Garden are on the lookout for the most stunning interior or exterior colour scheme created with Resene paints to be featured in Your Home & Garden magazine.
Monthly winners win $250 of Resene paint vouchers and the grand winner $5000 cash!
What we are looking … View moreResene and Your Home & Garden are on the lookout for the most stunning interior or exterior colour scheme created with Resene paints to be featured in Your Home & Garden magazine.
Monthly winners win $250 of Resene paint vouchers and the grand winner $5000 cash!
What we are looking for:
Clever interior colours
Inventive paint projects
Exciting exterior paint
Entries are now open!
How to enter:
Email photos and a 200-word or more description of your space to yhg@bauermedia.co.nz with your last name and ‘Resene Colour Home’ in the subject line. Please include your name, home address, email address, daytime phone number, the names of the Resene colours used, and details of when your space was painted. Please credit anyone who assisted you in choosing your colours. The five finalists will each appear in Your Home and Garden, starting from the December issue. Every finalist will receive a $250 Resene voucher and a feature in the magazine, with the winner taking out the Resene Colour Home Awards and $5000 cash. An extended story on the winning home will feature in the June 2021 issue.
The Fairy Bricks charity donated boxes full of LEGO to Hutt Hospital's Children's Ward.
Fairy Bricks, a long-standing partner of the LEGO Group, donates more than 40,000 LEGO sets to hospitals and hospices each year.
"We are very appreciative of this generous donation," said … View moreThe Fairy Bricks charity donated boxes full of LEGO to Hutt Hospital's Children's Ward.
Fairy Bricks, a long-standing partner of the LEGO Group, donates more than 40,000 LEGO sets to hospitals and hospices each year.
"We are very appreciative of this generous donation," said Tania Pitama, the ward's play specialist.
“LEGO is a wonderful distraction, and provides a normal everyday activity for children in hospital. It is also really easy to maintain and clean, and is great for those who are unable to get out of bed. We can also use the LEGO as gifts for children having birthdays or if a child is having a particularly hard time during their hospital stay.”
The Wellington Lego User Group (Well-LUG) delivered the LEGO to the ward last week. Their group has fund-raised over $85,000 for different charities over the past five years.
"We hold many events that help fundraiser for charities," said Jay Horne, president of the Well-LUG group. "However, our fundraising events this year have been postponed due to COVID-19. We saw this donation as another avenue where we could help. We are all very grateful to Fairy Bricks for helping to make a difference to sick children's lives.”
“Fairy Bricks recognises the essential role of play in a child’s recovery process. LEGO provides a degree of comfort and distraction for children and their whānau in hospital.”
Good News makes us feel good! It could be a colourful new art installation, a special new community garden project, a business doing something a little different or a missing kitty that's finally been reunited with its worried owners...
If something's happening in your neighbourhood … View moreGood News makes us feel good! It could be a colourful new art installation, a special new community garden project, a business doing something a little different or a missing kitty that's finally been reunited with its worried owners...
If something's happening in your neighbourhood that's made you happy spread some joy and let your neighbours know all about it.
Head to the Good News page to share your good news and we'll reward the best entries with a $100 Prezzy® card each week (plus there's spot prizes for supportive neighbours and entertaining banter!) Get involved!
Use tongue and groove landscaping timber and fence palings to create a stylish mini deck finished in Resene Woodsman wood stain.
Make the most of this weekend with this step by step project idea from Resene. Find out how to create your own
This is your final chance to grab our FREE 3-month Premium Business Listing
Usually $150, your 3-month Premium Listing enables you to reach thousands of people who live around your business! Find friendly locals who want your services, introduce your team and share what makes you stand out from… View moreThis is your final chance to grab our FREE 3-month Premium Business Listing
Usually $150, your 3-month Premium Listing enables you to reach thousands of people who live around your business! Find friendly locals who want your services, introduce your team and share what makes you stand out from the rest.
There's no catches and no hidden fees. It's just our small way of saying thank you for playing such an essential part in our communities.
Spring is a great time to get active on Neighbourly so grab your FREE 3 Month Premium Business Listing now
*This is a limited time offer
Why we have an endless fascination with mid-century modern. There’s just something about mid-century design (MCD) that captures the imagination. The architecture is emblematic, exciting, and nostalgic. It’s close enough in our history to feel familiar, yet far enough away to be inspirational.
… View moreWhy we have an endless fascination with mid-century modern. There’s just something about mid-century design (MCD) that captures the imagination. The architecture is emblematic, exciting, and nostalgic. It’s close enough in our history to feel familiar, yet far enough away to be inspirational.
We live in such a completely different way, that interiors of the 50s, 60s and 70s are responding to social behaviours and cues that are no longer the norm, so there’s something contradictory yet enthralling. It touched our generation, our parents, and grandparents, near enough to be real in a way that period antiques of the early 20th century and older, seem more relic-like – exciting sure, but less tangible somehow, coming from a world we can’t really imagine.
MCM exists in the post war world, reflecting a vibrant period of social, technological and political change where design was ground-breaking, architecture brave and sculptural. To those who may have felt that mid-century, retro design has been a passing fad, sit back down! Mid-century style continues to inspire and excite showing its face in new architecture and interior design.
As such, the choice to invest in or keep an original piece of mid-century design is a sound one. Not only are you engaging with something the interior world considers usable in perpetuity, you are continuing a legacy of stewardship and conservation of an important part of our design heritage.
In a world where capitalism has spent our lives teaching us to consume and discard, we are now moving rapidly towards an ideal of longevity and sustainability. So, when you make the decision to ‘adopt’ a classic piece of design, you are giving it another chance to invigorate an interior, and careful consideration to its conservation opens up a world of upholstery opportunities.
There are several main fabric types that seem to perpetuate and have the “flavour” or sentiment of mid-century style whilst also being suitable for upholstery. Simple textures allow the shape of a piece to stand out, warm wools will hug the shapes of these designs, while boucle feels completely relevant to this period.
Fortunately, there are a lot of careful and respectful retailers and upholsterers devoted to the maintenance and celebration of these stunning pieces.
Over the next few weeks we will hear from local upholsterers and retailers of MCD furniture who are equally as passionate about the style and their process for restoring these popular pieces of furniture.
With locations in Sydney and Auckland the owners of Tangerine and Teal Sasha and Vanessa were raised in a home surrounded by art and likely learned their appreciation for a cultivated aesthetic. Some of the well-known brands you may find with Vanessa in Auckland include Otto Larsen, Don, Jon Jansen, and Parker and in Sydney with Sacha you are likely to find Fler, Snelling, Featherston, Parker and Wrightbuilt.
What do you love about mid-century furniture and design?
Simple clean lines and great design feature in the majority of MCM furniture pieces, they are timeless in design and look great mixed in with contemporary pieces to give character and nostalgia to your home.
What items are you always looking out for?
We don’t import furniture from overseas and instead focus our search locally for interesting pieces by local New Zealand and Australian designers who are often underrated on the world stage but have great designs. Recently Vanessa restored and sold a lovely sideboard by New Zealand designer Rudi Schwarz and here in Sydney I just sold a rare dining suite by George Korody.
How did you come to select the fabrics for these stunning pieces?
The Mokum Mondrian Noir was selected for the pair of Parker furniture armchairs, originally these 60s chairs were always produced with wool cushion covers so the construction was a good fit. The Mondarian style black and white pattern is synonymous with the era and compliments the simple lines of the chairs.
The Piet Blanc was selected by our clients to reupholster their 70s Tessa armchairs. The luxurious soft texture in the white colour suited the stuffed cushions and brought luxury and style to the chairs in their setting overlooking the ocean in the northern beaches.
Quality and good design will stand for as long as we continue to look after and celebrate it. Classic pieces will transcend movements of the moment and will continue to add quirk and personality to your interior.
It also reminds us that new pieces bought now can be considered an investment, a collectible of the future, something to be treasured and enjoyed. As such, it’s important to consider with new furniture, buying pieces that evoke something in you – don’t think about fashion or trend, this is something you will be using and looking at daily for years to come, so compromise should not be an option! It should be a decision you are EXCITED about making.
Buying from reputable manufacturers, designer/makers and brands who stand by their quality and craftsmanship will ensure longevity – a legacy piece that generations of the future will be able to re-love, refurbish, and be inspired by.
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