lifestyle

Avenues, May 2010, 1100 words approx Screamers, blowers and tooters - the city has dozens of them. Brass is alive and kickin' in many guises. Kim Newth talks to some of Christchurch's bright young players about the lure of the big band. She's 22, good-looking and university-educated. She also spends hours every week blowing into a convoluted piece of plumbing to make exquisite music. Roseanna Dale, who plays tenor horn with Woolston Brass, is the contemporary face of the brass band scene in Christchurch. She plays principal horn in Woolston's A-grade band and has her sights firmly set on a top solo placing at national competitions in July. Roseanna is part of a rising generation of hot young talent embracing all that brass can offer. There's nothing fusty about these young men and women, who will tell you that it's hip to blow
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Avenues, May 2010, 1050 words approx Modernist living in Deans Avenue mixes minimalism, glass and light to make the most of a stunning Hagley Park location. Words Kim Newth  Photos John McCombe One side of Deans Avenue is pure old England, with its green expanse of venerable oak trees and grassy lawns. Across the road, a three-storey building of smooth rectangular design looks like something out of a French modernist sketchbook. This landmark building uses clever design to make the most of its park views and a compact 300sqm corner section. Katey Lane bought the property in June 2006, having previously lived on Carlton Mill Rd and in Helmores Lane. She loves the Hagley Park location. "I walk or run in the park pretty much every morning. I enjoy the feeling of being in this house. You can see the park from every window and it's such a changing landscape
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essence , April 2010, 700 words approx Words: Kim Newth Retiring to their dream home in Kaiapoi has been a real labour of love for Jim and Cecily Henderson. The couple first purchased their 1913 villa in Williams Street 20 years ago as a rental investment, but also as a future retirement property. At the time, they were living in South Westland where Jim worked as a sawmiller and carpenter. Four years ago, they made the move north to take up residence. In spite of ongoing maintenance over the years, the villa still needed plenty of work to make it a comfortable home for their retirement. "When we first moved in, it was pretty rough but I could see its potential. I'm used to wide open spaces and what I like about this property is that it's so quiet and private," says Cecily
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essence, 822 words, March 2010 Words: Kim Newth A love of the country led the Newel family to forsake suburban life in Kaiapoi for an acre of bare land in Leithfield. Five years ago, there was virtually nothing there but a line of established poplar trees and a whole lot of potential. For the first six weeks after moving, Sarah and Arnold along with their two kids Lucia and Fletcher - then aged eight and five years - lived in tents, waiting for a basic two bedroom cottage with double garage to be built. In fact, they also moved with two kittens and a Labrador puppy, so it must have been a fairly chaotic six weeks! The couple's third child, Lillian, was born in October 2008 (in the car ... but that's another story), so then the garage was converted into a third bedroom. Things were starting to get a bit crowded by this stage
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essence, 800 words, February 2010 It was more than a decade ago that I first wrote about this unique house in Fernside, dubbed "the eyebrow" by locals because of its distinctive arching frontage
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essence magazine, August 2009, 771 words. A stunning seaside view, combined with simple open-plan modern living, adds up to a near-perfect beach house for Gerry and Jennie Stone, of Waikuku
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Avenues Magazine, October 2008, approx. 1700 words. Kim Newth discovers a land of grapevines and boutique food as she explores the North Canterbury Food & Wine Trail. The fast-growing wine region of Waipara Valley is only a 40-minute drive north of Christchurch. Slip through Amberley and you’re there; the pastoral landscape changes abruptly. Tucked in the lee of the Teviotdale hills, vines spread out to the east and west ..
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Little Treasures, April/May 2009, pages 88-89. Use your imagination and recycle household rubbish into crafts kids will love By Kim Newth, photography ACPStudio
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Avenues Magazine , In Business , May 2009, 745 words. Words Kim Newth Photo John McCombe Rangiora chef Philippa Douglas knew she was on to a winner when, at the local farmers’ market, her first batch of gourmet dressings sold out in an hour and a half. That was in 2006. A year later, the enterprising chef was sure enough of her market to give up her job working for Seagars at Oxford. These days, she has a busy little home-based business, Pips Kitchen. The hub of her enterprise is a tidy commercial kitchen, tucked in next to the garage behind the home she shares with her husband, Carl, and their two children, aged 8 and 10 years
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essence magazine , July 2009, 1048 words. ‘Working from home’ is a particularly apt way of describing how Katy Morley-Hall manages her art, giftware and furniture restoration business, Amberley’s Zip Gallery..
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New Zealand Horse & Pony, October 2009, 658 words Award-winning photograph It was luck, rather than planning, that provided the ingredients for this award-winning image by Rangiora photographer Kevin Bowie. When Kevin saw his daughter, Leigh, start to chuckle at the way her horse was reacting to the bridle, he suddenly saw the opportunity for a great photo...
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essence, October 2009, approx. 1000 words Cob and camellias at Summerhill This is just one of 10 properties featured on an upcoming Historic Places and Gardens of Cust Garden Tour. One of the most striking features of an old rammed cob home is the thickness of its walls. There are few buidlings like these, dating from the 1860s, which are still being lived in. Walk into a cob-walled hallway and you are immediately aware of how solid and enduring it feels..
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essence, November 2009, approx 1200 words Renovation on the Rise at Kaiapoi Home renovation means different things to different people: for some of us, it simply means a new paint job. For others, like Kaiapoi couple Mel and Wayne Allison, it means taking a good, hard look at your entire house and completely transforming it, both inside and out ..
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