Alice Brine told everyone to calm the fuck down, Victoria Nunns talked worrying about money, Finn Laurence told us to fail and Liam Malone admitted he was just putting one foot in front of the other – what we learned in a year of Residents interviews from some of the Residents of Welly
Pressure and self-image
Alice Brine – Comedian on putting pressure on yourself
"My advice to everybody is to stop putting so much pressure on yourself and just calm the fuck down. Stop thinking about what you could’ve done with your life instead of what you’re doing with your life. Just do your life and go for a walk. Just calm down. Just exist. Do not dream big.”
Sara Quilter - Skincare Entrepreneur, Tailor Skincare on ‘the highlight reel’
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s so easy - you see people looking their best and you can end up comparing your own life to someone else highlight reels.”
Lesa, Clair & Abby - Shut Up and Dance on confidence
“People are so free when they don’t see themselves moving. I think it's amazing we have arms and legs and we CAN move them. Let’s focus on what we CAN do, not on a flatter stomach”
Ali van Ammers – Yoga Teacher and Lawyer on being your whole self
“The best thing is that I now feel like I can be my whole self all of the time,” says Ali. “I used to feel like I put on my armour and come to work. These days, I come in in my leggings.”
Creativity
George Bowler - Qualified Perfumer on being unique
“I think people need to place more importance on creativity. It’s what makes us unique and tells the world our story.”
Martyn Pepperell - Freelance Writer on starting young
“Me and a few others went down to the paper and began to do a few bits and pieces for the like interviews and reviews around town. By the time I got to high school, I had already had a few pieces published as a writer. Nothing memorable that you’d want to pull out of the archives but ultimately I understood the process. You’d interview people, type something up and bring it down to the paper on a floppy disk. There was no email.”
Romance
Nicole Seminiuk - Government employee & former record store maven on being ambushed by a rock drummer when she worked for Sounds music
“Tyler Hawkins [of the Foo Fighers] had just stepped in as the touring drummer. He came over - I was single - and asked where I was from. He was like ‘I love Canadians’ - and shoved his tongue down my throat. It was pretty funny.”
Sean Manning and Elly - Steel Press Cider on how to know if someone likes you
“I’m quite thick. [I] worked out Elly liked [me] when [my] boss told [me] “You’re being an idiot. That girl likes you.”
Ali Jacs – Poet on realising she was gay
“I’d come over to Canada with this man who I was in a relationship with. But after a series of life occurrences came together and I spent a lot of time reflecting, I realised I was gay so I ended my relationship with this guy. It was the year after that I found slam poetry. It was a tumultuous time: I was meeting new people and trying to figure myself out, so poetry was a massive aid to me for making sense of who I was.”
Risk Taking & Personal Growth
Martinique Barbalich - Founder, Martin INTL on Wellington as more than a place to have babies…
"If you are going to come back here and have a family, why not grow something for yourself?"
Maria Gorham - Owner of Hot Yoga Wellington on evolving
“I value growing, learning and change. It is the key to success”
Matthew Mawkes - DCM Manager and Film Producer on never being too old
“…It is never too late for your passion. I think of my grandfather, Arthur Dagley. He was a signwriter for most of his life and went to World War Two. At forty, he started a second career as an artist and lived off his art for the rest of his life…There's always time!"
Kindness & Equality
Ashley Church - Dinosaurtoast, Photographer on making a difference
“Always be kind to people around you,” she says. “You never know what difference you’ll make for somebody.”
Johnny McKenzie - Tech entrepreneur on helping others
“If you ask someone, everyone will help you. Everywhere else I have been you have closed doors and you have to try and open them. Most people are so keen to see people succeed here.”
Jamie Hayden - Innovation Officer at Wellington City Council on knowing yourself
“Fundamentally, when I look back, I like helping people and connection. I used to think that meant I had to help people in a vulnerable place. However, I understood myself enough to understand I am not a person with the strength to do that on an everyday basis. Going and seeing people in vulnerable places was confronting. You needed to be very stoic to manage it emotionally.”
Amelia Taverner – Costume Designer on Wellington style
"I thought Wellington was super eclectic. I remember thinking I couldn't distinguish the richest person from the poorest person. That kind of class system didn't come through the way it does in somewhere like London or Toronto. Whenever we would go to gallery openings or show openings - people wear T-shirts and shorts - and I felt over dressed for everything. But maybe that's me as a costume designer."
Stacey Walsh - Patroness and Owner, Little Beer Quarter on caring for people
“It was like I had the natural instinct to look after people. And that’s vital of hospitality. Maybe it’s a Polish/Irish thing!”
Money
Victoria Nunns - YouTuber and makeup artist on wondering how she was going to pay rent
“That’s when I realised I had to be brave, to put those fears aside, because worrying isn’t conducive to creativity”
Geoff Fieberg – Upholsterer on living within your means
“I make enough money for me to be able to treat my day as my own and do as I want. I still work hard when I need to, but I don’t want to create stress in my life. The one thing I’ve learned is that the key to happiness is to live within your means”
Thea Meredith - The Waterloo on doing your own thing
“I was so broke” she remembers “I had enough money to pay the bills, and I had like 30 dollars left over at the end week. But it didn’t matter because I was doing my own thing.”
Urban Design and Landscape
Sam Trubridge – The Performance Arcade on making the city public art friendly
“If they just walk past, that’s fine. They can respond though - and some people spend 2 hours there. It reanimates the city space and it changes the scale of the space, where streets and car parks prioritise the machine over the pedestrian. I think that working in this way in the city is a political action and it’s a really significant thing to do, like developing the laneways. Creating an arcaded space that is open to the public.”
Georgina Rood - Lawyer on being away from home
“I miss the harbour - the way you can see it from so many different parts of the city, and the way Wellington huddles around it.”
Jeff McEwan – Photographer, Wondrous Wellington Advent Calendar
“The main hazard in Wellington is the wind – clouds move, trees move – and anything with paving, which we seem to have a lot of in Wellington, is a nightmare because you have to line all the edges up on a photo.”
Success and Failure
Annabelle Wilson - Fashion Designer, Wilson Trollope on experience
“I had this idea I needed more life experience before I started a label which I had always wanted to do. I would think “What if I fail? What if it didn't work? But so many of my friends just knew it was my path. A friend’s boyfriend once sat down at a party and asked ‘Belle - what are you doing with your life? You should be making clothing.’ I was like ‘Hi - haven’t seen you in a while?!’”.
Finn Lawrence – Co-Founder, Mevo on the importance of failure
“Our venture didn’t work out, but we could have spent 2 or 3 years working away on it, before we asked those hard questions. This way, we failed, but we failed early.”
Dave Moskovitz - Angel Investor on the joy of others success
“Suddenly I hear they have been around for a few years. It’s like wow. When you watch people exceed and excel - that’s really beautiful. There’s a word for that in Yiddish – naches. It literally means the joy or pride you get from seeing others succeed, something that feels very appropriate for Wellington.”
Liam Malone - Olympic Gold Medal Winner on training for the Rio Olympics (which he won two gold and one silver medal at during 2016)
"People are making rockets to go into space. I put one foot in front of the other - one blade in front of the other. So if you can simplify it in those terms there is no real pressure as such.”
Rachel Caughley - Owner of Caughley on customer service
"Listen to your customers, keep your eyes open all the time, and believe in your gut. It is so important for me to be on the shop floor, to be in touch with what Wellingtonians want. You learn the most from your customers."
Older and Wiser
Russell Silverwood - Bike Courrier Nocar Cargo on high school
“What a funny time of life” he muses. “Teenagers lumped in with all these strangers. Trying to figure it all out.”
Natalee Fisher - Makeup Artist on growing up
“I don’t know if I would have any glowing words of wisdom to give my 16 year old self. I’ve never had a plan. I just kind of cruise - and whatever happens, happens. It all seems to work out. So I don’t know what I would say, other than “Do what you’re doing - it’s fine! It will all work out”.
Margaret Hema - Facialist and Skincare Creator, Margaret Hema Skincare on nostalgia and improving with age
"At 70 I feel so happy, alive with wonder. Today I visited the recycled shop and bought a jacket that is so 60’s. I live in that era in my head and have never forgotten my beautiful friends of that time. I loved being a 60’s teen, we thought we could change the world.”
George Harach – Dancer and window cleaning abseiler on the struggle
“School was really hard for me as a kid. My parents couldn't help me with the [English] language [because they were Lebanese], so I struggled. It made me want to rebel. There was always that pressure, you know, to be a doctor or a pilot. I wasn’t a big fan of school growing up.”
Family
Wiki Waititi - Mum & skincare creator on motherhood
“I have learnt so much patience since having them. Can’t put them on TradeMe, so I have to find a job to help me be a better person, and a better Mum”.
Sophie & George - Greek Food Truck, on mealtimes
“We lived with my Grandmother for 15 years” Sophie remembers. “So all our food around the table was Greek. That’s how our families get together.”
Gina Kiel – Illustrator on having to choose whether to do a week long trial at Weta Workshop
“My Dad had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he had been given two weeks to live. Spending a week of that time working for Weta, doing those crazy hours… I was like “No” can’t do it. It was hard trying to decide between my career and my family but I just knew.
Ray Letoa - Coco at the Roxy, Cocktail Wizard on treating strangers like family
“One day my brother said to me ‘You treat work as your home and everyone who comes in as your family’. I was like ‘What?’ He told me: ‘You treat people like your cousins or aunties or uncles, the way we would at home - but you get paid for it here. That’s work.’
Blair, Nick and Tim - Founders of Delivereasy Food Delivery on defying expectations
“My mum is just surprised. She told me not to go to university but it turns out spinning a few yarns is enough to start a business.”
People & Opportunities
Olly Campbell – Student on connections & competition
“So many people come into Prefab Eatery - you can connect with people so easily. I know the guy that sells apartments. They guy that makes chairs. You meet so many people in the city. I feel like so many other people are so creative doing stuff it creates competition, so everyone wants to do better.”
Craigy Lee - Tattoo Artist, Union Tattoo on timing
“Life’s all about timing. It’s like a chain of events - being in the right place at the right time.”
Leonardo Bresolin - Restauranter, Scopa on feeding off one another
“It’s not about competition but about feeding off one another. It is so small that you see the same people and get to know everybody.”
Brandon and Tamati – Director and Producer of ‘The Maori Side Steps’ on determination
“No matter what age you are, go get it. You’re not gonna die from chasing your dreams.”
Surrealism at Te Papa is where it’s at this winter with these wonderful events…!