Over the last 13 years, I’ve built and designed my own hospitality businesses in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
These projects taught me as much about people as they did about design- how people use a space, how they connect to it and what makes them want to come back.
Some of my earliest memories are of running around Christchurch Town Hall, by Warren and Mahoney. Looking back, that’s where my love of architecture began.
I have a particular soft spot for Brutalist buildings (yes really), 1960’s civic architecture and well-designed 1950’s-1970’s homes.
I love adaptive reuse, beautifully crafted mid-century furniture, vintage lighting and objects made by skilled craftspeople.
They remind me that good design doesn’t need to be fashionable. It simply needs to endure.
My great-grandfather worked as a printer in the Vogel St Kitchen building a hundred years ago, a connection I discovered after signing the lease in 2013.
About me.
I respect the building.
I care about the people who inhabit it.
My role is to bring the two together.
Since then, I’ve thought differently about the legacy buildings carry and why some places continue to matter across generations. The best buildings become part of people’s stories.
Bringing them to life is never a solo pursuit.
I’m a very practical person. I like working with people who are exceptionally good at what they do, whether they’re architects, builders, makers or skilled craftspeople.
I believe the best work comes from good conversations, mutual respect and people who genuinely enjoy what they do.
The best interiors don’t all look the same.
They respond to the building, the people and the way they’ll be lived in, creating spaces with warmth, character and enough substance to still feel right years down the line.