Claire Turnbull is the Founder, Director and Head Nutritionist of Mission Nutrition, a privately run health practice in Auckland offering a range of services to inspire everyone to eat well, perform better and feel incredible!

Claire moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2005 and is a UK trained Dietitian and Personal Fitness Instructor. Since her move to New Zealand she has been inspiring Kiwis with her passion for healthy living and good food.

As well as running her own private practice Claire is also on a mission to educate the wider New Zealand public with her nutritionist contributions to the Healthy Food Guide Magazine and Healthy Food Ideas, she also enjoys a weekly Slot on Newstalk ZB with Danny Watson.

Mission Nutrition is now made up of a team of four energetic and enthusiastic dietitians and nutritionists who are helping clients throughout the country achieve real results. Services include weight management, nutrition for standard health problems such diabetes, sports nutrition for individuals and teams, corporate wellness seminars as well as supermarket tours and nutrition seminars.

Where in the U.K were you born and raised?

I am born in North West of UK on the Wirral, half way between Liverpool and Chester. I was born into a family with a passion for health and wellness with my dad being a doctor, my mum a nurse and my brother a pharmacist and now…another doctor!!

When did you know that you had a passion for diet and nutrition? And what lead you to get involved professionally within the industry?

From a young age, I was always interested in food, why we ate, why we ate too much sometimes and also, what happens when people don’t eat enough. Being a fussy eater, having a mum with a million food allergies and friends with eating disorders, from a very young age, I realized food was FAR more than stuff you just buy! It affects the way people think and feel, it can be used to control and manage your emotions.

I always knew I was going to work in the health industry with my parent’s backgrounds and worked as a nursing assistant from the age of 15 in nursing homes and hospitals. I also worked in the hospital catering department for a while and saw the many different sides to health and nutrition.

How many years of experience in the industry did you have before you launched your own business here in New Zealand?

I did a four year full time degree at Leeds University in the UK in Nutrition and Dietetics and then went on to work in the NHS in the UK as a hospital Dietitian for a year in Oncology, Hematology and General Medicine. I soon realized I didn’t want to work at this end of the cliff stage… I wanted to be out there, stopping people getting sick and ending up in hospital.

I have always been passionate about health education and health promotion – helping people to help themselves. After completing a four month work placement in NZ during my university course, I was offered a job as a Diabetes Dietitian in an education role at Diabetes Auckland. I worked there for two years, and then decided it was time to go it alone, and make my own mark on NZ, and Mission Nutrition was born.

What was involved in the set up of Mission Nutrition and was it an expensive business to launch?

Ironically, I didn’t even know I was setting up a business. When I was at Diabetes Auckland, people started coming to me to ask me if I could help them with their nutrition. I started seeing people at home and then realised I could do this as a full time job. At that time I was also offered a role at the Healthy Food Guide Magazine, so Mission Nutrition was initially just me creating a job for myself.

Was it expensive, well, I didn’t borrow a dollar, and never have. The money I have earned from working I invested into getting a clinic room set up and all the resources etc. I didn’t pay myself anything for 1.5 years but, it has been worth it. The business kind of grew itself, about a year in, I got really busy, brought on another nutritionist and then started doing what other people probably do before they start a business, do the plan, sort the systems etc…

What are your preferred avenues for marketing and what are some of your strategies for brand management?

I pretty much have decided not to pay for any marketing apart from the Yellow Pages and a few online bits.

I have an advert in the Healthy Food Guide Magazine as I am their nutritionist, I have a national radio show every Monday on Newstalk ZB so that is free advertising I guess and I am on TV, radio or in the newspaper at least 1 or 2 times a week doing various bits and pieces, interviews, stories etc so that works.

What qualifications or experience do you need before you can legally start up your own business as a dietitian in New Zealand?

I am a UK registered Dietitian and a NZ registered Nutritionist. I choose not to be registered as a Dietitian over in NZ only because I do TV adverts for food products which can make things a bit tricky!

What are some of the differences within the nutrition industry between New Zealand and the U.K?

There is very little private practice work in the UK. Things seem to be more tightly regulated over in the UK, here it seems anyone can have an opinion on nutrition and all sorts of RUBBISH gets printed in some magazines and papers, not to mention on TV!!!

Are there any health issues or overseas trends in particular that you are seeing in New Zealander’s at the moment?

• The Diabetes epidemic, wow, what a major!
• Increased incidence of bowel complaints – every second person I talk to seems to have an irritable bowel!
• Eating disorders – frighteningly common.

Where do you think the future of diet and nutrition is heading for kiwis as an overall culture?

More mixed options, means more confusion, with the increase mix of the classic medical based Dietitian role and the natural Health Naturopath – mixed opinions are going to make things interesting. Lots of people are reading things on the internet and thinking they are the expert – a challenging environment for the real professionals!

Do you think we are more aware of our diet and lifestyle then our Australian neighbours?

Not really sure?

What would you say has been the key to your business success with Mission Nutrition so far?

• Being REAL – no fad diets.
• Helping people manage things for themselves – focusing on behavior change.
• A passionate, motivated team – good staff MAKE a business.

What would you say are the core values that you use to manage your business?

• Credible
• Practical
• Inspirational
• Motivating

What is the best part about your job?

Media work – I love the challenge of comminuting complicated nutrition messages into everyday words and advice that everyone can understand!

Lastly, what do you have planned for the future of Mission Nutrition?

More of the same… but better!!

www.missionnutrition.co.nz

Productspec is New Zealand’s national database of architecture, design, and landscape products, specifications, and CAD details. The Company was co-founded by Estefania Galinanes-Garcia and her partner Jon Thompson in 2006 and is based out of our capital city in Wellington.

Estefania is a young entrepreneur and architect hailing from a Spanish background with a large family of eight children. She migrated to the UK when she was nine years old where she studied Architecture in Manchester and London.

There she happened upon Jon, a charming Irish architect… “he swooped me off to NZ and I went into architectural practice, registered, then left 2 weeks after that to start Productspec with Jon” says Estefania.

With eight staff employed throughout Wellington, Auckland, and Melbourne, Productspec is currently used by 50,000+ Architects and other product specifiers each month to research, source and specify 60,000+ building products and technical data from over 250 product manufacturers.

Productspec was started four years ago, was it an expensive start-up and where did you get your funding from to launch the company?

We secured private investment from day one, enabling us to hire a couple of staff and engage a branding agency and dev-shop to create the database and website.  We quickly discovered that more sales = less ongoing investment so a strong client interaction / sales focus was implemented and remains at our core today.  This year we sold a minority shareholding to a related company in the industry to fund our larger, long-term special projects.

What was it that attracted you to Architecture initially and where do you gain your inspiration from?

There’s an anecdotal school of thought amongst Architects that it is in fact your mother that decides you’ll end up being an Architect..!  A desire to create is my main driver in life so I find building and steering a business extremely satisfying and creative.

What are your feelings towards architecture in New Zealand and the general direction it is heading?

It’s fantastic that New Zealand Architects and their clients are now much more aware of the value of quality Architecture to individuals, families, communities and cities.  Some stunning examples of brave new work can be seen across New Zealand such as the new Wellington airport terminal ‘The Rocks’ which helps to place this country on the international design radar.

You seem to have grown quickly in just four years, what would you say has been the key to your success with Productspec?

Everyone has a real need for better information, delivered faster.  Productspec provides Architects and Designers with 60,000+ products, technical data, CAD files, and specifications at the click of their mouse and negates the need to maintain a physical product catalogue library.

Our success is based on providing tangible value to our clients (250+ building product manufacturers) and our end-users (50,000+ Architects and Designers per month) plus ongoing innovation, technical developments, market analysis and response, and clear communication with our clients and users.

How do you cope constantly having to upgrade your software and product database?

We love innovation and we’re fortunate to have a talented Systems Architect who has been part of our team from the very beginning so in-house technical capability is one of our strongest points.

What would you say is your favourite product and why?

We’re all pretty excited about the new SaaS (software as a service) products that we have developed to leverage our core database content.  These are horizontal additions to our product portfolio and open new revenue opportunities and provide massive value to the industry.

What would you say are the core values that you use to manage your business?

We spend a lot of time with our core strategy team (industry, sales, technology, operations, marketing) to develop the roadmap for the short, medium, and long term.   Our other essential business attributes include flexibility, speed and responsiveness.

What has been the hardest thing about launching your own business?

Having the tenacity and resilience to storm ahead through the tough, uncertain start-up phase has been the most challenging part of running Productspec.  We pride ourselves on working harder, smarter and faster than any other companies in our industry.

What is the best part about your job?

I really love working closely with the team to develop and project-manage new additions and technologies.  It’s also rewarding to hear from our clients and users that our business is actually helping their business.

What advice would you give our young readers considering starting up their own business?

If you’re 10 years ahead of your time, you’re a visionary.  If you’re 6 months ahead of your time, you’re a millionaire..!  Or more pragmatically, think about how much product or service you’ll actually sell.

Lastly, what do you have planned for the future of Productspec?

Big picture: Productspec is designed to be the one-stop shop for anyone involved in the building industry at a specifier, contractor, and consumer level in New Zealand.  Specifically, we’re focusing on existing content quality, introducing more unique data-sets, and releasing SaaS tools to leverage this data.  We’re also increasing our industry consultancy services (vertical integration) and continuing to build positive industry partnerships.

WWW.PRODUCTSPEC.NET

ESTEFANIA GALINANES-GARCIA

Builderscrack.co.nz is a web-based start-up cofounded by long term friends Mark Dickson and Keith Roberts, and entrepreneur Jeremy Wyn-Harris. The original idea was born when Mark’s wife, after a few bad experiences with the Yellow Pages, felt that there should be a better way of linking homeowners with tradesmen (& tradeswomen) in New Zealand. The idea of taking this service online seemed like the perfect way to bridge the gap and so Mark rounded up the team and got together to create the first Builderscrack.co.nz proto-type in 2006.

In March 2007, following a year of development and testing, Builderscrack.co.nz was released to the market, providing homeowners with an easy to use self-service tool to get and compare quotes from qualified tradesman for their home renovation and repair jobs. As tradespeople are reviewed and rated,  you can be sure when you are using someone trust worthy who will do a good job.

What were you doing before you launched Buildercrack.co.nz?

I was working as a research scientist writing computer models when my wife came up with the idea for Builderscrack.co.nz in early 2006.

Are you the only director or do you have a business partner?

A friend introduced me to Jeremy Wyn-Harris, a software developer and entrepreneur from Christchurch, and straight away the two of us started work. When we had a proto-type for the website together I got in touch with Keith Roberts, an old friend of mine with lots of business experience, and after four years the three of us remain as the company Directors today. The three of us are still heavily involved in the day to day running of the business, but we also employ a small team to help out in several key areas to make sure that we provide a great service for homeowners and tradespeople.

Where did you grow up?

Keith and I grew up on the Kapiti Coast, Jeremy is originally from Waipukurau, but has been in Christchurch for many years. I now live in Auckland.

Were there many costs involved in developing the backend of the website?

The costs were significant. We pride ourselves on the fact that we have done all of the technical development work in-house. It’s a huge effort, but there is no substitute for being able to listen to customers and change things to optimise their experience.

What was the most difficult stage of launching the business from start to finish?

I don’t think we are anywhere near the finish yet. The first couple of years were probably the hardest so far. The temptation is to try to scale as fast as possible, but for the first couple of years after launch we piled our resources into continually improving our service based on customer feedback. During the same period of time competitors came and went after having splashed big marketing budgets, but we grew organically through positive word of mouth and now, after nearly five years we have been able to substantially grow our advertising budget. That said, customer referrals are still our most important source of growth and we continue to place our main emphasis on making sure that people who post jobs on our site have a great experience.

What do you get most out of owning your own business?

It’s extremely exciting to watch the growth of something that you have built from nothing. We’ve always fundamentally believed that we’re offering a new and better service than that which currently exists. The best validation of that is our customer feedback. We get hundreds of emails thanking for us for the service provided – I’d invite people to look at them at http://builderscrack.co.nz/feedback, but here’s one of the most recent emails sent to us: “After hours wasted from trawling through the Yellow pages calling tradesmen who never returned by calls I was fortunate enough to discover Builderscrack. I was very impressed with how easy it was to load a job and astounded at the level and speed of interest the small job received. Communicating with tradesmen was easy and we were quickly able to arrange for quotes and ultimately select a tradesman.” Matt, Lower Hutt (August 2010)

What business advice would you give our young entrepreneurial readers?

Well, our approach with Builderscrack.co.nz was firstly a genuine belief that we had a service that was better than that which currently existed. A key part on any success we’ve had was forming a team of people who shared that belief and had the skills, experience and work ethic necessary to get the thing off the ground. In addition, it’s been imperative for us to listen carefully to what our customers want and then change things to make the service as good as it can be. In many respects if you do this well then growth comes naturally.

What do you have planned for the future of Builderscrack.co.nz?

We’re still very much focused on growth and have lots of plans in motion to help build on the customer referrals.  We don’t want to give too much away yet, but there are a number of additional features and services that we are working on to ensure we provide the best experience to New Zealander’s looking for tradespeople. We are also looking at different options for taking the business internationally.

Builderscrack.co.nz – let good tradespeople chase you for a change!

How it works for homeowners:

Builderscrack.co.nz invites people to post the renovation or repair work they need done, with the option of including photos of the work required. You can then sit back and wait for tradespeople to post responses. You can see how previous homeowners have rated and reviewed the tradespeople who respond, which helps you work out who is good – most are, as the average rating of tradespeople on Builderscrack.co.nz is 3.6 out of 4. The website lets people get “word of mouth” type recommendations from others who have posted jobs before. There are plenty of reviews available as more than 5,500 jobs have been posted on the site.

A key feature of the site is that once a job is done, the homeowner then rates the tradesperson on their workmanship, adherence to cost, adherence to schedule, professionalism and responsiveness. The system is completely free for homeowners (tradesmen pay a small fee on work they secure). The rating system provides a great motivation for tradesmen to do good work, and turn up on time! Response times vary based on the type of job and location. Building jobs in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch often receive over 3 responses within an hour.

Interview with Mark Ferguson from Ray White Taranaki

“We started 12 months ago from nothing. We didn’t even know the market in which we opened an office in”

These are the words of Mark Ferguson from Ray White Taranaki, a man whose passion for people, property and the community saw his boutique start-up business trade 71 properties and over $17 million of property in its first twelve months – from the little country town of 1200 houses called Inglewood.

Ray White Taranaki was launched as a boutique Real Estate franchise (with his wife Rachel) in July 2009 during the midst of a recession where house prices had just taken a hit and the New Zealand housing market had slipped onto shaky grounds. New to the area and with everything to lose, Mark and Rachel managed to build the company from the ground up into a customer driven Real Estate Agency that they are proud to claim makes a real difference to the community in which it operates in.

With over 17 years of experience in Real Estate including Sales, Sales Manager, Training and  as an Auctioneer, we talk to Mark about his story of creating a successful business from nothing …. during the low of a financial crisis.

Where were you born and raised?

Upper Hutt and proud of it!

What were you doing before Real Estate?

Primary school teacher. Have been in real estate for the last 17 years.

When did you launch Ray White Taranaki and what was involved in the set up?

July 13 (my birthday) we were new to the town didn’t know anyone or the streets – we had to use a Map to get to appointments. We wanted to create a boutique style business that really cared about their customers and do that from a building that reflects our care and style for business. We are in a renovated Bank (ex Bank of New South Wales) built in 1888.

What was it that attracted you to Real Estate?

The ability to work with a lot of different people and through my skills being able to add value to the price realisation of a seller’s property.

What qualifications or experiences did you need before you could start up your own Real Estate business?

You need to be a Licensed Agent.  The Real Estate Agents Act was amended in November last year – prior to that you needed to be an AREINZ (an associate of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand). That required completing a series of papers through TOPNZ or Massey University. I completed mine through a Diploma of Business Studies at Massey.

What was it that made you decided to choose the Ray White brand when considering launching your own Real Estate business?

I started my real estate career in 1994 with Ray White – (United Realty in those days). I then later worked for them as an Associate at a corporate level. The brand and company has developed significantly to 134 offices in NZ and I was looking for great technology/ large brand/ with marketing products and the looks that would suit my boutique business. Ray White was the perfect fit. Plus its still a family owned company – just like us!

What were your feelings towards the industry at the time of start-up in light of the negative media and down turn in the market?

I think the media just love to talk the property market up or down – anything in between does not interest them. Everyone seems to be an expert – yet few have the credentials/experience to make an informed comment.

How did you overcome this?

We just get on running a business. Real estate is not the only industry that is feeling the effects of a global recession. Many industries are far worse off – retail for example…. Now that’s real hard at the moment.

What would you say has been the key to your success in Real Estate over the past twelve months?

We worked 100 times harder than anyone else – and that is true! We worked through to midnight many nights in the establishment of this business. You have to understand we started from nothing:

• No real estate signs
• No listings
• No office signage/stationary
• No real estate licence to run from these premises
• We knew no one in our market
• NOTHING

But we had a hunger and a passion to succeed coupled with 16 years of skill/knowledge and expertise.

I have a great team. My wife Rachel is in sales support and runs the office systems, my selling partner Blair who would be one of the most talented realtors for his age in New Zealand (just 25 years old) and Debbie who provides administration support.

What would you say are the core values that you use to manage your business?

We have a very clear set of core values:

We established this family owned company to bring all the things that are right about real estate agency practice – into reality.

Our Passion - people and property
Our Vision – to be the very best customer care real estate organisation in New Zealand
Our Care – for our people, our clients and our communities
Our Integrity – will never be compromised. What we promise – we deliver upon
Our Innovations – be different in our marketing and approach to ensure the best for our clients

What has been the hardest thing about launching your own business in Real Estate?

Not spending as much time as we would like with our kids. We have a structure now that we can – but that was really hard!

What is the best part about your job?

As I am writing this a client comes into the office. We sold his property last week. He has his property on the market with another company for 5 months – we sold it in 3 weeks. We sold it because we gave him the right advice about price marketing and profiling. He was in the office thanking us – he is so happy to be moving closer to his grand children. That’s what I love – helping people move and realize the best possible price in the market.

Where do you see the New Zealand Real Estate market headed over the next five years?

I think we are in a settling in cycle and thus we will see little price growth over the next three years. The market will pick up after that – it always does.

What advice would you give our young readers considering starting up their own business or franchise?

1. Look at a number of franchises to compare
2.  Read a few books – I read ‘Toughen Up: What I’ve Learned About Surviving Tough Times’ by Michael Hill for inspiration
3. Seek mentors. I had three guys I rang constantly for advice and opinion
4. Work REAL HARD! As you get momentum that can button off a little bit but you need to put out a heap of energy into your trade area. It always comes back.
5. Don’t have a business plan  – have an activity plan. What you are going to do when and where.
6. Give back to your communities via CHARITY! We do and we feel good about it. Very important
7. Get a great accountant
8. Get out there and make it happen!

Lastly, what do you have planned for the future of Ray White Taranaki and where can we check out Taranaki’s hottest property on the market?!

We have BIG “top secret plans” all around business growth in the manner in which we wish to have our agency portrayed in the market.

HOTTEST PROPERTY

http://rwtaranaki.co.nz/cgi-bin/clients/rwnz//profile.cgi?propertyid=RS2800539&gid=24383

- for its current return and development potential on SH3

www.rwtaranakai.co.nz

“Sometimes playful, sometimes dark, Meadowlark creations are always beautiful with an edge”

Claire and Greg Fromont are one of New Zealand’s classic young husband and wife duos brought together through a shared passion and unique talent for jewellery and design. After successfully having created their own brands in Graphic Design and Jewellery Design, Claire and Greg decided to combine their skills in 2006 to launch the jewellery line they had always dreamed of, Meadowlark.

Claire, a self educated designer, sold her successful street wear label Urchin in 2004 so that she could launch fully into her passion for graphic design. She runs her own studio Claire Hammon: Designaholic in addition to Meadowlark. Greg on the other hand is a trained visual artist and expert craftsman who is growing his personal brand Greg Fromont Jeweller, and also creates and constructs custom eye catching pieces for clients like Huffer and Shapeshifter.

Earlier this year Meadowlark won an award for the ‘Best Accessory Brand’ at the 2010 Fashion Exposed in Sydney. You could say it is this crafty infusion of creativity and talent that give Claire and Greg their unique edge in the current market. After hearing about Meadowlark’s recent success, and having popped online to view their exquisite range of custom made jewellery, I decided it was time we talked to Claire and Greg.

What projects are you currently working on?

Claire: At the moment we are about to release a little project of international collaborations as well as manufacturing a new range for delivery in August AND making the prototypes for another new collection we will be selling in September among other stuff.

What’s the best part about having a husband/wife as a business partner?

Claire: I think the best part is the security, you know that you are both working for the same future together. In other partnerships there can be a lot of tension because each person is looking out for themselves and can be going at different paces so in some ways I think most partnerships are going to fail.

Greg: I love it. I think we’re lucky to be able to work as a team on something together. I think we’ve developed such a strong bond because of it.

And the pitfalls to watch out for?

Claire: I think keeping some separation from business and relationship is key. It is easy to slip into an all business situation so you need to make extra effort to nurture your relationship.

Greg: Yeah on the flip side we can be in each other’s pocket a little too much sometimes. It’s good to get ‘alone’ time, as well as ‘not business’ time outside of the house.

Do you think that being able to feed off one another’s business skills and experience is vital to your overall business success?

Claire: Yeah I think it is, we started the business together because we have different strengths that work well together. Neither of us would be able to do as good a job if we had to swap places or were without each other.

Greg: Two heads is so much better than one. I think we’re so lucky to be able to work with each other and complement each other so well.

Are there children planned for the future and if so how would this effect your business obligations and financial duties as a young business couple?

Claire: There might be children in the future? We are not sure how this would effect our business, at this stage we work from home so if we added kids into the mix I don’t think a lot would change but I would back off the business for a little while so it may slow things down temporarily but I don’t think it would have a huge effect overall.

Greg: Yeah as Claire mentioned in the previous question, I wouldn’t be able to do as good a job with the business without Claire, so I think we would have to try and put some kind of coping strategy in place should children come along…

Do you think you are better to specialise or to have a variety of skills in today’s economy?

Claire: Hmm this is tricky, I think in business in general you need to have a variety of skills for sure but if you are lacking in one area then it is definitely worth employing someone in that area so you don’t fall short.

Greg: A variety of skills is good, although trying to do everything is pretty impossible. A good team around you who each specialise in one or two things would be ideal.

What is your view on having ‘ a few fingers in different pies’ when it comes to business?

Claire: I think for me I have the capacity to do a lot of things at one time, I get bored easily but out of the many things I do 2 are most important to me and one thing is the end goal. I’m really just enjoying myself and trying to be fulfilled creatively but in the end I am mostly interested in just one of our businesses.

Greg: I prefer to have total focus on one thing, although I’m divided between two different businesses’ which is ok as long as they both get enough attention.

For more information visit Meadowlark.co.nz

Emma Taylor is an enthusiastic viticulturist in her early thirties. Since winning the Young Viticulturist of the Year Award in 2007 Emma has been pruning and harvesting her way to the top as Hawks Bay Company Vineyards Manager for the prestigious Villa Maria. We ask Emma what its like to work for an acclaimed New Zealand company and how she worked her way into the charming and lucrative industry of wine making.

I heard you won the Young Viticulturist of the year Award in 2007, what was that like?

It was a great feeling – in the wine industry awards are a big deal. There are always lots of trophies and awards given to wines and winemakers and Villa Maria always does well in wine competitions, but it was great to stand up and be recognised as a viticulturist too.

I heard you took out four from five categories, which ones were these?

There were seven categories. I won Sustainable Winegrowing/Machinery; General Knowledge; Pruning; and Pest Management/Plant Identification. There was also a presentation question, a budgeting question and a ‘Horty Sport’ activity.

Who were you working for in 2007 and what did your job consist of?

I have worked for Villa Maria for nearly 10 years now. The same year that I received the award I had just taken maternity leave from my role as Company Viticulturist – heading up the Viticulture department for Villa Maria. This role involved managing the intake of all Villa Maria’s grapes throughout New Zealand (Auckland , Gisborne, Hawkes Bay , Marlborough , Waipara and Central Otago ), overseeing more than 100 contract growers as well as the team that works with our growers and on our vineyards.

When did you get into viticulture?

When studying for my Masters of Science I was advised to choose a topic that would hold my interest for the two years that I needed to study it. I was doing a geography degree and knew that soil science was going to be my area, but decided to look specifically at the wine industry and the impact of vineyards on soils – in particular copper concentrations of the soil. Research for my thesis took me around the country touring all the wine regions sampling soils. On the way we tasted some great wines and met some fantastic people. Apart from the great romantic notion of working in the wine industry the people in the NZ wine industry are really innovative and open to new ideas – that was really attractive to me.

What qualifications did you need before entering the industry?

I have a MSc in Physical Geography from Otago. I graduated 10 years ago – at the time the Lincoln degree was only new and an industry specific degree was not require. Geography is a great qualification for viticulture as it encompasses hydrology; climatology and soil science. My undergraduate degree comprised some basic botany. Now though the competition is a lot fiercer and when we look for new graduates we expect them to have an industry specific degree – from Lincoln, Auckland or EIT (which offers a degree programme from Charles Stuart University in Australia.)

What is your current role at Villa Maria?

Hawkes Bay Company Vineyards Manager

What does a day in this role consist of?

Based in the Hawkes Bay, I work directly with the six managers we have here on our own company vineyards. At this time of year, it is working with them and the winemakers to plan next year’s harvest. We have only just tucked the harvesters back in the shed and are already thinking of the 2010 harvest and what our volume and wine style requirements are. We are about to start pruning and that is a crucial time in the calendar as it sets the scene for the entire next season.

There must be a few good perks for working for Villa Maria?

Apart from the great wines that Villa Maria makes, it is fantastic working for a wholly NZ-owned and family run wine company. The team at Villa Maria all know how to work hard and are proud of the wine that we make. From my point of view Villa Maria also owns some of the best vineyard land in New Zealand, so it is great to work with that.

What is your opinion on the NZ wine industry in terms of product growth?

The wine industry in New Zealand has boomed in recent years, both in terms of size and geographic distribution. New Zealand produces world class wines and our Sauvignon Blanc has put us high on the international stage. We need to make sure that we take the opportunity to prove that we are world class with other varieties too – our Pinot Noir from Martinborough and the South Island and our Syrah and Bordeaux Blends from the Hawkes Bay are also exceptionally good. So long as the New Zealand wine industry never looses sight of its commitment to producing high quality wines the product will speak for itself.

Who are Villa Maria’s main exports?

The UK is our largest export market; Australia and America are also very important to us. We also export to a range of countries including Japan, Canada, Russia and Vietnam.

What is your favourite wine?

My favourite wine changes depending on the season. I am loving Syrahs this autumn, the Villa Maria Cellar Selection Syrah is my current favourite.

Looking for last minute accommodation in New Zealand? Then you will love this 100% kiwi owned website – Ezibed.com. Gareth Pearce is the 35 year old Director of New Zealand’s last minute accommodation website Ezibed.com. Based out of beautiful Hawkes’ Bay Ezibed.com has been awarded category winner in the ‘Online’ section of the Hawkes Bay Business Awards for two years in a row, fighting off four other companies to take out the prestigious award.

Ezibed.com was awarded by the judges for ‘his excellent planning process and well-documented action plans’. “Innovation & simplicity are important aspects for attracting both new customers and retaining existing ones” says Gareth.

Since being founded in 2003 Ezibed.com has become a leading online accommodation booking website within New Zealand, and has recently expanded into Australia, Pacific Islands, USA and Canada.”

How old were you when you first started ezibed.com?

I was 29 when I first became involved with Ezibed.com. I saw a growth opportunity as the market was turning to the internet to make accommodation bookings. This was because of convenience and the internet allowed travellers to easily compare and book quickly, efficiently and securely. I was going to build a new website but came across Ezibed which was a New Zealand owned concept and was in it’s infancy. At that stage there were only 50 or so accommodation providers listed and the website was very simplistic in nature.

What were you doing before you decided to make the leap to starting your own business?

I was living in Whakapapa Village on the side of Mount Ruapehu in the central North Island. I had been there 10 years or so and was Sales & Marketing Manager at the Chateau Tongariro before moving into a Hotel Management role. The exposure to the tourism industry allowed me to grasp market trends and it was clearly obvious that travellers were finding ‘online’ as the place to research and book their travel. It was hard to leave as the environment, people and work was great however I had an itch that needed scratching and that was to own and manage my own business from a startup.

What kind of support and funding did you have at the time?

We were only working with initial shareholding capital and what was coming through the website in sales at the time. We have never the kind of funding that you see some large company’s start off with. But this has made us vey resilient and bring to the forefront the ‘number 8 wire’ mentality. Some of these larger company’s with major financial funding have now collapsed or been bought out cheaply as they never spent the money they had wisely. The lesson is to work with what you have, not what you don’t have.

Being involved in the tourism industry has the recession had a major affect on the business?

The recession as affected everyone I believe. Not only in the tourism industry. It’s the flow on effect that hurts businesses the most. In our case, we thought that as a result of the recession, travel, especially business travel would still exist but there would be an upsurge in business travelers sourcing accommodation deals online and downgrading from a 4 star hotel to a 3 star hotel to make savings for their company. This is precisely what has happened. We have had an increase in the business market but more recently the average room rates have decreased as the hotels set pricing. They have lowered their rates more than than would normally as the market as retracted. As a result, we have sold more rooms over the past 12 months than previously but revenue has decreased. I think that this scenario is common for a lot of companies within New Zealand this year.

You say that “Innovation & simplicity are important aspects for attracting both new customers and retaining existing ones” – how does ezibed.com stand out from the larger competitors out there and how have you used these key factors in the development of ezibed.com?

Innovation and simplicity are key business strategies. We knew that our method of displaying room rates had been used by other companies before us. It was a simple way of aggregating and displaying deals but our innovation lay behind key areas like website speed, customer service and integration with third parties. We really looked hard at websites like Trademe and other large well knowns, as well as our competitors, and measured page loading times. We set a benchmark that we thought would encourage users to prefer using our website to book their accommodation, and then set about making the necessary changes. Nothing is worse than waiting for a page to load. People have expectations based on popular websites like Trademe. In regards to customer service, we were the first accommodation website in New Zealand to offer SMS booking confirmations and this is also integrated post stay where we continue contact with our customers. We were also the first travel company in New Zealand to integrate to third party channel managers allowing us to build up additional content in offshore markets like Australia and the United States. Now our attention has turned to social media, especially from a marketing perspective. We have integrated Twitter into our booking process so that customers can tweet to their friends that they have made a booking and received a great deal, and when reviews are posted, customers can also share this. From what we see this is a New Zealand first for a travel booking company.

I understand you have an affiliates program, is this a big part of the companies business model and how difficult was it to set up?Our affiliate programme is designed for anyone that has a website, who displays advertising and wants to generate additional revenue. The overall traffic and revenue that this programme brings the website is about 5% from about 150 affiliates. Some of our clients include Hells Gate Spa in Rotoura, Grownups.co.nz, the 50+ website and Nakedbus.com, the cheap nationwide bus company. The programme is a third part application which was very easy to implement and is a great product.

Was it difficult entering the overseas market and finding accommodation suppliers to work with overseas?

Once the decision was made to expand offshore there was significant investment within the website to ‘future proof’ it. This included ensuring that we could easily scale the operation quickly and effectively when we wanted to add additional countries. We attended tourism tradeshows in the US, Canada, Australia and Pacific Islands to meet potential accommodation providers and also to network with company’s like ‘channel managers’ that would allow us to scale our operations quite quickly. This was extremely successful however the US and Canadian markets are still quite difficult to break into and our expectations were reduced once the financial uncertainly really kicked in. As a result, we have really pushed Australia and the Pacific Islands as being ‘closer to home’ destinations and this has paid dividends for us. Next step – probably more investment in the North American market and then we will see how Asia is looking.

Which Country was the easiest to work with in terms of creating a working and sufficient business partnership?Most probably Australia. They are more of a mature market than New Zealand and have embraced ‘booking accommodation online’ more so than us Kiwis. The uptake of customers booking travel online in the US is about 50%, Australia, 25% and in New Zealand only about 10%. So with that said, our potential to grow within New Zealand is huge. In regards to accommodation providers that list on the website, in Australia they all accept that to have your property marketed you must part with 10% of the rate that is advertised as a commission. There are still many ‘mum and dad’ operators here in New Zealand especially in the motel sector that don’t believe in paying commissions so don’t have an online presence yet. There is still a lot of catching up to do within New Zealand but it is like anything, some people are just slow to embrace change.

What was the journey like from start-up to second time winner of the­ Westpac Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, Online Innovation Category?

The journey has been like a roller coaster ride. There’s been ups and downs but for the most part it has been very enjoyable. It’s great to be recognized for the work that we are doing by our business leaders. We are building up a fantastic loyal following who continue to use Ezibed to book their accommodation as the site is trusted by them. They are in turn marketing our business for us. I like to think that we have over 40,000 sales reps on the road! We still have a long way to build brand awareness within New Zealand however I don’t feel that this is going to take too long to achieve given the way we have come through our first five years of operation. We are now settled as a business as we have policies, procedures and systems in place. The number of travelers that use the website for corporate bookings has doubled over the past 12 months and we really this as a growth area of our business. Especially as company’s seek to make savings for their company’s.

Were you surprised that you won it?

We were in the first year as we were up against a couple of other great national websites. The entry process was extremely challenging yet rewarding as it allowed you to critique areas of our business and really identify key strategies and key performance indicators. As for this year, it was just a relief to know that we were still on the right track given the difference in the economic climate from a year ago.

What steps do you take to running a sustainable and environmentally friendly business practice in New Zealand?

As an internet company we do all we can to do our bit for the environment. Within the office we use energy efficient globes & monitors, and we recycle. From an electronic perspective we request that all invoicing is completed electronically and we ask our accommodation providers through email that they only print booking confirmations if absolutely necessary. From a customer’s perspective, allowing customers to receive SMS booking confirmations instead of having to print off paper copies is yet another practice. And for our employees we encourage walking to walk and of course the ‘Sub of the Day’ if eating out!

Do you have any advice for other young entrepreneurs out there?

You won’t become a millionaire overnight! To have a successful business it takes time and there is no easy way to do things. Take a look at Trademe for example. They actually started in 1999 and it wasn’t until 2006 when Fairfax bought them that really became a household name. The key is to make sure you write a strong business case detailing specific targets. Run with your gut but ensure that you do your research before making important business decisions. The road can often be rocky but if you stick to your guns you will certainly come out the end of the tunnel better off.

Thank you for your time Gareth and I look forward to jumping online to check out some of the latest deals ezibed.com has to offer.

For more information visit www.ezibed.com

Julia Atkinson is the founder of interior design company Studio Home, a youthful and creative boutique agency located in scenic Queenstown. Hailing from Auckland Julia moved to Queenstown to follow her creative indulgences where she now designs innovative and playful spaces for Queenstown’s residential clients.

After a rough few years learning the highs and lows of launching a new business Julia has finally settled into a warm climate of satisfied clients, growth and successful completions. As well as running Studio Home full time Julia is the promoter of Australasian creative talent through her blog Studio Home Creative.

Bustling with the excitement of living out her dream job in the ultimate lifestyle business, Julia tells us of her latest achievements and plans for Studio Home as well as for her much loved blog Studio Home Creative.

Julia’s interest in the design industry stretches further than just the Studio Home design consultancy. She has been involved in set design for television and event decoration. She is a promoter of Australasian creative talent through her blog Studio Home Creative. The blog has also led to a guest blog at the Your Home and Garden and “Julia’s Guide to …” column at women’s lifestyle site Flossie.

Julia, when did you first launch your own home design consultancy?

Just a couple of months prior to my 26th Birthday, May 2007

What was involved with setting the business up?

I initially set up in Auckland following a two year stint as a design consultant and visual merchandiser with BoConcept. Guess I was feeling VERY disillusioned with simply working for a company so the set up of my own business was a bit of a knee jerk reaction. If I had listened to my dad about getting some money behind me first, then perhaps I would have found the last few years a little easier….although probably not as exciting!!! It was a very very easy process. I think I simply contacted an online site who registered my company and did all the paperwork in just a day. I then got a basic website and branding identity sorted and felt I was all ready to go….except for the customers bit!

Was it difficult starting out in a smaller town such as Queenstown?

Queenstown was really the beginning of my business. I moved down from Auckland in September ’07 following talks with a residential building company based locally here who I had worked with a little when with BoConcept. I was immediately dealing with their clients on arrival and got the ball rolling in terms of word of mouth. This is by far the most crucial element to succeeding in a smaller area. In Queenstown I felt I could really establish my own identity as I was fresh and a lot younger then the other designers already here. In Auckland I felt like a little fish in a big pond.

How did you go about getting your first clients?

For the first year all my clients were through the building company I worked with. This was great as, in a lot of respects I was still riding by the seat of my pants, and having their guidance was invaluable. This year however, word of mouth has been my saviour and renovations (as opposed to new builds) have been my bread and butter.

They say you move to Queenstown for the lifestyle, can you tell us how you mix this with business?

Hahahhaa…..I always have to laugh at the ideas of WHY people live in Queenstown. There are a lot of myths!!! For one, yes, it was absolutely a lifestyle move, indulging in the mountains and the South Island again, but if I hadn’t have taken the opportunity for work when I did, then I doubt I would be doing as well now if still in Auckland. Mentally either…ahahha

Is Queenstown where you draw a lot of your inspiration from, with all that beautiful scenery and those spectacular mountainous colours I would imagine you would have plenty to work with there?

Queenstown is just my absolute mecca!! I kind of find that most people have at least one thing in common as very few here are born and bred. QT most definitely attracts a certain type of person…and it seems I like them!! Yes, the environment is very inspiring, and more often than not I endeavour to create concepts that respect our location as opposed to dumping some mock tudor mansion scenario in the middle of the countryside!

At what stage did the Studio Home become profitable for you? And how long before it started paying the bills?

In all honesty, I think that only now am I beginning to break even. But  it can’t only be attributed to slumps in work load (like the beginning of the year!) The reason I was able to bite the bullet and start Studio Home at as young age was my lack of understanding/ importance placed on money and finances. Lets just say I am A LOT better with all that now, but it is my weakness!! ech!

I understand that you generally work in home design but are currently involved with a café/lodge project somewhere between historic Roxborough and Alexandra, can you tell us a bit about that?

YES! I just completed my first commercial project with a restoration/renovation project on a very old building.  I was so lucky to get the opportunity to work on the project as my client was a fantastic business women who has taught me a thing or two!! Speargrass Inn is a restaurant/cafe with outdoor dining and a private dining room (with verrrryyy cool wallpaper). There is also an original one roomed stone cottage which has been transformed into a snug three roomed accommodation. All located in the most captivating rural landscape. I am very proud hahahha

Have you had any areas that were particularly challenging to work with and how did you overcome this?

Yes, as I mentioned, keeping track of my finances and even on occasion making sure I invoiced enough for my time. I have found that mostly I have develop great relationships with my clients and suffer the guilts when it comes to charging them. Rest assured I have some VERY stern business friends who are sorting me out in this area!!

Now Studio Home is very well known among underground Australasian designers for its interactive community blog, something you created and are very passionate about – how did this get started and where do you hope to take it in the near future?

I started Studio Home Creative about 3 months after arriving in Queenstown, mostly due to the fact I had desktop (on screen) folders bursting at the seams with thousands of links to local, down-under creative talent. I initially got the idea after discovering Design Sponge then following links to hundreds of other fantastic design based blogs. It seemed like an easy thing to do and I thought it would be a fantastic way to establish my brand as more than just Julia Atkinson. I wanted Studio Home to represent something in its own right.  The blog really took off after about 6 months and I picked up some fantastic local online stores as advertisers. I was completely blown away when I started getting invitations to write for others such as World Sweet World, the Your Home and Garden website (since folded), Flossie.com and Homestyle Magazine. Writing was something that I always wanted to do when I was younger, but never imagined as a blogger I could get my foot in the door!

Ideally I think I would love to blog/write full time, but am very happy just taking the ride to see where I end up at this stage. I am being featured in Urbis early next year, so with some luck that will give my readership another boost!

Which young and/or new designers are you most excited about for 2010?

Wow…I find this almost impossible to answer!!! I guess the most recent designers that I have posted about on my blog stick in my mind. I guess some favourites would be a better answer, as to me these people are timeless and always offering something truly fresh and original! Jonathan Adler, Ilse Crawford, Amy Butler and Shannon Fricke.

What can we expect to see more of from Julia Atkinson in the near future?

More crazy wallpaper and more satisfied customers!!!

www.studiohomeonline.com

Feature Interview with Kate Handley and Pep Zuijderwijk from Salted Herring – A joint kiwi & Netherlands venture.

What do you get when you infuse a creative arts director from the Netherlands with a business savvy and entrepreneurial kiwi? Salted Herring.  An interactive collaboration of Creative Website Design.

Over the past 10 years Kate Hedley, hailing from the small town of Paraparaumu (Noth of Wellington) and Pep Zuijderwijk, from Sassenheim (the Netherlands) have been collectively establishing their Dutch inspired Website Consultancy.

Having given birth to Salted Herring while in London in 2000, Kate and Pep have worked with a number of big Europe-wide campaigns and have gained valuable experience into the global industry of Interactive Media and Website Design.

After spending 6 years working in a large International market Kate and Pep decided to bring their worldly experiences back home to little old New Zealand. We talk to Kate about her overseas experiences, how she got into the media and design industry and what she plans on doing with Salted Herring here in New Zealand.

So, interactive website design – what exactly does this involve?

Usually it involves working with Adobe Flash; the best tool available for delivering lively, interactive rich media web experiences. We use video, CG 3D imagery, photography and animation to make our sites as interactive, or engaging as possible.

And did your interest in this fan from a background in graphic design or a love for the internet?

Started with Pep’s background and training in graphic design combined with his passion for film and moving image. The internet or technical bit has always been secondary.

When you left for Europe in 2000 did you leave with the intention of starting your own business?

No we left to see the world and work in some more challenging and inspiring environments.

And what Qualifications did you and Pep start with?

Pep has a Bachelor of Graphic and Typographic Design (honours) from the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague. Kate has a Bachelor of Design (majoring in photography) from Victoria University of Wellington.

And how did you find it starting up your own business in an overseas market especially Europe? It must have been insanely competitive?

It grew slowly. Originally Salted Herring was Pep freelancing in London, building up experience with a range of big Europe wide clients such as MTV and the BBC. Then it naturally transferred to Amsterdam where there was an explosion of interactive design going on (and still is compared to here!). Amsterdam is a hub for a lot of creative communication with many Europe wide head offices based there (Nike, O’Neill, Bavaria etc). It is very competitive with a really high level of work produced there but you also have better budgets to work with and a high level of suppliers (photographers, sound engineers, developers etc). to collaborate with and learn from. So the teams are all pushing the work on. You get caught up in that and grow a lot I think. Salted Herring as a real business (with more than 1 freelancer) only really started in NZ in 2007.

Why the name salted Herring?

The agency is named after a famous Dutch delicacy. Not for the faint-hearted, Salted Herring is a very strong flavoured raw fish cured in salt. When it comes to designing websites, Pep believes that just like his favourite snack, the stronger the experience, the more likely you are to remember it.

What would you say your competitive advantage was?

Here it is very much that European experience and Pep’s high level of classical graphic training. It is also our ability to understand and art direct a huge range of visual languages from great photography to 3D computer generated imagery to moving image, we tell stories through our sites which people relate to. We connect with real people rather than just making slick, clean design. We offer very human, emotive experiences in the sites we create.

What inspired you to move from Europe back to little old New Zealand?

The usual answer; kids and lifestyle. Certainly not the level of creative work or budgets here! We are life partners as well as business partners and we were both ready to live outdoors a bit more, particularly in the bush with our 2 small children. It is hard to feel inspired when you are always in traffic jams or queuing for things, Holland is packed, there is not much sense of space or wilderness, both things we find important.

We also liked the challenge of bringing some of our ideas and energy from the things we had experienced in Europe to try and contribute something to the industry here. NZ is so exciting in the sense that you can add something or change something quite easily, as a new evolving country we are quite open to new creative approaches.

What have been the major difficulties for you as an interactive media company moving from a place like Europe to a smaller market here in New Zealand?

The lack of understanding or appreciation for design. NZ businesses need to value quality design and creativity; we really have to lose that ‘number 8 wire’ mentality in some areas and wake up to the idea of a highly competitive specialised world. We get very frustrated with people talking about how they can get their cousin down the road to do something cheaper. NZ-ers often don’t seem to understand the importance of doing things really well using specialists to go to a higher level. Having said that we are making progress with helping some clients to understand why they need to up their game and have a strong online presence.

And the advantages?

As a sort of double edged sword that ‘number 8 wire’ mentality also means that people are coming up with really creative and innovative business ideas here. We get to work with some really inspiring and creative entrepreneurs who are running world class businesses from here. We can then help people (particularly exporters) with our knowledge of that global marketplace. We can also offer a price advantage when we work with international clients from here.

I heard that Pep judged the Interactive Media Awards in Australia for AIMIA in March, what does Salted Herring feel the entries were like compared to the New Zealand BeST Awards?

The entries were generally very commercial (he was judging the advertising category) and quite slick. I think it is hard to compare because there isn’t a really good interactive awards platform here yet. The Best awards are more of a traditional design award; they are in the process of improving the interactive category to be more relevant. Overall there is more money being spent on interactive in Australia and just more happening but not necessarily a much higher level than here I think. There is some great work coming out of NZ too. Still what is happening in the States and Europe is so far ahead of what is going on here or in Australia – it is like a different industry! I think this is mostly due to the expectations of clients and consumers – and of course slow broadband, rather than any lack of creative talent here.

What have been some of your most challenging projects and why?

Almost all our projects have a budget challenge! But aside from that, each project has a different creative or project management challenge; some are tricky because we are working with a bigger above the line ad campaign and have to collaborate with other creative’s who may not understand interactive as a medium. Some are tricky because clients really don’t understand what is involved in building a quality site so we spend a lot of time educating them.

And your favourite project to date?

In Holland: Selmore (a Dutch ad agency site) which we love for its humour and it was the first site we made which used video integrated into great photography.

In NZ: PQ Blackwell because we love the products (great art photography books) and we love the client. They are intelligent, creative world class entrepreneurs who appreciate design and push us to go further with our work for them.

What do you enjoy the most about working in website design?

The range of different people and products we work with. It is so interesting to touch on all these different businesses and lives; it keeps it all exciting and new. Every project is different!

What would you say are the benefits of having an interactive website from a business perspective?

 If you have identified your audience correctly from the outset it means that you can really engage them in your product or brand. You create a strong relationship with the people you want to talk to which is worth a huge amount in business terms. It is also like a virtual shop front, you get to portray yourself to the whole world, in the best possible light. I think it is risky NOT to have an interactive, high quality website for a lot of businesses, especially NZ exporters.

Finally, what is your advice to other young New Zealanders wanting to get into the world of interactive website design?

If you want to work in other parts of the world, specialise; be great at what you do. You need to understand all the disciplines involved but don’t need to do all of it. If you are good at coding you should not try to be a designer and vice versa. It is hard to do any one of these things well let alone all of them!

www.saltedherring.com

Interview with MoFresh Productions

MoFresh Productions is the dynamic husband and wife duo of Faye and Preston McNeil, an award winning directing team from New Zealand specialising in Music Videos. Passionate about music videos, MoFresh have worked with a variety of high profiled kiwi artists such as New Zealand’s own Hollie Smith, Iva Lamkum and The Black Seeds. As winners of the Adi Dick “Beautiful View” Music Video Competition 2007, Etch Magazine throws a few inside questions at Faye and Preston about their professional journey to date.

Hello! I visited your website earlier on this week and I noticed you had a nice collection of music videos, along with a variety of other videos and clips, tell me when did the both of you first get into video production?

Preston (P): 2004 – making a music video for GND a local Wellington hip-hop group. This is the first time that Jeremy Mansford and I worked together and later co-founded MoFresh.

Faye (F): 2008 – making a music video for Electric Wire Hustle – I used the same DOP as Preston had used on an Iva Lamkum video – that’s how we met and the rest is MoFresh history, we’ve been working together ever since. 

You say that Mofresh are passionate about music videos, what inspires you most about this type of creative art form?

P: Creative freedom to try new techniques and/or mediums to create visual content that compliments the music. The projects have a fast turn around which keeps the process exciting. Because the projects are relatively small I get to use a variety of my skills, from animating through to directing.

F: The Music – it is what it’s all about! Creating the vision that you get from listening to an inspirational piece of music and trying to recreate that vision, and the journey that it takes you on, you always end up somewhere different from where you’d imagined. It’s exciting that not knowing!

One of the key hurdles to starting your own business is finance. In your profession it can be very expensive with all of the operating equipment required, how did you finance your first big camera to get the business started?

P: Rent, borrow, steal.

F: A bank loan that keeps me awake at night…  

I see that you have worked with a number of different artists – how often do you try new techniques/ styles in your music videos?

P: Constantly. Mofresh has a fairly wide variety of music videos; different styles of animation, mixed media and live action.

F: Any chance I get – it’s really important to observe what other people are doing and try it out for yourself – find out what you like and what you don’t, so that you have it in your mental back catalogue of tricks. 

Are you often up-skilling and how do you do this?

P: Always leveling-up, just like life, through experience. Working with new peeps, trying new techniques, reading, listening.

F: Collaborating and working constantly. Being around other people that have been working in a different area from you, talking to them, watching them on set – this is a very small and tight community of artists – we all help each other out in that respect. And just keep on doing stuff – practice makes perfect. 

What has been your favourite artist to work with to date and why?

P: Hollie Smith, because she’s awesome… great fun to work with and understands the creative process. 

F: Hollie Smith – we’ve made two videos for Hollie this year and she is such a dedicated artist. She works really hard on set and she’s just a really nice person to be around – our work with her has been relaxed and fun and based on very solid trust of each other’s skills in our separate crafts. That kind of trust is rare.

What is the most difficult part of your job?

 P: Usually deadlines and budgets. Both can be very restricting to what you want to produce. But that’s part of the challenge.

F: The lack of sleep is by far the most challenging part of any production. Having to be on point, creative and constantly moving for hour after hour, on a couple of hours sleep, that shit gets to you after a few to many days of it. 

When starting your own business you are almost guaranteed to make a few mistakes. Do you have any on-site or off-site blunders you would like to share with us?

P: Filming the Black Seeds video “Slingshot”. Using the Red camera we shot a lot of footage using the wrong aspect ratio, which took $1000 and a week to correct. A couple weeks later there was a firmware update for the camera to correct this, typical.

F: When filming ‘Mamma’ for Hollie Smith, we had a scene where she places some explosives in a car – we totally forgot to get the prop, so we had to go to a restaurant and they gave us some pizza dough which we wrapped in gaffer tape, and we used that instead. Luckily the shot is quick, but if you look closely you can see the lumps in the dough. 

How much does the average music video cost these days?

P: It pretty much goes in three tiers;

No NZ on Air funding $200-$3000
Got NZ on Air funding $5000
Got NZ on Air funding and adding to the pot $6000-$20000

Music videos rely heavily on the commodity TIME, and who has what spare to invest in the project.

F: there is no average cost for a video – but in NZ there is a $5000 grant from NZ on Air that a few lucky artists get. So a lot of videos here are made for that much – But I’ve made videos on way less – that’s the best thing about this medium if you can get a camera and have a good idea and a willing band – anything is possible! ANYTHING – But money really helps!

If you had a $500,000 budget what ‘expensive’ idea would you most like to try?

P: Explosions and live action stunts….. 

F: Helicopters, reflective glass floors and pyrotechnics!

Lastly, what do you have planned for the future of MoFresh and where can we check out some samples of your stuff?

P: Short films, both live action and animation. More music videos here in NZ and looking to Asia and Europe for projects.

F: We have some large scale music based projects in the pipe lines so keep an eye out www.mofresh.co.nz

Preston McNeil – director’s reel 2010 from Mofresh on Vimeo.