Stories

James Scott and his team at Stencil in The Colombo stock fine apparel, footwear and classics from the best national and international brands. For men we’re loving what we’ve seen from Carhartt and Patagonia. We’re just seeing some really good depth in the products these guys have, and the quality. Nudie Jeans have some great denim too. People have really embraced brands they know and are comfortable with. For women, we love the New Zealand brand Thing Thing. It’s unique, there’s a lot more colour and a range of different garments, really well presented and on point for women’s fashion. And we’ve just brought in some cool Carhartt Women’s stuff as well. In footwear, things are a bit strange because deliveries around the world are being held up or cancelled. What we have seen though, is some great products coming through form New Balance, Nike and Vans. The sneaker programme is...

Belinda Blanchfield’s Issimo is a hip-as-all-hell independent footwear and accessory boutique in Merivale rocking slick sneakers, hot heels and everything in between. My favourite brands right now are Ivylee from Copenhagen, producing simple Danish designs, and Kathryn Wilson, an Auckland-based designer who’s at the forefront of any season with her great styles and colour options. The colours that are standing out are pastel pinks, lemons and navy blues with a little animal print. For this season’s race day events and garden weddings block heels are popular, and out on the street sneakers have a real presence. Otherwise, it’s all about soft pastels, fun brights and a real mixture of colour palettes. This year the sneaker has certainly become more of a staple wardrobe item, and not just your plain white ones. I'm excited about platform sneakers (actually all sneakers), a good mule, and soft lemon-coloured heels and a good everyday block heeled...

You’ll find Elsie Burt at Death by Denim, a top-to-toe boutique that touts the transformative power of that perfect pair of jeans, with stores in the central city and Merivale. This season there is a rise in femininity with more florals and floaty tops, but paired with distressed and detailed jeans to give the whole look an urban feel. There are so many awesome brands in store right now. Zhrill have totally nailed both denim and blazers this season, we are super excited to have women’s Diesel in the city store, and LTB’s summer drop next month is going to be amazing. Stock changes every week so its always fresh and there is always something new to try. Oh! And Stella + Gemma and Hammill & Co continue to wow their fans with each range. I've noticed this year that denim joggers, the look of jeans but the feel of a...

Benji’s a denim legend, and his store EnCompass in The Tannery is a go-to streetwear destination, but be warned: you’re bound to leave with an obsession for a killer brand you’d never heard of before. The season’s look for men is light wash slim taper denim paired with casual waistcoats and blazers. Fedoras and cheese cutters are back in. The colours for the season are mustard, off white, khaki, gold, and deep green. This year, women are wearing a wider cropped leg, ankle flares and straighter silhouettes, and greens and mustards are really popular. A lot of our brands cross over from men to women, like Nobody, Native Youth, Federation, Maison Scotch, Religion, Garcia, G-Star RAW, Scotch & Soda, Diesel, LTB, and Nudie. Some items that have me excited are the engineered overalls/jumpsuit by G-Star, raffia chino by Scotch & Soda, Nobody high waisted loose flare, Diesel Fayza boyfriend jean, and...

Charlotte Dawes at Moutique in Prestons is an expert in sourcing hard-to-find Kiwi brands, and she’s got some fantastic drops coming in this season. For any season everyone should have a really nice fitting blazer, one that works with jeans and a tee or cami, or can be worn with a skirt or over a dress. I’d always recommend spending a bit more on the one that fits perfectly; you’ll have it for years to come. Longer skirts are making a comeback. These work really well for dressing up or wearing with a tee and sneakers. We have a broad customer base that includes women in their 20s all the way up to their 70s, so we pick things that work well across people of all ages. We’re eagerly awaiting a brand new New Zealand-designed label called et alia. This summer’s drop will be their first and we are very excited...

Infinite Definite hosts a carefully-selected eclectic range of fashion and homewares made in New Zealand and sourced from afar. Jono Moran says the store’s big focus is on design, quality and community. We love all our New Zealand designers like Penny Sage, Twenty-Seven Names, Kowtow and Marle, as well as some exciting international brands including Paloma Wool, Veja, New Balance, Gramicci and more. In the accessories department, semi-flat sunnies and petite and micro bags or clutches are taking the charge. Anything on the pink to red scale is standing out colour-wise. There are lots of bold berry tones, and our classic natural tones aren't going anywhere. Quality linen pieces help keep everything nice and cool in spring and summer, as do flexible dresses that can be reversed, belted or cinched for any occasion. We're big believers in holding on to items as the seasons come and go - you never know...

Cover your foot claws with Wolverine boots, the iconic US work boot brand with over a century of history, now available at Nevada Sport in Cashel Street and online at its shiny new website built by SOMO Creative. Way back in 1883, third-generation leather tanner G.A. Krause founded a company in Michigan to produce work boot and leather gloves that were famed for their comfort. Twenty years later, when Krause and his sons were producing around 300 boots a day, the business brought electricity to their home town of Rockford. Wolverine is still making its iconic 1000 Mile Boot, named because way back in the early 20th Century it was good for a thousand miles of wear. It’s even still made from the original 1914 boot pattern, with a few modern updates on the inside. wolverine.co.nz

Pixelate Arcade is bringing classic retro games, pinball and a full bar to Lichfield Courtyard. The arcade, opened in early October, serves food, and the bar will open once the school holidays are over. Pixelate founder Iain is an expert pinball machine repairman, keeping these beauties in working order all around Christchurch and now, he’s created an ideal place to play. The team has also opened a pop up in Little High Eatery called Little Pixelate Arcade, to keep the kids (and the adults) entertained while you’re waiting for your food. Get competitive on the air hockey table, try out the only Oktoberfest pinball machine in New Zealand, or test your armspan on the flippers of Hercules, the world’s largest pinball machine, made in 1979. A trip to Pixelate is like a trip back in time, to the flashing lights and punchy sound effects of the analogue 80s, and all the...

It’s a café! It’s a bar! No, it’s an all-day, late-night food and drink experience! Gold Aroma recently popped up in Colombo Street complete with brunch, lunch, coffee, cocktails and DJ sessions that run ‘til the wee hours for the hungry, thirsty and young at heart. After 10pm, Gold Aroma is the go-to spot for a cheeky bit of fun, with DJs banging out the tunes on weekends, and beer tubes filled with the gold stuff for you to share with your buddies. It’s even got a beautiful outdoor area for when that golden sun shines through. Gold Aroma is committed to the colour, serving up seriously good gold-glazed ice cream as the perfect after-dinner treat. goldaroma.co.nz

Mindful Journeys is a Spotify album released by Tourism NZ. Narrated by James Rickard, the master carver at Te Puia Rotorua, each of the four tracks features the real sounds of water, air, birds and insects at peaceful New Zealand destinations. The first track starts with the sound of waves crashing on beaches in the far north, and moves south through iconic sonic destinations like Rotorua, the West Coast, Central Otago and the Marlborough Sounds. On the journey, you’ll be reminded of New Zealand’s most relaxing soundscapes, from mud bubbling away softly in Rotorua, to the songs of our native birds and earthy whistles of wind on the forest floor. “We wanted to remind New Zealanders of the calm and serenity that can be found on their back doorstep,” says Brodie Reid, Director of Marketing for Tourism New Zealand. The sound of nature has been proven to help people relax, physically...

Hot spots for eating, drinking, seeing and doing in Ōtautahi this beautiful season. EAT Stunningly presented and absolutely authentic Japanese cuisine served by the most gracious and attentive of hosts at Tomi Japanese Restaurant. DRINK 12 Bar offers foot-tapping live blues and a bodacious selection of New Zealand beers on tap and craft beers in the fridge. COFFEE Your Café Stir flat white will taste even better with the historic surrounds of New Regent Street and the Christchurch tram rolling by. SEE The special Treasures of the Collection exhibition highlighting Canterbury Museum’s many wonders and hidden gems. DO Spring fever is making us want to shed layers and get outdoors, and Biketober gives us the perfect excuse to do just that. With events almost daily for the whole of October, Biketober celebrates riding a bike and offers unique, social ways to enjoy the spring season on two wheels.

New Zealand-owned premium home appliance retailer Kouzina Appliances has opened a beautiful new Christchurch showroom in Victoria Street. Established in 2004 with stores in Auckland and Queenstown, the company launched the new Christchurch premises this year. It’s an inspirational space for residential and commercial projects, where the knowledgeable staff collaborate with you to bring your vision to life. Kouzina stocks an extensive range of top-of-the-line international brands, many of which have long legacies in the industry. Miele, a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances is over a hundred years old, and Bertazzoni, an Italian manufacturer, has been making ovens for six generations, since they were powered by burning wood. Gaggenau, one of Kouzina's brands, just celebrated its 333rd birthday. The new Kouzina showroom is full of appliances that will fit with stunning interior design, including rangehoods like look more like industrial art projects that what most of us are used to....

Dane Mitchell talks to Cityscape about his new creation for SCAPE Public Art Spring Season 2020, and how art can serve as a ‘Trojan horse’ for new perspectives and ideas. Can you describe the artwork for me? The work comes directly out of 'Post hoc’, my Venice Biennale, New Zealand Pavilion exhibition, in that it seeks to extend the central language of that work and think about vanished, extinct and gone things in new, extended ways. It’s an oversized ‘object mount’, an apparatus to hold an object in a museum. This establishes the vague form of a (missing) non-human species – something akin to a mammoth in scale, even larger. The shape of the mount also suggest something that’s perhaps rigid, or technological, sitting somewhere close to an extinct or lost species, yet entangled in a fiction by which it might be imagined to have held aloft some sort of technological...

We have a unique connection to Antarctica here in Christchurch, and this October, Days of Ice presents an opportunity to explore, learn about and celebrate our icy neighbour. The ten-day festival includes events, exhibitions, guest speakers, films, kids’ activities and competitions, as well as plenty of interactive experiences. A highlight will be the Polar Film Festival at Lumière Cinemas from Saturday 10 October to Sunday 18 October, an exploration of the history and grandeur of Earth’s polar regions, and the environmental challenges they are facing.  Other Days of Ice events include the Antarctic Gateway and Frozen Wild Photography Exhibitions, a talk from filmmaker and photographer Anthony Powell about his experiences filming in Antarctica, and an Immersive Antarctica VR experience. There are also holiday programmes for kids such as Penguin Keeper for a Day and spending a day with a husky musher and their huskies.  Ōtautahi is one of only five Antarctic...

While good food will elevate your party from shindig to soirée, it shouldn’t distract you from the main goal of the day: having fun. Here are Cityscape’s tips to create a great foodie experience while freeing you up to socialise. Keep sit-down meals balanced. Think about how your dishes are going to go together. If you’ve got a heavy main, keep the starter and dessert light and fresh. People gravitate towards kitchens at parties. Use that to your advantage. Serve food in the kitchen where any mess is easy to clean, and you can keep an eye on proceedings while you chat. Lay out a buffet strategically. Put plates at one end and cutlery at the other. People will start at the plates, and won’t have to fumble with cutlery while they serve. Also, place limited-supply food at the end of the table near the utensils – it’ll last longer there....

The Colombo Bookstore managers Charlotte Cohen and Belinda Archibald are bibliophiles with a passion for finding that extra-special read, whether it’s a thrilling new memoir or an elusive childhood classic. Belinda tells Cityscape the story of the store and the regulars’ reading habits. The Colombo Bookstore doesn’t look like other bookshops. The design idea is that we want to make sure people feel comfortable. We have as many books as space allows displayed face up on our antique tables to make selection easier. Customers can sit on the antique chairs and take their time to find a book they really love. The store is a bit antique, and a bit Willy Wonka. We actually have some antiques for sale too. And we’ve got bright, quirky lights and eclectic decorations. We’re a small bookstore, so we choose books that we really like, and that our customer community are indicating their interest in....

Take your mind for a wander at University Bookshop, where you can dive into worlds unknown. Admire and take notes on exotic and fantastical architecture, or something a little more realistic and close to home. Green your thumbs growing lush, perfumed and edible plants. Walk through the great art galleries of the globe, and connect with history’s thinkers of philosophy, religion and social issues. Take your wanderlust flying with Louis Theroux’s The Call of the Weird and feed it with Lonely Planet’s Around the World in 80 Food Trucks. Your artistic education within these book-lined walls can range from Rembrandt to The Art of Winnie the Pooh (or even The Cat Butt Coloring and Activity Book). The children among us can get lost in worlds ranging from the Canadian farmlands of Anne of Green Gables to the high seas of Who Wants to be a Pirate? Whatever your Persuasion (Austen, 1817),...

Natasha Matila-Smith’s contribution to SCAPE Public Art Spring Season 2020 is a wordy number influenced by internet culture. Cityscape messages her to find out more. Can you describe the artwork for us? I’ve created a series of text and graphic works for SCAPE titled Frank, Love and the Apocalypse (2020). My practice addresses themes such as unrequited love, limerence, modern intimacy and online identities; it’s also littered with pop-culture references and nostalgia for things that may not have ever been real like the perfect French boyfriend. Consisting of six still billboards and a short time-based work, they sometimes read like a diary entry, sometimes like a conversation, and yet other times, because of the scale and location, like an advertisement. How will people view or interact with it? There is no particular order, but hopefully people get to literally sit with the work or stop to read it. I like to...