Twins arrive in town

Rotary club members Richard Barnett (left), Don Stephenson and Liz Edwards, with Tammy Olsen of Ashhurst, the winner of the design competition for the town's new mascots, and Rotary club member Tim Delaney.

There has been a much anticipated spring arrival in Dannevirke this week - the birth of Viking twins Dani and Danny.

The engaging duo arrived to be greeted with fun and a little mischief by members of the Dannevirke Rotary Club on Tuesday.

Designed by Ashhurst self-taught graphic artist Tammy Olsen, it is hoped the Viking mascots will become a friendly symbol of Dannevirke.

Competition organiser Tim Delaney said: "The simple lines and vibrant colours really fit our criteria."

The next step is seeing the mascots leap off the paper at the Spring Festival parade on Saturday, September 28.

"It will be exciting to see them in real life," Ms Olsen said.

But this was one birth which didn't go smoothly, with a number of changes required before Dani and Danny could make their first public appearance.

"Tammy was very flexible and when I rang and asked for her to change the colours of the twins, replace Danny's sword with a hammer, get rid of the shield and put flowers in Dani's hands. It only took her an hour to work her magic," Mr Delaney said.

Ms Olsen designed the pair using her tablet and pencil and said she would be using the $250 prize money to put towards a graphic design course.

"I love graphic design and have only completed one term at high school, so I'd like to have more training," she said.

It was thanks to her Dannevirke friend Jill Sandbrook that she heard of the Rotary club's competition.

"I only had a day and a half to get my entry in and I knew Tim wanted 'cute' - so I worked in a style known as chibi, which is a child's version of a design," she said. Already the Rotary club features Dani and Danny on the cover of its Spring Festival brochure.

Margie Delaney will be using the twins on the programme for the Dog Daz Ruahine Kennel show during the festival.

But there will need to be some adaptations, Tim said.

The competition was judged by primary school and high school pupils, along with a mum who has school-aged children, to ensure Dani and Danny had universal appeal, Mr Delaney said.