Tristan Marler is formally trained in Whakairo Rākau (traditional wood carving) and specialises in Tā Moko, blackwork, dotwork and patterning. Photo / NZ Herald / Dean Purcell.
Leanne Moore talks to three designers about crafting beauty, meaning and purpose.
When you're charting your own course to success, there's no right or wrong direction. Tristan Marler has taken a few twists and turns on his way to becoming a multi-disciplinary artist, adding layers to his creative journey along the way. His art mixes the rich cultural heritage of Māori tradition with digital technology to create contemporary designs that are a tribute to the artistry of yesterday, yet graphic and modern at the same time.
When he's not performing tā moko (traditional Māori tattoo) at Auckland's Sunset Tattoo he's creating original artworks at his home studio in Mt Albert.
"I'm passionate about making prints and paintings using traditional kōwhaiwhai, tāniko and tukutuku patterns. I design my prints and tattoo designs using a computer. I love the way geometric patterns fit in grids, just as weavers use the warp and weft to create patterns."
After leaving school he formally trained in whakairo rākau (traditional wood carving) at Rotorua's New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute, a defining moment for Marler. "When I got there I quickly realised I was out of my depth, coming from a mainstream education background," he says. "I was training with people from all over the country who had grown up immersed in te ao Māori, while I knew very little about my own cultural heritage. It was then that I realised I was part of something that was much bigger than my own narrow interests. I was learning something that I would be able to take back to my iwi."
Growing up in Auckland, Marler is of Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri descent. "I wouldn't have been able to get into the carving school if it wasn't for my mum," he says. "She helped me get the endorsement from my rūnanga that I needed. That was my first big break and paved the way for everything in my career. It was there that I learned to be comfortable with my identity and figured out who I am and what my purpose is."
His parents, architect and associate professor Fleur Palmer and designer Justin Marler, have always backed Marler's art journey. "My parents have been amazing mentors. They fostered my art-making since early childhood and have been really encouraging of all my creative endeavours. I also had some generous and supportive mentors during my time at NZMACI … Clive Fugill, James Rickard and Albert Te Pou [all master carvers], to name a few."
Merging creativity with commerce can be tricky but it's a path Marler has successfully navigated. After graduating from carving school in 2014, followed by a brief stint at art school in Auckland, he was about to head overseas when an opportunity came his way that he couldn't turn down. Family friend and owner of Sunset Tattoo Tom McMillan offered him an apprenticeship. "I owe him a lot for opening that door for me."
Marler has since established himself as a tā moko specialist, with clients from all over the world seeking out his artistry. "What I love about tā moko is the whakapapa (history). Being able to work with a visual language and tell stories – but never the same story twice – is so inspiring."
Opportunity is one thing, but it takes commitment, tenacity and fortitude to turn a passion into your life's work.
When Marler's day job at Sunset is over, his creativity continues. He spends many long nights and weekends at the computer, or painting in his garage studio, creating artworks that are available at Auckland gallery The Poi Room.
The upside is that when you make a living doing what you love the line between work and play is blurred. "Success to me is happiness," says Marler. "And my work makes me very happy. Most of the time it doesn't feel like work at all."
Ed Cruikshank approaches furniture design as an exercise in blending the old and the new, in a way that makes it very rich and is very much of him. His well-crafted pieces represent a fusion of history and modernity, bringing together the past and the present in meaningful and thoughtful designs that will last the test of time. Put simply, his pieces are the antiques of the future.
"The X-factor of timelessness is what I'm trying to achieve," says Cruikshank, who works out of his South Island studio at the base of Coronet Peak and sells his pieces around the world. Based in New Zealand for the past 19 years, he's not entirely of New Zealand, though he calls it home these days. He grew up and trained in the United Kingdom, honing his skills for more than a decade working for the Queen's nephew, Viscount Linley, the son of royal rebel Princess Margaret and photographer Lord Snowdon.
"Being spotted by David Linley and offered a job just as I was leaving design college in London was a perfect way to combine my training in fine cabinet-making with my newfound passion for custom design. It was a transformative time in my life personally and professionally and it brought me to New Zealand for the first time in 1997 (to oversee a sloop fit-out for a Linley customer)."
During his years with Linley he became even more acutely aware of the beauty and value of making things that will last, though after a decade rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, Cruikshank was ready to strike out on his own.
"I wanted to express my own design ethos in pieces that would have an enduring nature."
He chose to put down roots in New Zealand, establishing his design practice in Queenstown in 2002. He remembers there were plenty of naysayers who said nobody would be prepared to pay for custom-made, high-quality furniture. "It took a lot of hard work and tenacity to succeed," he says.
Using his skills and flair, Cruikshank developed a signature style that champions craftsmanship, intrinsic beauty and the very best of materials, qualities that resonate with his loyal clients.
In 2015, after 10 years running his studio and retail showroom in Arrowtown, Cruikshank found himself at a crossroads, questioning his balance between commercial success and artistic freedom. "I decided I needed more time to focus on purely creative projects. I closed the store and set up my private studio at home, which gave me a whole new lease of life and brought me back to myself and the work I wanted to be doing."
For Cruikshank, it's vital his work connects with people on an emotional level. His satisfaction comes from creating something his clients treasure and will want to keep forever. "It's never been about money to me, it's about quality, integrity and creating things that are designed and built to last," he says.
"Each piece is marked as a Cruikshank. Some of the custom-made furniture is also embedded with a note from me, dated and signed, that tells the story of how it came about." In an age when meaningful consumption is becoming more and more relevant, it's reassuring to know the origin of the maker will not be lost.
Emma Hayes has an eye for colour and composition. Her artistic side was picked up and encouraged at school and she's gone on to make a living from bringing her wild, imaginative concepts to life.
"I always wanted to do something in a creative field," says the Auckland-based textile, wall coverings and accessories designer, whose work is featured in homes, hotels and offices around the world.
For someone as creative as Hayes, her first job at Auckland design studio Inhouse was exactly the right place to nurture her talent. "My bosses, Arch and Jane MacDonnell, taught me that it's possible to successfully marry fine arts with commerce. Coming straight out of art school, I found this incredibly inspiring."
Buoyed by this experience, in 2003 Hayes left for London to add another layer to her creative life. She was accepted to study at the prestigious arts college, Central Saint Martins, which lists Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and John Galliano among its notable alumni. Returning to New Zealand three years later, Hayes landed a job designing exclusive textiles for fashion label Cybele.
"It was an exciting time to be part of a team that took a concept for a range right through from design to marketing."
It gave her the confidence to launch her own business in 2011, though she veered away from fashion toward the world of interiors.
"I was ready for a change and I could see a gap in the lifestyle market for beautiful textiles. It felt like a natural progression to move in that direction."
She found her muse in New Zealand landscapes, creating a moody and painterly collection that struck a chord almost immediately.
Creating a business from scratch isn't easy but the curveball Hayes was thrown at the start tested her resilience.
"Having triplets when the business was in its infancy was a great joy on a personal level but a hurdle in terms of stamina. I had to design my business around my life, not the other way around," she says. "With children, change happens all the time, so I feel more accepting of it and less likely to sweat the small stuff and, if it's big stuff, I know that we'll eventually work through it."
Having a studio at home helps Hayes balance work and home life. One of her most productive times of the day is first thing in the morning. She'll often rise at 5.30am to paint and draw before 6-year-old Quinn, Louie and Remi wake up. Spending time in green spaces with her partner and sons helps fuel her creative energy.
Hayes is rapt that her designs – an amalgamation of her artistry with digital processes – have been so well received.
"Textile design as a design discipline has not had a huge focus in New Zealand. I'd like to think that by doing what we're doing as a business, we are putting the spotlight on it."
Hayes never takes what she has achieved for granted. "I have lost family, including my mum, who died of cancer when I was 17. That had a massive impact on me," she explains. "Losing those close to me has taught me to be thankful for the small things in life, those moments when you can enjoy a few sips of a hot cup of tea or the feeling of the warm sun on your face."
They left for a specific reason. But it could pave the way for more to follow.