Home is where the art is

Gary Hicks and his favourite Australian acquisition, a Sebel chair. Picture / Babiche Martens

After eight years living in Sydney working for style bibles Vogue Living, GQ Australia and Vogue Australia Gary Hicks returned home to Auckland.

"I loved working on quality magazines that were full of beautiful and evocative images. It was an amazing experience working in a creative environment that was so design focused," says Hicks, who started at Vogue as an editorial co-ordinator and ended up as production manager for all three titles.

Living in Sydney also gave him a chance to indulge his passion for collecting interesting and varied homewares.

For the past three years he has been managing the successful designer homeware and furniture store Republic Home in Ponsonby Rd.

He shares a bungalow in Cox's Bay with fellow furniture enthusiast Hannah Skinner, of Italian design store Indice.

My 10 favourite things
For pictures click 'More Pictures' above.

Scandanavian glassware

I started collecting Swedish glass about 11 years ago. These pieces are still fairly common in op-shops in New Zealand and can be picked up for a reasonable price. It's the colour and the various simplistic shapes that draw me to them. The seventies orange is a favourite accent colour and in a simple space they really stand out.

Karl Blossfeldt photographs

German photographer Karl Blossfeldt's pictures of plants and buds, taken in the 1890s, are fantastic. I often pick up this book and marvel at the magnified sculptural forms. They look stark against the white or grey backgrounds. He was very modern in his approach to photography.

Sebel chair

When I lived in Kings Cross in Sydney I came across this old chair sitting out on a footpath while walking home late one night. Sydneysiders often leave unwanted furniture out on the street, so over my shoulder it went and home it came. Made by Australian furniture company Sebel, it's comfy to slouch in while the chrome frame has kept it looking sharp.

Michael Parekowhai jackstraws

I love these bronze jackstraws by Michael Parekowhai from Michael Lett. They have pins on the back which could be worn as brooches. I pin them jumbled on to the wall as a little installation. They are perfect in their casting and are beautifully finished.

Painted vase

My friend Nina gave me this painted vase that she found in one of the bric-a-brac shops in Christchurch. It's so cool, I can't figure out where it was made - possibly German, possibly Japanese. But it's a favourite and usually sits among a cluster of retro glassware at home.

Oscar Tusquet side table

This is a great little table. I bought it as a 30th birthday present to myself from my friends at Indice. It has been dragged through so many flats and apartments over the years. It's had wine and candle wax spilt on it but with a wipe it always comes up a treat. The pearwood has never scratched and its elegant legs are still sound - what a great buy.

Moroccan pouf

We sell Moroccan poufs at Republic every winter. They come in several colours but I particularly like the patterned camel one. It works well as a stool, footrest or even as a little sidetable. The great thing about leather furniture is that the older and more worn it gets, the better it looks.

Boda Nova espresso cups

These espresso cups and wooden saucers from Swedish company Kosta Boda, are just the right size for that hit of caffeine that I need in the mornings. I like the way the saucers are big enough to hold a couple of bikkies and the thickness of the cup keeps the coffee hot.

Indonesian combs

I picked these bone combs up in Indonesia at an antique store where we source some of the furniture for Republic. They are extremely delicate and the idea that someone has worn them in the past makes them feel very personal. They make for interesting little objects - all I need now is a glass case to put them on show.

Oscar Niemeyer's architecture in Brasilia

The monumental scale and beauty of Brazil's purpose-built capital city Brasilia has always been my favourite example of modernist architecture. The fact that it was conceived then realised by being built in the middle of South America is a testament to Niemeyer's incredible vision. What's even more amazing is that it was built about 40 years ago and still looks incredibly contemporary.