One newcomer to Whanganui can often be found searching local beaches for just the right pieces of driftwood.
Bronwen Coe and her family came to live in Whanganui nearly 18 months ago. Husband Simon teaches at Wanganui Collegiate School and they have three boys aged eight, six and four, and two dogs.
Mrs Coe has always made things and had a fondness for beaches. Growing up in Southampton on the south coast of England her family visited beaches and camped in north Devon and Wales.
She and her husband moved to New Zealand in 2005 and lived in Napier. She continued her beach explorations. She found plenty of driftwood, made things with it and sold them at a few markets.
In Whanganui she got serious about selling what she makes rather than giving it away. She approached the Sarjeant Gallery, where her driftwood Christmas trees have been top sellers.