The Collaboration is a supportive space and network for aspiring, emerging and established small businesses and artists to grow together. It isn’t just about selling art and gifts; it is firstly about people combining and sharing strengths and learning from one another - through collaboration, incredible things can happen. Ngamotu New Plymouth residents Philippa Gray and Anna Scott are living representatives of combining skills and strengths to create opportunities for others to thrive. Now, after five years of collaborating, they look back on their journey together and the incredible opportunities, challenges and growth they have experienced along the way.
Philippa, an accountant, and Anna, an art teacher, met at the markets when they both had young children and were developing their own side hustles while at home with their young whānau. Philippa had an idea to take her small online business into a physical space in the CBD, and invited Anna along to contribute to a pop-up in an old building in the New Plymouth CBD. The adventurous duo went exploring upstairs in a building they had popped up in - Anna’s eyes lit up and, in a moment of excitement, she suggested using the spot as an exhibition space. Philippa set the challenge for the next edition, and that then formed The Collaboration - a gallery, retail, design and workshop space.
It started as a small pop-up revitalising dormant buildings in the CBD. But the community demand grew for a permanent Collaboration. Signing a long-term lease before Covid hit was one of their most frightening business experiences to date. Only knowing restricted conditions for the first two years in their permanent space allowed for dynamic and resilient business decisions and enabled The Collaboration to grow in what were turbulent times, from helping Auckland artists by allowing them space to exhibit and sell from while they were unable to service their own area, to building strong relationships with neighbouring cities such as Whanganui to create opportunities to exhibit and sell from outside their own district.
Introducing Whanganui artists to Ngamotu New Plymouth, just a skip up the road, it seemed an easy stepping stone for Whanganui collaborators to share their work outside the region. Artists shared transport across and helped move artwork between both regions, and our extended community continued to grow.
When the idea of expansion came about, Whanganui seemed the natural fit. A thriving community of creatives and artists already existed. It was the perfect location for adapting the model to become a boutique Collaboration to complement the opportunities already on offer in Whanganui, and to create a unique, well-curated shopping experience for the community and a supportive kaupapa to our “collaborators” (artists, small businesses and creatives involved) where the community can meet the maker and owner of the small businesses in the boutique. The Collaboration is excited to bring to Whanganui the Young Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Artist programme.
