Waikato Business News April/May 2023

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Waipā Businesses shine at awards The Waipā Networks Business Awards celebrated a variety of diverse local businesses from across the Waipā region recently at a night of celebration and glamour. 7. Treadlite New Zealand team with Waipa Networks CEO Sean Horgan 8. 10. 12. 14. This year has seen a strong field of entrants, both in quality and number of entries, doubling the number from 2021. From new and emerging, small, medium and large businesses - each were judged on their own merit across a range of 16 award categories. A judging panel of experienced industry professionals were led by two head judges Howard Davey and Heather Connelly of the University of Waikato - Management School. “The level of innovation and adoption of technology often in more ‘traditional’ businesses was outstanding. The strategic thinking and application were very impressive, ie ‘walking the talk’, taking time out to think about future directions and choices. Nurturing and developing workers and building resilient teams came across strongly. Finally, a dominant theme was the client relationship and understanding customers’ needs. Overall, the level of innovation, energy, and commitment, as well as outright success bodes well for the future of the district,” Davey says. Cambridge Business Chamber CEO Kelly Bouzaid says the chamber was delighted at both the diversity and calibre of applications for the 2023 awards. “We are in a privileged position to peek into businesses of all ages and stages and see the calibre of leadership, innovation, culture and sustainability. We have seen resilience and robustness within our business community, and we are inspired and proud of their achievements.” 1. Jim Goddin from Grinter’s Funeral Home and Rosetown Funeral Home and Waipā District Council Mayor Susan O’Regan | 2. Joelene Ranby from Resolution Retreats and Te Awamutu Business Chamber CEO Shane Walsh | 3. Findex Te Awamutu associate partner Jarrod Godfrey and Daryl-Lynn Wilken from Varntige | 4. University of Waikato Pro Vice Chancellor Matt Bolger and Ignite Arts Academy Raymond and Maxine Nelson | 5. Rocketspark co-founder Jeremy Johnson and Tracy Morgan from Squoodles Educational Resources | 6. Waipā District Council Deputy Mayor Liz Stolwyk and Emily Hudson from HomeBrew Coffee | 7. Steve Hastie from Riverside Adventures Waikato and Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton | 8. Richard Upperton from Treadlite NZ and PAUA Architects Business Development Manager Phil Mackay | 9. Aroha Croft from The Smoke Collective Barbecue and Cambridge & Te Awamutu News editor Roy Pilott | 10. Fieldays CEO Peter Nation and APL Window Solutions manager Danielle Stowers-Boon | 11. Cambridge Business Chamber chair Tracy Olivier and Jim Goddin from Grinter’s Funeral Home and Rosetown Funeral Home | 12. Tracy Morgan from Squoodles Educational Resources and Craigs Investment Partners advisor Chantal Baxter | 13. Daniel Billings from Maple and Stone and Cambridge Raceway CEO Dave Branch | 14. Mark Hanlon from Rotary Cambridge Urban Miners and Waipā Council Waste Minimisation advisor Sally Fraser 9. 11. 13. Winners of the 2023 Waipā Networks Business Awards SUPREME WINNER Treadlite NZ Ltd CUSTOMER CHOICE The Smoke Collective Barbecue – Cambridge Fresh Choice Supermarket - Te Awamutu EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR Emily Hudson – Homebrew Coffee – Cambridge Darryl-Lynn Wilken – Varntige - Te Awamutu LEADER OF THE YEAR Peter Nation – NZ National Fieldays Society COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION Grinter’s Funeral Home and Rosetown Funeral Home EXCELLENCE IN LARGE BUSINESS Treadlite NZ Ltd EXCELLENCE IN MEDIUM BUSINESS Resolution Retreats EXCELLENCE IN SMALL BUSINESS Grinter’s Funeral Home and Rosetown Funeral Home EXCELLENCE IN EMERGING/NEW BUSINESS Maple and Stone INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE Squoodles Educational Resources DIGITAL STRATEGY AND E-COMMERCE Squoodles Educational Resources WASTE MINIMISATION – ENVIRONMENTAL Rotary Cambridge Urban Miners CONTRIBUTION TO TOURSIM AND/OR HOSPITALITY Riverside Adventures Waikato JUDGES CHOICE Ignite Arts Academy Procuta Associates Urban + Architecture Contact us 07 839 6521 www.pauaarchitects.co.nz Proud sponsors of the Business Excellence - Large Business Award, PAUA congratulates Treadlite NZ for their success in winning this category and the Supreme Award
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, APRIL/MAY 2023 15 The Business of Art Emerging artist makes an impact Exploring the creatives in the business of art Pounamu Wharekawa (Ngai te Rangi, they/ themme/ia) is a relative newcomer on the art scene in Hamilton but they are already making a big impact. A self-described “indigenous baddie, fine artist, illustrator and muralist”, Pounamu makes art that speaks about the “intersections of identity through the lens of a queer, small town turned urban Māori living their best boring life in the big smoke of Kirikiriroa”. Using vibrant technicolour to depict contemporary versions of Māori pūrākau (legends), atua (deity) and ancestors, Pounamu reimagines them as if they were a cast of rich and diverse characters dancing at the club in downtown Aotearoa. “I feel like you can’t avoid your own identity. As a takatāpui Māori, feminine person there's no way to avoid any of my lefty views coming into my art because I value my own existence and that of my peers. So, all of my work is a love letter to them and the people I know, and I feel like that in itself is political. These are trans people, these are square people, these are beautiful mana wāhine who are under appreciated in our society.” Participating in the Boon Street Art Festival in 2021, their mural of a feminine atua on Liverpool Street was created in their last year of Wintec media arts studies. “It is about how when you’re in the city or a different place from where you whakapapa to/ where you grow up it’s easy to feel lonely or like it’s not where you belong. The mural depicts a rangatahi and a tīpuna hongi-ing, kind of a play on the saying my ancestors walk with me - so the idea that no matter how alone you feel, your ancestors are always there with you.” This stunning piece of street art is not their first mural though, it was a mural Pounamu had painted while at Wintec that caught the eye of Boon Street Festival director Craig McClure. “He saw my first ever mural and he just hit me up to be in the mural festival, so that was pretty cool.” Making these sorts of connections is something Pounamu has actively fostered in the pursuit of being a fulltime artist. I feel really lucky to be working fulltime as an artist. I was not expecting it to be this close after graduating. “I worked really hard, going out to events and making friends with people that were in really good positions to offer me work or help nurture me. At one event I just happened to meet someone who was really good at funding applications. She fully took that on for me and she did not expect anything in return for it.” The early success, coupled with past experiences of undervaluing their work, has given Pounamu the confidence to negotiate with clients’ booking commission work. Being able to price accordingly is something Pounamu has put a bit of thought into. After all there’s a lot of time that goes into a painting regardless of its size. “I like to have a price range in mind that I will never go under. But I’ll also ask the client what their budget is and then I can offer a range of different of things that I can do for them.” Before Wintec, Pounamu had tried their luck at making a living as an artist but they didn’t have the business sense at the time to value their work. “Basically, I was trying to sell original illustrations for 30 bucks, which is the same as a print price. Obviously, I wasn't doing very well. Like, I just spent 10 hours on this painting and I got $20 for it.” Pounamu credits Wintec for helping build their business acumen and professionalism. “For me, the thing that was most helpful about Wintec wasn't the technical stuff it was building relationships with my classmates and artists. And being able to be better at scheduling, because if you're having to do assignments, then you get used to knowing what a deadline is.” For Pounamu, working with others on commissions or collaborations with other artists provides a social aspect that working solo doesn’t. “I'm lucky I don't have to take on much that I don't vibe with. Some of it can be a little bit more exciting than others, obviously. At the end of the day, I really like working with clients because I feel like it's a lot more of a collaborative process. “A lot of artists don't like doing commissions full stop, and they’d rather focus on their own stuff. But I find that it can be quite lonely as an artist, it’s very introspective, because you aren't really talking to anyone.” Being able to make a living from art as an emerging artist is something they don’t take lightly. “I feel really lucky to be working fulltime as an artist. I was not expecting it to be this close after graduating. But I was lucky enough to have built up quite a decent client base while I was still studying.” Much of that study time was through the COVID lockdowns and meant time to get stuck in assignments, as well as contemplate how to get work out in front of the public. “I think COVID was a really good way for people to stop concentrating so much on exhibitions. Because that's one of the big things as an artist, you're meant to do. I think people were experimenting more with other ways to get their art out into the world.” For Pounamu, it seemed like an ideal time to build an Instagram following and a website with the hope of selling art. “It felt like heaps people were getting art over COVID because we were spending so much time in our houses and so buying art was a way to tolerate being stuck in our homes,” they laugh. As well as paintings and large-scale murals, Pounamu offers a range of prints and t-shirts through their website. The small-scale offerings contribute towards about half of Pounamu’s income, but more importantly it makes their art more accessible. “When I was studying and we had to figure out what we value in art and creativity. One of the big ones for me was trying to think of different ways that I could make my work more accessible to people like me, or students or someone on a benefit.” Check out Pounamu’s work at www.pounamuwharekawa. com.
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Waikato Business News April/May 2023

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