K' Road Highlights

K’ Road’s collection of heritage buildings will have a creative spotlight cast over them as the precinct’s inaugural light show Highlights rolls out this month.  The sight of the former Rendell’s building shattering and being reconstructed brick by brick and giant Christmas balls cascading down the exterior of the adjacent Ironbank complex are just some of the virtual experiences onlookers can expect to encounter at the event.

‘We’ll be making shapes, putting things into shapes and making things come out of shapes,’ says the light show’s creator Dan Davis.  A digital specialist of four years standing he’ll be trialling new 3D technology which he hopes will ‘get K’ Road on the map for Christmas and match the area’s creative and forward thinking culture.’

Don’t miss the final two days of Highlights from 9-11pm this Friday and Saturday.

K' Road Lights Up for Christmas

Christmas is coming to K’ Road and true to the street’s subversive reputation, it won’t be in traditional style.  Celebrations kick off  with the precinct’s signature late night art event First Thursdays - boasting a fiesta theme this time – in conjunction with an inaugural light show, Highlights, which will cast a creative spotlight on a selection of the precinct’s character buildings over ten days.

The sight of the former Rendell’s building shattering and being reconstructed brick by brick and giant Christmas balls cascading down the exterior of the adjacent Ironbank complex are just some of the virtual experiences onlookers can expect to encounter at Highlights.

‘We’ll be making shapes, putting things into shapes and making things come out of shapes,’ says the light show’s creator Dan Davis.  A digital specialist of four years standing he’ll be trialling new 3D technology which he hopes will ‘get K’ Road on the map for Christmas and match the area’s creative and forward thinking culture.’

The light display will focus on different buildings between Queen and Pitt St each evening with some projections being fused with music from local café Verona.  And launch night on 5 December is expected to provide a fitting backdrop for the staging of the final First Thursday’s of the year which will be taking place across three of the precinct’s arcades including St Kevin’s, La Gonda and Cross St from 6-9pm.

A Mexican flavour will be infusing First Thursdays with a roaming Mariachi band scheduled, free Day of the Dead face painting on offer and Mexican folk saint Santa Muerte inhabiting St Kevin’s to dispense sweets.

‘We decided on the theme of fiesta because it encompasses celebration, festivity, colour and diversity which is what First Thursdays is all about,’ says event co-ordinator Laura Forest. ‘And our Christmas FirstThursdays will be more about fun and playfulness rather than getting bogged down with northern hemisphere snowflakes and tradition,’ she says.  To this end patrons are invited to negotiate an interactive tunnel in La Gonda Arcade, engage with a steam punk vending machine at St Kevin’s Arcade or kiss under a rose bower infused with mistletoe at the top of the steps to Myers Park.

Laura’s pragmatic festive season sentiments are echoed by her director of activities in St Kevin’s Arcade, Rose Jackson.  Having invited traders from along K’ Road to provide pop up sales of confectionery and jewellery inside the heritage arcade as a complement to the variety of vintage, handcraft and designer fashion goods already on offer there, she believes shoppers will appreciate the opportunity to take part in a locally-inspired Christmas.  ‘You’ll be able to buy from vintage retailers and really clever New Zealand designers who make their own stuff.’  Conversely, ‘you won’t hear any naff Christmas tunes, be forced to buy plastic junk or find yourself stuck in a mall,’ she says.

For the full programme of First Thursdays and Highlights activities visit www.firstthursdays.co.nz

Glamour Rock

Who says punk rock isn’t glamorous? Check out the new ‘do’s’ girl band Grrfriendz are sporting, courtesy of Vada Hair, in readiness for their performance at K’ Road’s three-day Fang Fest being held over Labour Weekend. Toyah (left), Annabel (centre) and Sophia have been honing their traditional girl punk sound for eighteen months now, save for a short sabbatical in Asia recently, and will be belting it out again at 4b Cross St at 4.30pm on Saturday.

French Fare

La Noisette Chocolats & Pâtisseries 
Fresh from her role as sous chef at The Langham, Auckland, French pastry chef Oscar is unleashing her talents on K' Road patrons at her first cafe venture La Noisette at 518 K' Road. Coffee, cakes, croissants and bagettes are all on the menu along with hand-made chocolates in such delectable flavours as coconut vanilla white rum.
Enjoy the warmth of exposed brick walls, wood and maroon-coloured fittings, draped linen table cloths and a picture-book view of the street's activities.

The Great White Way – A K’ Road Heritage Festival Free Event

Once a shopping mecca for Aucklanders, inner city K’ Road and its environs bustled with activity in the 1950’s. Police were on hand to monitor crowds as people flocked to take advantage of late night shopping and cinema screenings. Learn more about the electric atmosphere of early K’ Road at historian Edward Bennett’s lecture, The Great White Way. 

AOK - All on K' Road Fashion Event

See the launch of four leading K’ Road designers’ combined show at NZ Fashion

Weekend on Saturday 7 September. And join the precinct’s fashion fraternity on

Sunday 8 September.as it demonstrates the innovation and cutting edge design it’s

renowned for.

AOK Show

All established fashion leaders in their own right, four K’ Road designers including

Maaike,Hailwood, Jimmy D and Lela Jacobs, are set to wow audiences in a group

show at the Viaduct Event Centre on Saturday 7 September at 2.30pm. Current

Spring/Summer collections from all four will be showing and all runway items will be

available for purchase at designer’s respective stores post show.

 AOK Day

Following on from K’ Road’s AOK NZ Fashion Weekend show, the precinct will be

showcasing the diversity of its fashion offering on Sunday 8 September. Fashion

shows, live installations, street art and shop specials will feature throughout the day

as fashion stores, cafes and designer studios the length of the strip throw open their doors.

Self Published Works on Show

It’s five years since that event which champions self-publishing, Auckland Zinefest, was born.  And to mark the occasion this vehicle for free expression and experimentation provides, a three-day festival of zine-related activities is planned.  Kicking off with a launch party at the Audio Foundation on Friday 26 July, the festival’s signature market will follow on Saturday 27 July in St Kevin’s Arcade.  The market’s 40-strong stall holder presence will be complemented by workshops and talks being held throughout the arcade and in the basement Wine Cellar.

Highlights on Saturday include workshops on typography and cartooning, a talk on digital publishing and a panel discussion on the history of zine culture in New Zealand.  With Saturday’s programme also extending into the evening, an after party at the Wine Cellar and Whammy Bar is scheduled complete with live music and will also provide a forum for announcement of the “Zine of the Fest’ award.

Sunday is a family affair when Auckland City Library will be running a children’s zine-making workshop with the aim of creating a collaborative zine.  And for zine fanatics, a festival warm-up ’24-hour Zine-Making Challenge’ is a set for Friday 19 July.

Laser Cutting & Innovative Design

Young designers Helen Jarvis and Alan Syxomexune don’t do things by halves.  Their first retail venture together sees them setting up a laser cutting service complete with a cutting machine twice the size of any currently on offer in Auckland.  The machine, with facility to cut wood, plastic or paper up to 20 mm thick, allows rapid prototyping of things like architectural models and can also be used for creating products such as furniture or jewellery.

The pair, a graphic design graduate and post graduate architectural student respectively, plan to offer a laser cutting service to the public priced at student rates.  In addition their new premises at 203 K’ Road entitled Work I Shop will provide retail space for their own laser cut jewellery and homeware items sold under the label Wandrer.  The Wandrer brand will also share space with clothing from Alan’s menswear range Dishonest Want and prints supplied by two illustrator friends.  An upstairs space is earmarked for a workroom where Helen and Alan can fashion their own creations on site as well as fulfil a recent commitment to ‘the100daysproject’.  ‘We’re aiming to create one desirable object a day,’ says Helen.  Work I Shop will open on Monday 8 July.

Apps, Maps and Free Guided Walks

Fourteen street artists from around New Zealand and one from as far afield as Melbourne descended on K’ Road last month.  Their mission; to put their creative mark on Auckland’s quirky, character precinct.  Although known as an arty, alternative area, “for some reason very few artworks have been painted in K’ Road,” says Precinct Manager Barbara Holloway.  It’s been her dream to rectify this situation.  So when local artist and curator of Taupo’s Graffiato festival Ross Liew joined K’ Road Business Association’s committee last year, this dream moved closer to reality.

A bit of budget tweaking interspersed by conversations with potential sponsors followed, allowing the KBA to come up with bare bones funding for a street art festival.  Ross, meanwhile, assisted by First Thursdays founder Cleo Barnett, set about selecting the cream of the country’s street artists to take part in it.  His criteria for participants - a record of reliability and quality in the execution of their artwork.  “I think it’s important that, if you’re offering these opportunities to artists that, in my mind, they’ve earned it,” he says.

With building owners persuaded to provide a variety of walls throughout the district, May 3 saw 14 creatives begin their three-day All Fresco Festival challenge.  And challenged they were, when some of the worst weather to hit the country this year descended on them.  Undeterred, with some working through the night and on over a five-day stretch, each doggedly completed their brief.  The result – 13 large scale artworks (with one piece worked on by two artists) and an event which captured the interest of hundreds, including local media and TV.

“I’m stunned that we pulled it off,’ says Barbara.  We’re quite a small business association and the fact that we’ve managed to pull off something on this scale is quite breathtaking.”

A map of the decorated walls is available at alfresco.co.nz for downloading enabling people to take a self-guided walk of them.  The website also provides background information on participating artists including Wellington’s BMD crew, known for their large format works and American born Aucklander Mica Still, who exhibits a penchant for animal illustrations.  A link for an app which includes the map, artist’s biographies and photos of completed artworks will also be available for downloading and free guided walks are planned.

Having Fun With Fashion

Injecting fun, art and imagination into fashion is what new young designer and stylist Hannah-Lee Jade is all about.  Her debut collection Land of Point transformed childlike imaginings into clothing sporting spikey embellishments in fabrics as diverse as cotton gingham and fluorescent silk.  And her winter collection, scheduled to be in store at 203H, La Gonda Arcade later this month promises more of the same weird but wonderful fashion statements.  “I like working with weird shapes and pattern off-cuts,” says Hannah Lee.  Pushing fashion boundaries, Japanese Harajuku girl-style, is another motivator, she says.

With ‘a crazy garden party’ theme, the new collection includes elements such as ‘armoured’ jackets, ‘grassy’ warm fabric and bold colours while a preview of the work – a clear galaxy-inspired PVC skirt - debuted on an X Factor billboard recently where it was worn by panel judge and singer Ruby Frost.

Now stocking work and labels by 13 other like-minded creatives at her shop/come workroom in the La Gonda building, including jewellery by Nick von K and Bedrock Bones and menswear by Kingdomof, Hannah-Lee hopes to continue to produce two collections annually showcasing them in collaborative parades and events in La Gonda Arcade itself.

Outdoor Art Celebration

The cream of New Zealand’s street artists will be descending on K’ Road from

Friday 3 – Sun 5 May to take part in the precinct’s inaugural All Fresco street art festival.  In a live demonstration, nine blank walls in the precinct will be transformed by nine art crews hand-picked by festival organiser Ross Liew.

Fresh from organising Taupo’s Graffiato festival, Ross, a founding member of Cut Collective and the talent behind the TrustMe moniker, has paired some of New Zealand’s best known local and expat artists with walls he believes will best suit their talents. 

Art styles will range from resident Wellington duo BMD’s large format works to expat Melbourne and Berlin-based HaHa’s detailed stencil cuts and are aimed to provide a spectator friendly attraction over a three-day period from 11am – 7pm.   Festival sponsors, the K’ Road Business Association, also plan to develop a street art walk based on the finished collection of works.

For a taster of participating artists’ creative styles, viewers are invited to attend a group exhibition at Upper Queen St’s Method and Manners Gallery from 6-9pm on Thursday

2 May which will run as part of K’Road’s regular late night art event First Thursdays.  For a list of All Fresco’s locations and festival map, visit www.allfresco.co.nz

NZ Made & Vintage

An aim of specialising in product which is quirky, different and a little bit of fun, makes newcomer to K’ Road, The Bread and Butter Letter, a vintage, craft and tea store, an ideal fit with the street’s character.

Owners Rose Howcroft and Sarah Firmston relocated their two-year-old business to K’ Road in March in the hope of bringing a taste of the anticipation and excitement of a weekend craft market to customers  - all week long.  Hand made New Zealand craft ranging from kiwiana-themed tea towels to crocheted cushions supplied by makers across a spectrum encompassing young designers to grandmothers, festoon the shelves of their newly-renovated premises at 225 K’ Road.    Add to this a selection of vintage and upcycle clothing and accessories and a certified organic range of locally blended teas boasting flavours such as Classic Black, Fresh Mint and Lemonish and the menu of ‘nana-ish’ offerings refashioned to meet current street-cred requirements is complete.

Providing  a platform for secret crafters  who are “not loud about what they make, but are inspiring and forward thinking in their work” is the philosophy behind The Bread and Butter Letter, ‘ says Rose.

Hearty Homestyle Fare

Fresh healthy fare, served up in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere reminiscent of a Berlin coffee house – that’s what sisters Leisha and Renae Jones want customers of their newly-opened Honeytrap café in St Kevin’s Arcade to experience.  Having enjoyed a summer together in the former Eastern Bloc state last year, the pair felt inspired to transport a taste of the European hospitality they experienced there back to K’ Road.

Later opening hours and a casual ambience combined with good music and great food are just some of the Berlin-style characteristics Leisha and Renee plan to emulate here in their recently renovated premises. 

Free WiFi is an added extra Honeytrap provide, but the essential ingredient the pair hope to attract customers with is the fresh food prepared on site daily.  Hearty salads brimming with quinoa and farro grains, vegetables, nuts and cheeses, which vary daily and sandwiches, laden with the likes of slow-cooked beef brisket topped with spicy homemade pickles, sauces or mayonnaise, will be a mainstay.  These can be washed down with Supreme filter coffee accompanied by cakes, cookies or slices plucked straight from the oven. All are available either to go or in-house.

Retro Recreation

Secrecy and subterfuge were synonymous with the speakeasies or illegal bars which sprang up in 1920’s America during the prohibition years.  Their hidden locations, often in basements or secret rooms, gave them an air of excitement tinged with danger.   Cabaret and burlesque performer Lilly Loca and a well- known Auckland chef who asks to be referred to be only as Wylie D are aiming to recreate some of that feeling on K’ Road with the establishment of club Whisper150 this month.

In the spirit of speakeasies, we can’t disclose where Whisper 150 will be located, except to say its name holds a clue and that patrons are being promised ‘a high class good time replete with gourmet food, classic cocktails and drinks along with fabulous entertainment’ on a fortnightly basis.

“We want to bring back the exuberant lavish and ritzy times of the 1920’s to the heart of the Auckland’s CBD”, says Lilly. 

The rules relating to Whisper 150 including dress code, location, ticket and etiquette details for the evening, can only be obtained when patrons officially join the club by liking it on Facebook.  (Shssh, pass it on!)

Alternative Art

Above:: ...Him - The Audio Foundation
If you missed the offbeat art in Myers Park on Saturday – an introduction to the extensive programme of events Fringe Auckland have planned for their 2013 festival – don’t despair.  The programme has just begun!

Here on K Road we’ll be watching out for local offerings such as Darling Today We’re Going to Die presented by newly formed theatre company Three Queens.at Alleluya Café (koha entry), Dog Star a dark world tale starring well known actor Jeremy Randerson showing at Whammy Bar in St Kevin’s Arcade basement and Oh! Is forOpera, an adults only opera performance delivered by Opera Risque at Galatos Live.  For more detail about what's on offer during this month-long artfest, check out  www.aucklandfringe.co.nz ..

K' Road Fringe

Auckland Fringe 2013 is in full swing currently and if you haven’t made it along yet, there’s still plenty of time to catch up with some of New Zealand’s edgiest art performances.  Risque opera at Galatos, interactive video game projections and spoken word performances are amongst an extensive programme of events running until 10 March.

Meet ‘Him’, at The Audio Foundation, a recluse, whose only connection with the outside world is a regular newspaper which arrives through a postal flap in his front door.  Salivate alongside actors Virginia Frankovich and Phoebe Mason in Gorge at the Old Folks Association as they draw you into a fantasy world inhabited by rivers of chocolate cake mixture and marshmallow fondue towers.  Or mosey along to Myers Park and St Kevin’s Arcade to hear poets, writers and rap artists in Spit it Out read excerpts from their own work.

Alternatively call into The Whammy Bar in St Kevin’s Arcade basement where theatre productions Dog Star -  a dark-world tale involving a mask, alien knowledge and a curse and Ticking Time Bomb – a two women comedy set in fictional small town New Zealand, are featuring.

Queerlesque Cabaret – 9pm Fri 15 Feb 2013

It’s cabaret, but not as you know it!   Auckland-based troupe Queerlesque a gender inclusive cabaret and variety act who boldly blur gender lines and blend performance types, combining cabaret, burlesque and circus acts, are set to wow audiences at The Rising Sun’s 4:20 bar next month when they take to the stage as part of Auckland Pride Festival.

Drag queens, drag kings, boylesque and gender queer performers are included n a line-up poised to deliver aerial, acrobatic and fire performances alongside a showcase of dance, lip-synch and spoken word routines.  Featuring performers from around New Zealand Queerlesque will be hosted by veterans of burlesque Phlossy Roxx and Miss Ivy League.  For bookings and further information visit http://www.aucklandpridefestival.org.nz/events/cabaret/queerlesque/