Like many other exporters, Mike Harrison has been burned by the logistics of manufacturing in New Zealand. The volunteer fireman’s journey to entrepreneurship began with an effort to improve on the equipment at hand (there’s little room for error when lives are at stake). He not only redesigned the pump mechanism but overhauled the entire design, creating a more compact, efficient unit featuring everything a modern firefighter could want.
Nonetheless, today Vortex Holdings not only builds pumps for the entire New Zealand Fire Service, but boasts 70 percent market share in the UK and a rapidly growing foothold in Europe and Asia. Harrison even admits (reluctantly) that the Phoenix models are “the most advanced in the world”. How’d he do it? Keith Newman paid a visit to his Hawke’s Bay workshop to ask just that.
Are you working on an entry for Mix and Mash? Don’t forget: there’s a $10,000 cash prize for the Supreme Mashup, and loads of other exciting prizes. Plus, email the good folks at info@mixandmash.org.nz or tweet them on @mixandmashnz by Monday and you’ll go in the draw to win a free ticket to Webstock! The 2011 conference features a mighty line-up of speakers, including Instapaper creator Marco Arment, Twitter’s creative director Doug Bowman, famed researcher Danah Boyd, and Webstock favourite Tom Coates.
Every year scores of teenagers from around New Zealand develop wicked projects using their electronics, programming or engineering skills, and enter them into the annual Bright Sparks Competition. From tripods to robots, from microturbines to doorbells, this year’s inventions are as varied as their inventors. The judges complained that it was hard to pick a winner…but with five categories, there was plenty of room to recognise the talent. Check out the full list of winners here. (Pictured: Chief judge Garry Reynolds with Jordan Quinnell’s “Cow Tipping Moonitor”.)
Aotea Square will be transformed into a garden hub for the fifth Auckland Arts Festival this summer. The lineup, revealed yesterday, includes international music stars Martha Wainwright, Paul Kelly, jazz legend Jack DeJohnette and a special programme of Asian classical works. Theatre is well represented, too: La Odisea is straight out of Bolivia; FranceDanse features a showcase of five contemporary dance works; and then there’s Smoke & Mirrors, the all-new show from Sydney Festival, to name a few.
But it’s local work at the heart of the programme, including a major commission from choreographer Douglas Wright, rapt; NZ Opera’s interpretation of Handel’s Xerxes. while Warren Maxwell, SJD, Che Fu, Teremoana Rapley and eight other leading Kiwi music acts perform a concert of original songs with lyrics written by Witi Ihimaera. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday.
Jesse Lewis-Evans was leaving Enzed for the Big Apple … but he didn’t want to leave without making a bit of noise. And with a little help from his friends, a camera and that classic 80s Chicago tune, the Wellington Love Letter was born. His colleagues at Weta Digital were treated to this masterpiece on his last day of work, but it was too good not to share with the rest of the world.
Small enough to fit under the thumb, the wireless mouse is designed for constrained venues like planes, trains and cafes. With other award recipients in the computing category being Toshiba, Intel and Adobe, it looks like the hard work—four years or research, design, development and testing—has paid off.
Even chipolata-fingered Ben Fahy (editor of our sister blog StopPress) has been road-testing a model for the
last few weeks, and he’s a fan. “It’s good for people who don’t have
sausage fingers,” he says.
We reckon “icon” is a term thrown around far too often, but it’s one earned by Tony Williams. As well as being at the helm of many iconic ads (Bugger, Crunchie, and Dear John, below, to name a few), Williams made everything from award-winning indie docos to feature films—Quentin Tarantino himself called the horror Next of Kin “mesmerising”.
It’s not surprising, then, that the Tony Williams collection is the latest addition to NZ on Screen. There’s classic 70s yachting action, modern brit-art, prototype music videos, and Borat-like enviro-activism, alongside interviews in which he relays many colourful behind-the-scenes stories, including his recipe for ad success (“make ‘em laugh!”) and how they convinced the suits to do Bugger (“can you guarantee me this won’t backfire?”). It’s testament to a colourful career and an even more colourful character.
We’re more than halfway through NaNoWriMo, but you’ll need something else to turn your hand to once November ends. How about penning something for the AUT Creative Writing Competition? This time around they’re calling for submissions in the short fiction and screenplay categories. So, if you’re an unpublished scribe with work that meets the competition criteria, entries are open until January 31. There are Apple goodies to be won, coaching from a leading Kiwi author and a real opportunity to make a name for yourself. Just follow the link all the way to the application form.
What’s in hot demand with registrations closing in under two weeks? CoLab’s summer workshop series, of course, so if you’ve ever wanted to learn how to light up your clothing, make an inflatable dress, create an app or brush up on the basics of motion capture, best get in while you can. They run from January 24-28, and if you register for three or more sessions you’ll get 20 per cent off the total price.
Something for cyclists to revel in, rather than recoil from: Way Back Home follows rider Danny MacAskill on his journey from Edinburgh back to his hometown Dunvegan, in the Isle of Skye. It’s a seven minute showcase of pure bike mastery and of the rugged beauty (industrial and natural) to be found in the countryside.
Quote of the week
“They often wouldn’t start, or flooded just when they were most needed and people were screaming for water.”
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