Resourceful Craft Practitioners
We are fortunate to work with an extraordinary whānau of craft practitioners who are passionate about the Rekindle kaupapa of resourceful craft for the wellbeing of people and planet.
Our tutors and residents are capable and experienced in their particular areas of practice and are committed to developing and extending their craft. They are mindful of the impacts of their practice, of the provenance of their techniques and materials, and of those who came before them, and of those to come.
Our tutors align themselves with our teaching and learning values of being self-aware, reflective, compassionate, kind, encouraging, patient, respectful, inclusive and non-judgemental, and are able to relate to people from a range of backgrounds and experiences.
Juliet Arnott
Juliet maintains a craft practice alongside her directorship of Rekindle. She has been working with undervalued materials & resourceful craft traditions for 18 years. Her work includes green woodworking, willow, tī kōuka & other basketry, studies of the Orkney chair - this all leading her to establish the Resourceful Skills workshop programme in Ōtautahi Christchurch in 2017, & the festival of Necessary Traditions in 2018. Juliet's previous work includes founding the Whole House Reuse project 2012-2015 & Rekindle's furniture series 2010-2015.
Juliet teaches a number of greenwood-working and tī kōuka workshops within our Resourceful Skills workshop programme. 
@rekindle_nz & @ju_and_pip
Images - Above: Juliet making a greenwood stool 2018, photographed by Justyn Denney.
Below: Hazel nest woven in Clisset Wood, Herefordshire UK 2006.
Douglas Horrell
Douglas Horrell has been teaching with Rekindle since 2017 and specialises in hand-carved, functional items such as spoons and bowls, as well as having an interest in chair-making and other greenwood traditions. He also has a growing interest in toolmaking - forging his own tools from high carbon steel. He hopes to offer locally-made carving tools to Rekindle students in the future.
@cleftcraft
Gemma Stratton
Gemma has been a resident craftsperson at Rekindle and is one of our regular tutors. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Canterbury School of Fine Arts, and weaves her long-held dedication to resourcefulness into everything she touches. Gemma’s time in the Rekindle workshop developing brushes and lightshades has been funded by Creative New Zealand.
Gemma has taught a variety of workshops using tī kōuka (cabbage tree) leaves within our resourceful skills workshop programme. @g.m.stratton
Greg Quinn
Greg's working life has consisted predominantly of orchard work, learning the care & craft associated with growing fruit. He continues to work with people on their Home Orchard Care. His craft practice has developed in the last two years to include green woodworking, a change from the orchard yet an extension of his working closely with trees. Greg now makes greenwood furniture, rakes, pegs, food storage crates, brooms & other objects of use. The craft skills gained in working with experienced practitioners like Richard Hare, Alex Yerks & Juliet Arnott, combined with his own practice & exploration, have become an integral part of his life.
Greg is currently a part-time resident in the Rekindle workshop. He can be found working in our Arts Centre workshop on most Wednesdays, and also teaches green woodworking skills within our Resourceful Skills workshop programme. @homeorchardcare
Images - Above: Greg making a greenwood rake (photographed by Justyn Denney). Below: Greenwood stools.
Simone Bensdorp
Simone is a textile artist and teacher with a passion for sustainability and creativity. Her work is grounded by a philosophy of resourcefulness, using local, repurposed and sustainable materials wherever possible. She is committed to keeping traditional felt making skills alive, while continuing to expand and push boundaries with contemporary techniques.
Simone is currently a part-time resident in the Rekindle workshop funded by Creative New Zealand, and can be found working there most Mondays.
Simone's workshops aim to equip people with practical skills, whilst providing a safe space for creative expression and learning. She loves sharing the knowledge of traditional crafts, and the inevitable stories, laughter and connections that come with it. @wildfelt.art
Images - Above: Portrait of Simone (photographed by Justyn Denney). Below: Felt slippers with neoprene soles, Felt bowls, Hand felting.
Diana Duncan
Diana learnt tī kōuka string and basket making from Juliet Arnott in 2016 and joined Rekindle as a tutor in 2019. In this time Diana has explored this materials use in a myriad of ways. Having studied fashion design and worked in clothing repairs and alterations Diana has always enjoyed creative design and problem solving. Her desire to tread lightly on this earth and conserve its resources has found a natural fit with this locally abundant and durable material. She has also worked with willow and is eager to deepen her weaving knowledge experience. @diana.iama.maker
Images - Above: Diana making a doormat from tī kōuka.
Below: Foraged fibre baskets, Rectangular Tī kōuka baskets, Frame basket with willow and ivy.
Ngaio Cowell
Ngaio Cowell (Tainui; Ngaati Te Ata, Ngāti Porou and Tauiwi) is a ringatoi and craftsperson who comes from a whānau of kaiako, creators and kaingaki māra and takes inspiration from te taiao.
Ngaio teaches raranga and she has learnt to weave with tī kōuka from Diana Duncan and continues to create artworks from foraged and native materials through business Tipu Toi. She continues to hone her raranga skills through her studies at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
Ngaio is passionate about kai sovereignty, through her involvement with Te Waka Kai Ora and Eat New Zealand, she will be teaching as part of our Resourceful Kai Programme. Ngaio works as the Mātanga Taiao Māori at the Green Lab, where she uses her mātauranga māori to help to create community co- designed green spaces in Ōtautahi.
Images - Above: Ngaio softening harakeke. Below: Toku taonga, Te Kupenga o Horare, and Ngaio prepping harakeke and weaving a pōtae (photos courtesy of Naomi Haussmann).
Images - Above: Ngaio prepping harakeke and weaving a pōtae, Te Kupenga o Horare, Toku taonga (photos courtesy of Naomi Haussmann).
Bella Roake
Bella first learnt to sew with her grandmother as a young child, her interest in arts and crafts were cultivated during her school years and then further developed when she did a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Textiles at Massey University, where she discovered a love for fiber craft and natural dyes. She's since then learnt many more new skills, collaborating with like-minded people, and is now finding inspiration in teaching and sharing the knowledge.
Lily Duval
Lily is a multi-faceted artist and craftsperson who is resourceful by nature. She’s spent the last decade growing food, building her own tiny house and learning how to do a variety of natural crafts. Her Masters of Arts thesis examines attitudes to insects in Aotearoa and she has done watercolour illustrations to raise awareness of threatened species.
Lily has experience working with people in a variety of different settings and has a passion for teaching and working with young folk. She currently teaches spoon-carving, tī kouka basket, and string making workshops. She is currently developing sewing workshops. More about Lily’s work: www.lilyduval.com
Annie Mackenzie
Annie maintains an artistic practice as a weaver and spinner, with hand hewn frugalness part of the evolving equation.
When she is not weaving at her loom, Annie can be found haunting wool sales and shearing sheds, tracing connections and gaining fleeces.
She has a bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Ilam School of Fine Arts, but learnt her craft through the New Zealand Woolcrafts Association of Weavers and Spinners Guilds.
Through her practice she celebrates the beauty of wool from fleece to yarn to cloth. Thanks to funding from Creative New Zealand, Annie was a craftsperson in resident at Rekindle in 2021. She co-developed a drop spindle spinning workshop to be taught in 2022 alongside Mirabel Oliver.
Mirabel Oliver
Mirabel Oliver joined the Rekindle team as a volunteer in 2021 and has quickly progressed to tutoring with us. She is a longtime lover of craft and has Bachelor of Fine Arts with honours in sculpture from The University of Canterbury.
Her journey with wool began with knitting. She loves the domesticity associated with working with wool and its incredible uses, seeing it as really important to family life. She was given a spinning wheel by her mother-in-law and was taught to spin by Annie Mackenzie.
Alongside her work with wool, Mirabel also works in watercolours. She looks forward to teaching more resourceful skills with Rekindle including string and wreath making.
Thanks to funding from Creative New Zealand, Mirabel was a craftsperson in resident at Rekindle in 2021. She co-developed a drop spindle spinning workshop to be taught in 2022 alongside Annie Mackenzie.
The Kahu Collective
The Kahu Collective is a group of three experienced local kairaranga and kaiwhatu with a studio based in Kaiuau/New Brighton. They enjoy teaching together as well as working on commissions.
Cathy Payne (Tangata-Tiriti) holds a bachelors degree in Toi Māori from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, specialising in raranga. She considers herself privileged to have had the opportunity to be taught by and weave alongside some of Aotearoa’s master weavers. Cathy loves learning new skills and sharing what she has learnt with others.
Lisa Harding (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Hako) utilises raranga and whatu techniques to create artworks immersed in tradition with a contemporary style. These pieces allow her to reconnect with her cultural identity and tell the stories of aspirations through natural fibres such as harakeke. She loves to share her knowledge.
Steven Junil Park
Steven Junil Park is based in Ōtautahi Christchurch, and is currently a part-time resident in the Rekindle workshop funded by Creative New Zealand. He is currently a part-time resident in the Rekindle workshop funded by Creative New Zealand, and can be found working there most Thursdays. He is the pair of hands behind the label '6x4' under which he explores all manner of objects to do with human living, focusing on apparel. His practice explores and masters object-making including clothing, jewellery, shoes and furniture. He makes individual works that often feature reused, natural dyed, or locally found materials. @6x4online
Steven teaches a workshop with Rekindle that shares the skill of hand darning.
Photographs by Justyn Denney.
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