Where has the year gone to?!? 2010 has been eventful one for us here at BOD, what with moving into our new Bedford Row office space, the acquisition of another business and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake to boot, and all of a sudden the festive season is upon us! We’re both looking forward to a well deserved Summer holiday this year, full of sunshine and relaxation. Please note our holiday dates below.
Closed for the holidays – BOD will be closed from Wednesday 22nd December and will reopen on Monday 24th January.
Handmade gift tags included with our 2010 Christmas cards
There’s something really nice about designing a company’s branding from the logo up, watching its identity grow as the elements get applied to a variety of different media, which is precisely the case with Ali’s Cupcake Bouquets.
Ali’s is rapidly becoming somewhat of a institution in Christchurch, and we’re proud as punch to be involved. With an edible colour palette of chocolately browns and mouth watering caramels, Ali’s breaks away from the cliché pink colour scheme normally associated with cupcakes, and also reflects Ali’s presonality to a tee.
If you’re over at the Palms shopping mall during the lead up to Christmas stop by and say hi to Ali and the girls, you’ll find them in front of kmart. You can also become a fan of Ali’s on facebook or check out alis.co.nz. We’re really looking forward to helping Ali grow her brand further in the new year!
Gift certificate
Business card, with loyalty scheme on reverse
We had to giggle when we saw these creations of Ali’s, especially the army men cupcakes, as there used to be a number of these little guys that floated around the old New Regent Street BOD office, which seemed to have a habit of finding their way into all the pot plants!
16 Bedford Row has a crafty new addition – our extra room is now home to The Wardrobe, otherwise known as fashion designer Nin McKay.
Nin trained in fashion design in Wellington, but her passion for tactile craft and handiwork was originally nurtured by her grandmother, whose craft skills ranged from origami to lace-making. Her work is characterised by small and intricately worked details combined with a discipline for engineering coverings for a three-dimensional moving form. You can follow Nin’s adventures on her blog, The Wardrobe, join her Facebook page and check out some of her creations on Felt.
The inaugral TEDxChCh on October 22 was a resounding success and a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the movers and shakers in Christchurch and hear some amazing ideas and inspiring stories. And we finally got to see all our design work come together – not to put too fine a point on it, it looked great!
Amongst the top class line up of speakers were Grant Ryan, inventor of the Yike Bike (pictured in mid-presentation below), New Zealand International rowing representative Rob Hamill, Sebastian Sylwan, Chief Technical Officer at Weta Digital, and James Caygill, former political adviser to Prime Minister Helen Clark. Check out the TEDxChCh speakers page for the full list – there were some awesome talks and they’ve all been published online so you can enjoy them too!
Grant Ryan talking about the Yike Bike; stage design by Theme Pro
The live talks were interspersed with video presentations from the original TED, including this fantastic story delivered by Dave Eggers, recipient of the 2008 TED Prize, about the founding of 826 Valencia, a writing and tutoring lab for young people in Mission Bay, San Francisco, that resides behind the city’s only independent pirate supply store (for eye patches, parrot seed and all your piratical needs).
Back here in Christchurch though, Professor Paul Shaw’s entertaining talk on the mystery of the shrinking alligator penises was a highlight.
We’re looking forward to being a part of TEDxChCh 2011 – well done Kaila on a fabulous event!
We’ve had a lot of people ask us what we plan to do with our extra space here at 16 Bedford Row and now that we’re all settled in, we’re ready to reveal part one…
Ever pictured yourself working in a stylishly retro inner city studio, with all day sun and a creative vibe? We have an awesome shared space available for a maker or craftsperson. You would be sharing a light and airy room of approximately 200 square feet, with polished wood floors, exposed brick walls and one friendly existing tenant by the name of Nin (aka The Wardrobe).
Sounds amazing, right? Wait till you hear the next bit. As well as being just about as central as you can get, the building has monitored security, the room is lockable and use of the space includes access to wi-fi, a kitchen (equipped with microwave, fridge, tea and coffee) and an open invitation to Friday after work drinks – and all of this is available for just $80 per week.
You are welcome to come and check out the space – please feel free to give us a call on 379 9860 to arrange a time.
After a slight delay due to the earthquake in Christchurch, Pecha Kucha Night is back, and this time around we’re looking forward to hearing our friend “Mr Bacon” talk about Technology and Design.
There’s a great paste-up down High Street of the latest series of posters for the event, with a selection of previous talk titles; On “Being a dick”, “Young people these days” and “Reiki for pet hamsters” to name a few that made us giggle on the way down to the coffee shop.
Speaking of quakes reminds me of one of my favourite PK talks at the Repertory Theatre (which has unfortunately lost most of its façade since) by Kerry Swanson, entitled “Big images, minute life” where the crowd donned 3D glasses and were “treated” to six minutes and forty seconds of 3 dimensional microscopic photos of bugs! Things you’d never thought you’d see happen in the Repertory Theatre… more pics from PK Night 06 are over on flickr.
It’s that time of year again, Frocktober. Time to ditch the car, adorn a frock and hit the streets on your bicycle. Lucy and I are off to Frocks on Bikes this Saturday at Hagley Community College, where I’ll be, quite literally, “peddling my wares”, selling some of my new Black Swan Designs bicycle products. Hopefully the sun will be out, with a pleasant norwest breeze, and the grass will have been freshly mowed… mmm… nothing quite says springtime like the smell of freshly cut grass! If you’re in the area pop along!
The countdown is well and truly underway to Christchurch’s inaugural TEDx event now with less than three weeks to go, for which we’re proud to be the design sponsor. For more info on the event, registration details and the speaker line-up head over to tedxchch.com. And of course keep an eye out for our posters about town, featuring Mel’s photographic images of SOL Square by night!
We are very happy to say that our building was given the all clear on Friday so we are back to business as usual, with the exception of a massive amount of repair work going on in the blocks around us. If you’re planning a visit, please note that there are a few road closures to be aware of.
Manchester Street remains closed between Cashel Street and Worcester Street. There is pedestrian access into Bedford Row from the Manchester Street end, but it is closed to vehicles. By car, you can enter Bedford Row from the Madras Street end.
We have marked the main two closures on the map on our contact page. If you’re unsure of the best way to come, feel free to give us a call on 379 9860.
Like many Christchurch dwellers, I’m finding it hard to comprehend the scale of what we are facing in the weeks to come. This afternoon’s shock is the demolition of the New Zealand Express Company Limited building, a really beautiful building on Manchester Street that I have always admired but until today never knew the history of. Now that I have learnt some of its history, its demise is even more distressing.
“New Zealand Express Company Limited, a furniture despatch business, had formerly occupied a small office in Bedford Row. When this seven-storey building was erected it became an indication of the prosperity and growth in the business community in Christchurch. Designed by the Luttrell Brothers, the building was the tallest in New Zealand at the time.”
I’m not ashamed to say this brought tears to my eyes – I hope that once Christchurch has recovered from the initial shock of Saturday’s earthquake, we can recapture the hope and pride that creates a building like this, beautiful and symbolic of success.
