A charitable tipple: how 27Seconds combines a love of wine with a desire to help people
A collaboration between two North Canterbury wineries, a grape harvesting company and several other generous donors is producing wine with a difference and the couple behind the project-turned-wine-label are still reeling from its early success. Alanna and Pete Chapman initially started 27Seconds as a one-off fundraiser for Hagar – an international NGO that helps […]
The legal liaisons: Pegasus Bay Law is here to keep you covered
The team’s focus at Pegasus Bay Law is having the passion to listen to its clients, and ensuring they are genuinely looked after. The firm was established four years ago by two directors, community-minded born and bred Cantabrians Pam Wheeler and Robyn Loversidge. The Christchurch and Kaiapoi offices merged with Thompson and Morgan […]
Great galleries: Four Christchurch art galleries you have to check out
Ladies and gentlemen, forget Paris, London and New York. The best in art is right here in Ōtautahi, Christchurch. For your viewing pleasure, we’ve gone in search of some of the latest and greatest. When it comes to art, these four favourites are exhibitionists in all the right ways. ART METRO: With more […]
Jewel in the city’s ‘Crowne’: Weir Architecture’s glam transformation of a 1980’s office block into The Crowne Plaza
Transforming a 1980’s office block into a code-compliant, sophisticated hotel contains hidden complexities that the lay-person would struggle to comprehend. However, Weir Architecture Director Robert Weir achieved this feat of design, consenting, construction and ingenuity within two years, converting the Forsythe Barr building into the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Together with a total reconfiguration, […]
Building hope in the Himalayas: how four people set out to make a difference in Nepal
Just when it seems the world is suffering a surfeit of doom and gloom stories, along comes a story big-hearted enough to illuminate the entire universe. Along comes Project EBC and four fabulous people – Mike Lowden, Bette Chen, Tina Morrell and Fergus Flannery. Project EBC (Everest Base Camp) was born from the […]
Coolest crafts: top ten craft projects to keep you occupied this Autumn
If you’re at a bit of a loss as to what to turn your talented hand to as summer comes to an end, there’s no shortage of clever crafts to keep you occupied. This month is National Craft Month and, according to Spotlight, traditional crafts such as knitting, macrame and crochet are anything […]
Fashionable philanthropy: Q&A with Nurse Maude’s General Manager of Marketing Sue Bramwell
For more than 10 years, Sue Bramwell has put her considerable entrepreneurial skills to work for Nurse Maude, partnering commercial enterprise with a charitable imperative. Metropol talks to the dedicated General Manager of Marketing about her love of philanthropy and her dedication to the vital service that has been caring for the community […]
Cantare in Italiano: learning to sing in Italian
If you’ve long dreamed of singing Italian and sounding Italian, then Claudia Lues can help you realise your dream. “I think my love of music began in the crib,” says South African born Claudia. “My parents are Italian; my mother sang all the popular Italian songs, including opera and my maternal grandfather was […]
Editor’s Perspective: On feminism and changing perceptions
“The higher you go, the fewer women there are,” – Wangari Maathai. A university lecturer once asked me and a group of my female peers how many of us were feminists. One hand of the 12 present went up. That was just seven years ago; 118 years after women got the vote, 92 […]
On Point: The latest fitness craze is barre (and we love it)
The fitness industry has forged an almost cult-like following because, although the fads come and go, a healthy diet and exercise is the closest formula we have to a fountain of youth. The latest craze turning heads faster than a pirouette is the barre workout and this is one recreational activity which we […]
