WOW 2018

Peter and Janet

As I write this draft, we're sitting exhausted, on Sunday night, in our hotel room eating sandwiches. I just trotted out to get them, and after a really windy Wellington day, it was a lovely calm evening - we've been pretty lucky with the weather, as you will see. Early, early, Wednesday morning we arrived on the same flight as Janet de Boer and Peter, where a WOW themed luggage trolley was found! After a good rest, we headed to our beloved Avida for the famous goats cheese puffs, as well as fabulous smoky spiced prawns and other delights, stopping on the way to get the photo in the Welly Loves WOW sign, before readying ourselves to meet up with our WOW family, old and new, at the Foxglove Bar.

The next day was Designer Day, but I skipped the morning intro to have brekky with the Birthday Boy at Sweet Mother's Kitchen - Heuvos Rancheros and Eggs Bomba!

 I joined the gang down at Te Papa for the talks, lunch, and a workshop in leather tooling. After wrestling everyone off the Welly Loves WOW sign on the way, (rather like herding cats at night!), it was back to Avida to celebrate the birthday! Plenty of shenanigans to be had here!

Paula Jackson, Fifi Colston and moi at Designer Day.

With WOW Legend Susan Holmes

It's youuuuuuuu!! Creator of the amazing work which scored her the Cirque du Soleil internship, Annabelle Ellebanna

After all of this, it was an early start on Friday morning at the Australian High Commission, where myself, Erica Gray, and Phillipa Stitchbury and WOW representative Ali Boswijk ,were part of a panel sharing our design journeys and answering questions, mainly from design students. It was a great way to foster conversation and sharing of information, and we thank the Australian High Commission for hosting us.

Australian Designers with High Commissioner Ewen McDonald, and Esmé Palliser

Ali, Erica, me, Phillipa

Jenny Caldwell and groovy dudes from Wellington College, I believe.

I was also thrilled to meet up with Lyndal and Pam Thorne, from Paper on Skin in Burnie - and they'd even brought my 'Winner' sign along - yahoo!! Now safely installed in the studio - thanks gals!

We then, very sensibly, went back to the hotel to rest, in preparation for another round at the Foxglove before the Big Night!

with Vicky Robertson, Lynn Christiansen and Kate MacKenzie.

I was thrilled to unexpectedly receive third place in the Under the Microscope Section. I loved the way Coccinelle looked on the stage, and the way it was choreographed - my only complaint was that none of the garments in this section came out to the revolves at the ends of the stage, so I was unable to see details of any of them. Detail images were projected onto the stage screens, but I was looking at the garments on stage, not the screen!

 Celebrations and dancing till 2am were at Dockside..... although Lynn Christiansen's Party Animal Mum, Wilma, - an absolute delight - outlasted us and was amongst those to get booted out nearer 3:30am!

Fondling the latex clad, chip eating, award winning Adam McAlavey!

New friend, Section Winner, and Supreme Award Runner Up recipient Nika Danielska, whose work it turns out I have been admiring for years, and old friend the fabulously 'outrrraaaaageous' Beatrice Carlson!

With the handsome boys Jubinav Pratinav and Shantanu Singh

 ...then it was up and off to Hot Sauce at the Museum Hotel for brunch, where there were a few pale faces.... Delicious though it was, it was all a bit loud and overwhelming for some of us, who sloped off to our usual haunt, Mac's Brewery, to debrief at a lower volume.

We also met up with young Australian designer Teddy McRitchie, whom I had only met on Facebook before he recognised me, desperately following my tongue to the bar at Mac's!! The starstruck young man met many heroes that day, from Susan Holmes, David Walker, Dylan Mulder, Kate MacKenzie, Jessica Thompson, Erica Gray, Lynn Christiansen, Vicky Robertson, Fifi Colston, Adam McAlavey, to new star Nika Danielska....!!

Dylan Mulder, Teddy McRitchie, Lynn Christiansen.

We stayed until everyone had gone, then headed home, and as we were about to head wearily into the lift, ran into fellow designer Loretta Sloan in the lobby, and so it was another few drinks.....

Sore-throat boy snored like a chainsaw all night, so very few zzzz's were to be had, and it was off to the chemist on the way to our lunch at Beach Babylon with Janet and Peter on their way to the airport. It was a very windy walk around to Oriental Bay, and the café was buzzing. After fare-welling the two, I was allowed to play on the beach amongst some rather lovely seaweed!

Our final day in Wellington dawned rainy, but we were getting picked up by Vicky Robertson to have a visit to her house, a brunch at iconic Café L'Affare, and a stop in at Fifi Colston's house on our way to the airport - a fabulous end to a wonderful week. Now I can picture these two so much better as we work and chat on-line!
We returned to a burst water line, which luckily was shut off by Jenelle on discovery on Saturday afternoon, as well as a half-defrosted freezer! In order to save things, I began cooking.... and cooking... I finished today with a well-earned beer in this glorious stubbie-holder created for me by fellow designer Jessica Thompson - get yours here at Out of My Mind Crochet! I absolutely adore it - thank you Jess! On that happy note - ciao for now!