• Home
• Magazine
• Blog & Podcast
• Idealog TV
• Directory
• Celsias
• Search:

• Business Magazine of the Year
  MPA Awards 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010

A calmer kind of business

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

Apologies for the lateness of this edition of the Weekly. Some friends of ours sent out their own newsletter on Friday and the resulting traffic bought their—that is, our—web server to a halt. So we thought we’d wait and despatch this issue over the weekend. In the meantime, we have some big iron on order so the problem doesn’t happen again. We have some new gadgetry for you too—check out our Navman giveaway in this issue!

A calmer kind of business

Jyoti Morningstar got a helluva shock in 2004. The Wellington yoga instructor was in a good place when within the space of a few months George Bush, John Howard and Kerry Prendergast were voted back into public office in Washington, Canberra and Wellington. “It made me realise the world was not as I thought it was,” she tells Felicity Monk in the latest Idealog. “I was really out of touch."

Voters may not have thought it was a time for change, but Morningstar did—and so began a chain of events that has left her partnering with former Bendon chief executive Stefan Preston in We’ar, a fashion eco-label that’s inspired by yogic principles and aims to be a holistic business. If that sounds like an unlikely partnership, well, the pair admit they don’t always see things the same way—and that might be their greatest strength. Read Felicity Monk’s interview in Celsias (which is bundled with Idealog #23), or on our website.

Where the Wild Things would like to be

Last year we got all excited at the news that Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) would direct a movie version of Maurice Sendak’s much-loved children’s book Where The Wild Things Are. Not long after that came the miserable news that studio execs didn’t like Jonze’s film because they thought it would be too scary for small kids. Hey, it’s supposed to be scary. They’re wild!

It seems Jonze had a powerful ally, though—Sendak himself. Check out this featurette on Jonze and Sendak where the author talks about the difficulty he had convincing publishers to sell his work and the instant panning it received from critics. So he can sympathise with Jonze, but what’s fantastic is the praise Sendak showers on the filmmaker. “He’s turned it into his—without giving up on mine, but embodying mine with Spike Jonze.

“There will be controversy about this, but the film has an entire emotional, spiritual, visual life which is as valid as the book. He’s done it … in a more brilliant, modern, fantastical way, which takes nothing from my book but enhances, enriches my book.”

The start of StopPress

This week the presses stopped and we launched StopPress—the first online-only product by HB Media, the company that creates each issue of Idealog. StopPress is a free blog and twice-weekly newsletter for everyone in marketing, advertising and media, edited by online newshound Frances Chan. It’s the online voice of our sister publication, NZ Marketing. We’ve had a fantastic response and if your job involves marketing, advertising, social media, PR, digital media, SEO or media sales, you want StopPress. Check out the website and sign up for the newsletter while you’re there.

Can’t find my way home

If that’s you, Idealog Weekly is here to save your blushes. We have an awesome new Navman GPS—worth $549—to give to one lucky reader. The sleek, good-looking, time-and-petrol-saving Navman MY55’s large 4.7" screen has tap or touchscreen options for ease of use with 3D junction views and landmarks bringing the map to life. It also has Bluetooth for hands-free calling, live weather updates and extended seven day forecast, pedestrian mode to be guided on-foot, and a petrol efficiency mode.

The optional AA Traffic (sold separately) will give you the latest traffic updates on your trip as well as suggesting alternative routes if there’s bad news ahead.

What’s more, if your gas is running low, tap the petrol shortcut on the main menu and all the closest petrol stations will appear on the screen. Same goes with finding food—if you’re hungry, tap the food shortcut to find cafes, takeaway bars and restaurants nearby.

You won’t want to leave home without the MY55. To win yours, email editor@idealog.co.nz with your most embarrassing misnavigation story. We’ll pick a winner before the next Weekly is despatched, so don’t delay.

Pocketing a Tuanz

Congratulations to pocket entrepreneurs Francois Bondiguel, Jason Leong and James Wigglesworth, who on Thursday won the Commerce award at the annual Tuanz awards—beating Fonterra and Air New Zealand in the process. It’s amazing what can be done with energy, ideas and $120 a month.

Data points

Last weekend a crowd gathered in Wellington determined to mash up some public property. No, not Te Papa—this crowd had its eyes on something less substantial but probably just as valuable, government data. “Who knew data was sexy enough to persuade 150-odd people out of bed and into a bunker on a sunny Saturday morning for six solid hours of talk and no pay?" asks Julie Starr on the Idealog blog. Well, how about improving traffic flow, health delivery, or informing local councils which roads need repairs? Or improving news coverage of elections? Or—just maybe—threatening the stability of our government? Julie came away from the event she may have witnessed the return of older ideas about community. Find out why in her post on the Idealog website.

Canada’s fourth most popular digital pop parody act

Radio-friendly pop music: why it sucks, told in a decidedly radio-friendly style by Jon Lajoie, who is apparently the most popular Canadian on Youtube. Take that, MTV. (I should warn readers that the language in this video is definitely not radio friendly and it should not be watched by children or your employer.)

Pacific in Bloomsbury

In Idealog #3 I met George Nuku, an Auckland artist who had spent months working with Dan Willdridge and Omeka Takiari in a Glenfield garage on a most unusual project: a marae carved entirely from perspex. They were way behind schedule and had a rigid deadline to meet to take pride of place at the Pacifica Styles exhibition in Cambridge, UK, in May 2006.

Nuku and his creation both made their flight—and Nuku is still there. This week he’ll join Rosanna Raymond, Shigeyuki Kihara and Lisa Reihana at ‘ethKnowcentrix: Museums Inside the Artist’, an exhibition at London’s October Gallery. The four are New Zealand artists of Maori and Samoan heritage, and they’re bringing a unique Pacific sensibility to the old country.

ethKnowcentrix runs until October 10. And check out Alistair Guthrie’s photographs of Nuku, Wildridge and Takiari at work.

Assembled design

Design Assembly is about to turn one. On the evening of September 30, the not-yet-venerable but definitely inspirational event will reconvene at AUT University’s Art & Design building for a typically eclectic event, including Meena Kadri on hand-lettered typography from the streets of India, David Gardener and Andrea Wilkinson on alternative urban landscapes in New Zealand, and Alt Group’s Toby Curnow on grids and tessellations in art and design. RSVP on the Design Assembly website.

Quote of the week

“The whole green movement is boring … why can’t an eco-business be about abundance and be sexy? I think that’s an interesting conversation.”

– Stefan Preston on the saucy side of sustainability

More at Idealog online

Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, creative directory, Idealog TV, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.

  Matt Cooney
  Editor

Also in Idealog Weekly …

2010-08-27 13:26:59: 128 pages of pure gold

2010-08-20 11:51:54: Total Semi-Permanent

2010-08-13 13:18:18: Life through a lens

2010-08-06 13:54:12: Pie in the sky

2010-07-29 12:38:14: Great ideas come in twos (or more)

2010-07-23 14:16:23: The bounce factor

2010-07-16 14:59:03: What doesn't kill us makes us stronger

2010-07-09 13:46:23: The future is now

2010-07-02 14:45:16: Sneaking around

2010-06-25 13:52:07: Making their mark

2010-06-18 14:18:59: From C-student to CEO

2010-06-11 12:59:50: Walking the talk

2010-06-04 12:06:56: Stars of the small screen

2010-05-28 13:27:44: A job well done

2010-05-21 11:38:39: Story of my life

2010-05-14 13:34:52: Where are the asteroids?

2010-05-07 15:03:09: Get your fancypants on

2010-04-30 14:44:05: Ready, aim, fire

2010-04-23 15:11:14: Lean machine

2010-04-16 13:38:34: It's better when it's free

2010-04-09 11:11:34: Good fortune

2010-04-01 13:47:45: Forward thinking

2010-03-26 14:58:28: Back to basics

2010-03-19 12:43:58: End of the road

2010-03-12 14:29:30: Under the sea

2010-03-05 14:32:56: Race to the bottom

2010-02-26 14:43:20: Small but mighty

2010-02-19 14:43:04: A taste of what's to come

2010-02-12 16:27:05: The case for saving science

2010-02-05 11:20:54: Betting on the bell curve

2010-01-29 11:43:43: Urban facelift

2010-01-22 12:46:42: Back to business

2009-12-18 12:32:14: An Idealog year

2009-12-11 11:32:17: Cultivating creativity

2009-12-04 12:41:50: Beating the data maze

2009-11-27 13:20:20: Into the wild

2009-11-20 12:09:59: Clever Kiwi

2009-11-13 15:24:34: Behind the scenes

2009-11-06 16:14:16: The garlic solution

2009-10-30 17:36:54: Man of the moment

2009-10-23 18:20:02: By the numbers

2009-10-16 16:18:27: Pavlova principles

2009-10-09 18:53:36: The secret of the songbook

2009-10-02 14:52:56: Free and easy

2009-09-25 14:58:12: What the world wants

2009-09-18 14:58:12: A slice of the pie

2009-09-11 16:16:54: Walking man

2009-09-06 22:39:01: A calmer kind of business

2009-08-28 16:14:07: We have issues

2009-08-21 14:15:49: Mincing about in waistcoats

2009-08-14 15:16:48: Wired on pop culture

2009-08-07 14:33:11: Trust is not a commodity

2009-07-31 14:05:29: Fuzzy logic

2009-07-24 12:44:11: Game of life

2009-07-17 15:07:41: Grape expectations

2009-07-10 15:55:03: Blade runners

2009-07-03 16:10:16: Free: another word for nothing left to lose

2009-06-26 17:29:25: Poorly pleased

2009-06-19 13:07:47: The giver

2009-06-12 15:09:07: Buggy on down

2009-06-05 13:15:14: Brand Cambo

2009-05-29 14:46:37: When the going gets tough, go proactive

2009-05-22 14:49:27: Bayerische Wasserstoffmotorenwerke

2009-05-15 13:37:38: Rugger blogger

2009-05-08 16:19:47: Get on our cloud

2009-05-01 14:23:55: Easy Tiger

2009-04-24 10:45:23: Tiki tacky

2009-04-17 15:41:21: The not-so-great indoors

2009-04-03 15:41:21: A site for sore eyes

2009-03-27 12:01:53: Dual control

2009-03-20 12:41:29: Worth their Alt

2009-03-13 11:40:07: Biofuels or bio-fools?

2009-03-06 13:06:03: It's electrifying

2009-02-27 12:05:00: Experience-rich and theory-poor

2009-02-20 08:34:12: It's a hundred-and-fourteen-pager

2009-02-13 10:17:02: Own your mistakes

2009-02-05 11:08:46: Rules—made to be broken

2009-01-30 12:13:46: Money: that's what I want

2008-12-05 12:15:14: Framed by the thousands

2008-11-28 11:53:12: Spank-branding novelty next week

2008-11-21 10:07:48: In the Loop

2008-11-14 12:30:00: Your good health

2008-11-07 15:29:37: Misfits of science

2008-10-31 00:00:00: No absence of colour

2008-10-24 12:55:16: Plain-speaking Peri

2008-10-17 15:17:07: Rebels with a cause

2008-10-10 14:53:35: Seoulipsism

2008-10-03 13:18:51: Fall seven times and stand up eight

2008-09-26 13:20:53: Don't label us

2008-09-19 14:37:12: Bloody Graham

2008-09-19 14:17:45: Dream proposition

2008-09-05 15:21:48: Taxi!!!

2008-08-29 11:24:08: Up-Skilling on Idealog TV

2008-08-22 13:16:57: 144 pages of pure pleasure, plus politics

2008-08-15 11:42:43: Wash down that Lovemark with a Steinie

2008-08-08 12:00:07: Strange journey

2008-08-01 15:17:10: SMElly and happy

2008-07-25 13:24:35: What a dive

2008-07-18 12:19:42: Softly and woolly does it

2008-07-11 11:59:13: The saviour from Timaru

2008-07-04 14:50:24: Last laugh

2008-06-27 10:56:38: King Kev

2008-06-20 12:20:14: Slow ART

2008-06-13 11:56:13: Killing two birds with methane

2008-06-06 11:41:39: A combine harvester

2008-05-30 11:55:00: Gold paint

2008-05-23 12:01:40: Rock, out

2008-05-16 10:44:03: Goodwill hunting

2008-05-09 11:53:04: No wine jokes please

2008-05-02 11:51:55: Who's bad?

2008-04-24 13:23:02: Succession success

2008-04-18 13:41:43: Out now or thereabouts

2008-04-11 12:52:49: Paint by numbers

2008-04-04 14:24:53: Reincarnated good

2008-03-28 15:26:16: Making it

2008-03-20 17:03:39: Knock three times

2008-03-14 12:31:52: The customer is always tight

2008-03-07 11:56:55: Beautiful words

2008-02-28 12:55:22: Goodnight, I'm off to work

2008-02-22 12:15:19: The art issue

2008-02-15 11:31:15: Straight to the top

2008-02-08 16:05:53: H for hot

2007-12-13 14:52:13: Nothing in common? Perfect

2007-12-06 12:50:32: Who needs a beer?

2007-11-30 12:37:37: Dirty secret goes public

2007-11-23 13:28:24: Don't speak

2007-11-16 17:01:13: Worthy work (and free beer)

2007-11-02 20:07:12: East meets best

2007-10-25 12:47:59: Raid the fridge

2007-10-19 09:18:05: Looking good

2007-10-13 10:20:34: Can't miss it

2007-10-05 12:55:52: Fresh meat delivery

2007-09-28 11:49:23: If the walls had eyes

2007-09-21 04:13:23: Phoenix rising

2007-09-15 04:32:01: Can we fix it? Yes we can

2007-09-06 19:00:00: Feats of social engineering

2007-08-31 09:01:09: Doesn't bite

2007-08-24 13:21:33: Telling us where to go

2007-08-16 23:00:00: Tomorrow time

2007-08-10 12:15:51: Going West

2007-08-03 12:35:31: How to ... be your business

2007-07-27 14:11:06: Freaky food

2007-07-20 15:05:00: Meet the neighbours

2007-07-12 12:16:19: Free Hollie

2007-07-06 09:03:58: Green queen

2007-06-29 08:59:24: The truth about youth

2007-06-21 16:03:33: Walk this way

2007-06-14 17:58:53: Times ten

2007-06-07 15:13:55: The ape woman needs a label

2007-06-01 08:51:45: Impossible is something

2007-05-25 14:53:52: Yeah, we're still here

2007-05-11 14:43:35: Trophy time

2007-05-03 15:49:14: Friends with the band

2007-04-23 23:00:00: Why worry?

2007-04-19 16:08:21: Done by the big jobs

2007-04-12 22:34:29: A rockin' good read

2007-04-05 13:54:05: No fear

2007-03-29 21:54:07: Out to pasture

2007-03-22 15:38:14: Hip-hop and The Human Touch

2007-03-15 14:27:49: Crazy Frog and Billy T

2007-03-10 01:00:00: The Benadryl edition

2007-03-01 14:30:53: We can be Xero

2007-02-22 17:17:14: Back on board

2006-12-15 12:34:29: Free beer

2006-12-08 11:09:40: December 8, 2006

2006-12-01 10:13:51: December 1, 2006

2006-11-24 13:38:37: November 24, 2006

2006-11-16 12:08:37: November 16, 2006

2006-11-09 12:13:04: November 9, 2006

2006-11-03 13:27:12: November 3, 2006

2006-10-26 13:39:26: October 26, 2006

2006-10-19 16:11:46: October 19, 2006

2006-10-12 17:31:36: October 12, 2006

2006-10-06 10:16:05: October 6, 2006

2006-09-28 16:19:29: September 28, 2006

2006-09-21 15:42:31: September 21, 2006

2006-09-14 13:56:38: September 14, 2006

2006-09-07 00:00:00: September 7, 2006

2006-08-31 00:00:00: August 31, 2006

2006-08-24 00:00:00: August 24, 2006

2006-08-17 00:00:00: August 17, 2006

2006-08-11 00:00:00: August 11, 2006

2006-08-03 00:00:00: August 3, 2006

2006-07-27 00:00:00: July 27, 2006

2006-07-21 00:00:00: July 21, 2006

2006-07-13 00:00:00: July 13, 2006

2006-07-06 00:00:00: July 6, 2006

2006-06-29 00:00:00: June 29, 2006

2006-06-22 00:00:00: June 22, 2006

2006-06-15 00:00:00: June 15, 2006

Tweeted

Overheard

• Steve on Bottled inspiration:
  Next time you're in Barcelona make sure you stay at the famous Hotel Palace where Antipodes is stocked in the mini-bars and served in the restaurant.  …
• tony on Multi-purpose car park design pushes the sustainability envelope :
  You mean pushing the BS envelope.how can a carparking building be sustainable. Doesnt matter how many wind turbines you put on it......cars arent sustainable in their current guise. It like ...  …
• ash on Wellingtonian's boggy blog design piece gets anti-attention:
  cool idea..but is it a smooth wipe too!?  …
• Tamara Pitman on Misery, Inc.:
  Really never thought that she was a New Zealander, her artwork is sooooooo unquie. Really one of my inspirations now :D  …
• Noel mRoberts on The people's court opens for business:
  At last a N.Z. building design that is original,creative and exciting. So different from the standard rectangular concrete and marble structures that have become the N.Z.standard over many years. Well ...  …
• Bel on Camera never lies:
  Oh my. Very excited about this! Saw the doco at the festival a few years back and it was both funny and moving - can't imagine how kick-ass it will ...  …

• Back to top
• Looking for something else? Check the site map
• © 2005–2010 Idealog. All rights reserved. ISSN 1179–3465