D.Cast

Andy Florkowski speaks with Nick Mowbray, CEO of Zuru Toys, and investor in up and coming kiwi FMCG brands such as Monday Haircare, Dose&Co, Nood Petfood and Rascal & Friends. Nick moved to China as a teenager, with a small loan from his parents and with the goal of launching a toy business. 15 Years later, Zuru is one of the largest toy empires in the world, and Nick is drawing on this experience to shape and propel other New Zealand businesses onto the global stage.

Milliken-Ontera is a design-focused commercial flooring manufacturer headquartered in Sydney. With a strong ethical culture and long-held commitments to sustainability, they are creating a better future by actively participating in local communities, developing a diverse and inclusive workplace, and doing their part to ensure a cleaner world for generations to come.

Oliver McDermott talks to Ania Cetinic (Communications Manager) & James Mfula (Design Director) at Milliken-Ontera about flooring design, culture, values, and shrinking footprints.

Like other difficult dinner conversation topics such as politics and religion, the question around the value of design can be viewed very differently depending on where you sit. Independent designer Bevan Tonks along with Jono Sagar, principle and founder of Voice discuss the value of design from their own perspectives as well as how they see design as a problem solving exercise becoming increasingly complex.

Rose Norgrove, Alistair Kincaid talk to Demelza Round, Nathan Walker and Anjuli Selvadurai.

Project Make is a design education community that encourages folk in Aotearoa to make things together. Made up of founder Demelza Round, Online Learning Coordinator Anjuli Selvadurai and Creative Director Nathan Walker. Their online platform presents educational opportunities through project-based lessons. These projects span across multiple art and design disciplines and cater to makers of any age and stage.

The team at Project Make saw a major gap in education that speaks directly and inclusively to art and design practices in Aotearoa. They aim to change that by inviting and sharing a diverse range of perspectives and skills to build their projects. Whilst always placing designerly thinking at the forefront.

In this episode, Oliver McDermott talks to Brand Guy, Richard Shirtcliffe, about building disruptive ‘triple bottom line’ consumer lifestyle brands, finding unmet needs, and outside the box thinking.

Richard is the Co CEO of Noho, a direct to consumer furniture brand making beautiful dynamic furniture from waste plastic and sustainable materials. 
Noho, based in Colorado, has just launched it's first product, the extraordinary noho move chair. Created in New Zealand by sister company Formway, it is made from up-cycled waste plastic like discarded fishing nets and end-of-life carpet, and is designed to bring dynamic ergonomic comfort into the family home.

Prior to noho, Richard was CEO of Coffee Supreme International, and Tuatara Brewing before that. Over his career he has been involved with several successful growth NZ companies, such as Phil&teds, Mountain Buggy, Prorack, Ice Breaker and Method Recycling to name a few.

Jungie Choi takes us through the design journey and process that led up to 2019 Student Graphics Gold Pin winning project, Han. Through the podcast AUT students Kai Concepcion and Harry Davis have a conversation with AUT graduate Jungie about student life, her creative journey from being a student to a working professional. Jungie sheds light on the challenges she has faced and significant turning points that narrated her design journey. Opening up about the importance of minority voices not only to rejoice the positives of their culture but also exposing the “negative” ideologies in a culture through design to spark conversations. Sharing insightful advice and experience to young emerging designers.

Clean, simple, and quality. Three profound factors that point towards New Zealand furniture designer Tim Webber’s success in the furniture design industry. Tim, alongside his designs, praise the effortlessly beautiful elegance in design simplicity. From materials, to design choices and features, to manufacturing. His journey is inspired by the natural grasp he maintains of the design process and willingness to deliver value. In this episode, the DINZ Student Council members sit down with Tim and discuss the most critical points of his design pathway, beginning from the completion of his tertiary design education in 2009 to operating his own design house. He elaborates on the most confrontational moments as a young designer taking on the industry.

Graeme Thorne and Matt Johnston from Italian Stone join Naomi Rushmer and Sebastian Negri to unearth rich stories about a beloved among the designer's palette: natural stone.

Insights into a culture built around materiality, through the lens of an intergenerational family business.

James discusses his journey. James’s story is an inspiring one, full of honesty and insight. He started by studying Design Innovation at Victoria University in Wellington and due to graduating during the GFC James found jobs hard to come by.  So alongside his two mates from uni he moved to Tauranga and started his own studio. James opens up about some of the unprecedented challenges he faced from there till now and offers some advice for anyone who is just starting out on how to avoid some of these difficulties.

When you think of most children’s toys and products these days, it’s hard not to get a bit worked up by the vast amounts of poorly made, colourful plasticky junky stuff. It’s not the most eco-friendly picture is it? 

 

It’s not very child friendly either, and It’s this, that inspired Industrial designer Blythe Rees-Jones and wife Anna to set out on a little adventure and try to do something about it. 8 years later and their company Woolkin, is becoming famous for their beautifully crafted children’s toys made from wool and wood. 

 

Blythe is a strategic-creative designer passionate about growing New Zealand's future and helping great companies create and scale great ideas. He has significant experience working across many sectors including consumer products, food and beverage, healthcare, textiles and new materials development. 

 

In this episode, Oliver McDermott talks to Blythe Rees-Jones about design strategy, wool, and everything in between.