We recently came across a blanket and cushion made by the very clever director of Native Agent, Rona Ngahuia Osborne, and fell in love with her melding of colonialism and Maoridom. Her work is beautifully crafted, hand stitched and whilst rooted in days gone by is wholeheartedly contemporary. Osborne began as an artist within the Indicator Studios collective in the late nineties before opening Native Agent with husband Dan Mace in late 2003. Native Agent is described as being a ‘purveyor of quality New Zealand Made designwares and clothing’ and is a regular Kingsland stop off for those with a sense of design, art and style.
It is great to see then that the couple are expanding the opportunity by opening The Showroom, a new art, design and furniture space situated below Native Design at 507b New North Rd. The Showroom opens on Sept 8 featuring new work from Native Agent, furniture from Bob McDonald, innovative shelving solutions from Whangarei based Hold, lighting from Rebecca Asquith and Cicada studios trained David Moreland, ceramic work from Studio Ceramics, one-off pieces from innovative upcyclers The Boiler Room, and more.
As Native Agent themselves say “We’re really excited about where this could lead creatively. The Showroom is a space where art can be functional and design can be frivolous – what a fantastic brief!”
Indeed.