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From the Editor November 2012
Sally Duggan - NZ House & Garden Editor

Sally wears a Country Road top; photographed by Emma Bass; Make-up by Kaitlin Chapman; hair by Michael Kent


I've spent the morning talking to NZ House & Garden style editor Tracey Strange Watts about removal vans, tide charts, ramps and insurance policies. "Boys' stuff," Tracey calls it, and it's all part of the nitty-gritty detail behind every home feature (in this case a Christmas shoot at a remote bach).

This sort of practical stuff, I have to admit, is not something I've aspired to be particularly good at. Growing up, I never once thought: "Wish I could negotiate a removal van down a beach ramp". After three years on NZ House & Garden, though, it has become glaringly obvious that creating a beautiful home (or a beautiful home feature for the magazine) is at least as much about practical know-how as about creative vision.

There are rare people who are both artistic and practical, but commonly this winning combination comes in a team of two. Very often, when we interview an arty homeowner, we find a hands-on doer lurking in the shadows. Take, for example, our cover home: its casual artistry belongs to Nelson sculptor Christine Boswijk, but she's quick to credit her husband Patrick (who is not in our photographs). "He constructs things; I put the fine feathers in the nest," she says.

I was thinking about all this yesterday, planning this letter, when I got a serendipitous call from Don Service in Christchurch. Turns out Don is a literal example of the unsung-maker-behind-the-artist: a man whose mission is to get our art hanging straight on the wall. Don is a 48-year-old construction project manager who says he "got sick of walking into people's homes and seeing their pictures leaning out at the top" so used his spare time to invent a special hook for recessed canvas frames: the Arthanga (arthanga.com). Don is hugely proud of his hooks, but wasn't sure about having his own name in the magazine: "It's not about me."

Bless him. Not feeling qualified to judge the Arthanga myself, I turned to my own behind-the-scenes man. Practical husband Nick was impressed: "If you're tired of flimsy picture hooks, Arthanga could be the answer to your prayers," he said (see our Facebook page for his post). I can't say I would ever call a hook the answer to a prayer, but that's the difference between Nick (who has a love of practical detail) and me (who doesn't). But I do hate saggy paintings.

So here's an overdue vote of thanks from us at NZ House & Garden to Don, Patrick, my Nick and all the other practical types who so often get second billing when we celebrate beautiful home interiors. We couldn't do it without you.

Sally


Story: Sally Duggan









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