Issue No55 — Monochrome is Where the Heart is.

I’m getting my house ready for its next owner (is that you?). It’s a charming two-bedroom standalone place with a reasonably sized garden, originally consented as a bach in the 1940s, back when people apparently holidayed in New Lynn. It has a wood burner, a deck and is a 10-minute walk from the train station. Someone will be very happy there. 

Doing odd jobs there, I’ve been reminded just how much colour has been inflicted on the place: warm yellow, pale blue and caper green inside, and two shades of blue outside. When I had originally asked a friend with one of the coolest houses I’ve been to in Auckland – on an orchard in Oratia – what colour I should paint it, she suggested greige.

I get it. Resale value seems to guide our aesthetic decisions. But I’m hopeful that might change, especially if flipping houses ever becomes less of an obsession and property speculation stops being a national sport. 

And if one reaction to AI slop taking over the internet is that taste becomes a more valued currency, could we agree to branch out? My friend, artist Erica Van Zon, runs the Instagram account @bright_houses_aotearoa, documenting buildings whose owners have boldly broken away from the norm. It’s Wellington-based, but Tāmaki Makaurau could take notes.

In Pt Chev, where I now live, I often walk past a cute yellow building with awnings on my way to the beach. Once, at sunset, I posted a photo of it to my Instagram story and announced I was opening my new hospitality business 'Sahar Bar' there. People got surprisingly excited. That hadn't been on my bingo card, but it made me think people are just drawn to places with a bit of personality.

Lately, the homogeneity of some buildings has been getting me down. I’ve paused my gym membership to walk more, including while dog-sitting in Grafton, and once you start noticing the grey, white and beige, it’s hard to stop.

Maybe that’s why I care so much about colour in public places. At work, I occasionally get to contribute to conversations about design in public projects, including how architects, artists and designers deploy colour, texture, materiality and pattern. I’m part of a panel helping to commission artist-designed curtains that work like walls for Te Hono, a new public library and community hub in Avondale. Having worked at The Civic in different capacities, I still love its flamingo curtain and completely outlandish gold glory. Elephants and monkeys and lions. More of that, please!

It might come from being the child of immigrants, suspicious of minimalism, or from growing up in Westmere before every house was painted white. But I like the idea that our infrastructure can do more than function. They can delight us, reflect our cultural fabric and push us to use our imaginations.

Let’s hope we never end up in a joyless police state. Let’s paint our houses and buildings purple, yellow and red.

Sahar Lone works in urban regeneration. Her background is in media, the arts, strategic communications, consulting and business. If you could be her house’s next owner, ENQUIRE WITHIN.

By Jean

NEW OPENINGS

Urbanaut’s burger division, Burgernaut, now has a second outlet in the central city, having taken over the LITTLE EASY SPACE on Fort St. 

Yet another Bowl Place is opening – this time, SOUL BOUL (not a typo) in Takapuna. This whole resurgence of wellness places is giving me major flashbacks to the Cafe Gratitude, turmeric-latte, Sqirl-tinged era of the early-mid 2010s, which I’m sure was just a repeat of the wellness era of the early 2000s. Anyway, this is not a personal attack on Soul Boul, which looks like it delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Admittedly I am not the target audience because I hardly ever eat my vegetables. Or my collagen hot chocolates, for that matter.

COMING SOON

Pasadena Bakery in Pt Chev is being RE-ANIMATED by the old owner’s daughter.

Michael Dearth’s new place in Takapuna, Zamboni, is GETTING CLOSER, which we know because he seems intent on updating us every step of the way. 

The Bowler citywide takeover continues with the biggest Bowler of them all now going into the old Mecca on Ponsonby Rd.

EVENTS + NEWS

Two Guys Chicken is popping up at The Breakfast Club in Pt Chev for the next two months.

DEN RAMEN is teaming up with Australian winemakers Doom Juice tonight, serving cup noodles and bags of wine (presumably you can get a glass, too, and presumably the cup noodles will be their own ramen served in cups, although who’s to say). 

The V60 ‘26 CHAMPIONSHIPS is on this evening at Allpress on Drake St for those interested in competitive drip coffee making.

Halcyon Days is hosting a SPRING LUNCH at No. 7 on Sunday 4th, with Lukrecya Craw cooking up two courses of food – $125pp (that includes a flight of four wines). Lukrecya is reportedly taking over the kitchen in the expanded No. 7 space, which is going to make that place busier than ever (Lukrecya used to own and chef at Peach Pit, the beloved bar/restaurant where I had my FIRST EVER skin contact wine. Meaning orange. Oh, to be her).

The Auckland Indonesia Festival is on at the Mt Albert Memorial Hall on Saturday. Free entry, and you’ll probably be there for the food.

Nami Record Bar has ANOTHER SUNDAY ROAST with Gamja (a food truck/pop-up) this week. It looks like there will be vege options for non-meat eaters, although that may defeat the point of Korean BBQ.

Mumbaiwala in Ponsonby is closing, as is The Store cafe in The Britomart which seems like maybe the first place that’s closing down there to make way for the new building.

By Mike

The opening of Faradays on Queen Street is an out-of-time moment: the second coming of this swanky department store, now itself housed within a former department store, on a street formerly renowned for them before the malls took hold. On one level the past is the point; an appeal to a more leisurely era of all-in-one destination shopping that slipped away from Auckland some time ago. But nostalgia doesn’t tap EFTPOS terminals and, judging by the lavish $30m fit out, those terminals are going to need concerted tapping. There is hope: internationally, much of the high-end department store shopping in larger cities has so far survived 21st century changes in retail behaviour, helped no doubt by the resilience of high-end disposable incomes. To what extent this demographic locally, bolstered by those cruise ship passengers sufficiently curious to explore south of Montblanc at no. 87, will turn out remains to be seen. For the rest of us, the elevated views of both the store and out to the street from the Emmets’ airy new restaurant on Faradays’ first floor, Lottie’s – named after Charlotte Milne to evoke the building's retail heritage as Milne & Choyce, naturally – provide a reason to (window) shop in person.

Also heading back to the future this week is Auckland Council, which voted 13-3 on Tuesday to return to booth voting for the next local election. Fraud in Papatoetoe and Manurewa local boards last year made continuing with postal votes untenable, not least as there remains a suspicion that vote theft might be more widespread than is acknowledged. Beyond the millions in additional cost, it’s hard not to be concerned that the switch won’t further depress 2025’s starkly low turnout of 29%. While there may have been little option given the need to bolster faith in our democratic process, relying on people to show up feels risky these days, no matter how grand the cause, or the destination.

Choice items from the liquidation sales of Auckland’s two-speed recovery.
By Simon

BUFFET CRAMPON CLARINET
Current bid $75, Closes today
Clarinets are fantastic - not annoyingly brash like saxophones and less weird than oboes but still woody and soothing. Also they get work in jazz and classical groups, aren’t a massive piece of luggage to carry around, and while they are pricey in the shops, this one is not. Also its a great chance to be more like Woody Allen who also plays one.

THE MOST ORNATE COFFEE TABLE I HAVE EVER SEEN
Current bid $60, Closes Wednesday
I cannot think of a single room that this would not ruin just by being in it.

STILL MORE FLYING OUT STUFF
Closes Friday Week
Sale number 7 in the Flying Out liquidation - this one has three pages of single LPs rather than oddly chosen groups so probably a little easier to transact with. Also: A USB turntable and an amp!

SEINFELD SCRIPT
Current bid $70, Closes Monday
A cast and crew script for The Outing from Season 4. It’s probably a bit early to be stockpiling Christmas presents but this would be a good one for someone.

By Simon

THURSDAY 1ST

JAVA BENTLEY
Grace, Free
Cubeside Annex, a show that was originally a replica of Bentley’s studio space in Palmerston North made of umbrellas and some other bits and pieces and now reconfigured in Rationalist House for Grace. Curated by Grace’s new associate director Felixe Laing and runs to October 24.

HAYDN & SHOSTAKOVICH
Town Hall, From $57
German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens is here for a couple of shows with the APO - this one features Russian cellist Anastasia Kobekina soloing on Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1. Also on the bill: Peer Gynt: Suite No.1 by Grieg and the alarmingly prolific Haydn’s Symphony No.97.

GENA
Neck of the Woods, $60
Buzzy, neo-soul duo made up of Detroit based drummer/producer Karriem Riggins and rapper/writer/producer Liv.e from Dallas, who released their very well received debut album, The Pleasure is Yours in February. QUICK FACTS: GENA stands for Good Energy Naturally Amazing and whoever writes the NPR Tiny Desk YouTube captions thinks they sound like a J Dilla x Erykah Badu project.

FRIDAY 2ND

WIREFRAME PRESENTS COMMUNION
St Matthews, $5
The New Zealand Game Developers Conference is on and beloved one-time Cringe intro writer and Auckland’s driest vlogger, Radiator Yang, is hosting a party with 15 microtalks at various levels of horniness and 6 activities including costumed life drawing, a manifesto jam and a slorp ritual. Alc-free.

ALPHABETHEAD, GRECCO ROMANK, GUARDIAN SINGLES & LIVING PERFECTION
Goblin, $20
Amazing bill for the Misanthrope video release tour but getting all these people into Goblin with all their gear is not going to leave a huge amount of room for anyone else so I would get in quickly for the tickets if you’re keen.

DIGI
Tuning Fork, $20
No Future DJs playing Kim Petras, Slayyyter, Frost Children and more in a hyperpop/ digicore/cloud rap club night!

SATURDAY 3RD

KOWTOW SAMPLE SALE
And Sunday, 230 Ponsonby Rd
Get your utilitarian archive pieces, recut styles and more - up to 80% off! Also they’ll be taking donations for Women’s Refuge both days.

DISRUPT v NARAM
Galatos, $30
8-bit reggae show with Leipzig based founder of Jahtari, Disrupt and our own Naram from Red Robin Records playing on the champion Reggae Rodeo soundsystem. 

SHISHIANDO: PABLO CHILL-E
Mothership, $70
Chilean reggeaton/trap/perreo DJ and for just an extra $30 on top of the ticket price you get the VIP package with not only selfies, a signed poster and a free drink at the show but also dinner with Chill-E at El Origen on the night before - although as I look at it now I realise they don’t say whether or not it covers the cost of the food so it’s possible you’ll need to pay for your own dinner and potentially chip in for his as well.

SUNDAY 4TH

FLOTSAM & JETSAM
Whammy, $70
+
KATATONIA
Powerstation, $99
Tough programming SNAFU with both the week’s big touring metal shows booked on the same night - US thrash metallers Flotsam and Jetsam in support of their new album Rats in the Temple with support from Just One Fix and Head Lock Grave, and ex-doom now post-metal (ish) Swedes Katatonia on the back of the excellently titled record Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State with opening band Checaine. If you wanted to try to do both, doors are slightly earlier at the Powerstation and there’s just one support act so I guess it’s possible you could get to Whammy in time to catch the end.

MONDAY 5TH

USO SPRING CONCERT
St Matthews, Free
The University Symphony Orchestra are young and probably prone to mistakes but there is no way they are the 0% as good as the professional orchestras that this ticket price suggests so this is the entertainment value pick of the week. On the programme: Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger, Salina Fisher’s Kintsugi, Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D Maj. (featuring UoA alumna Amalia Hall!) and Bizet’s Symphony No.1 in C.

WEDNESDAY 7TH

TEST FEST
Till Saturday, Basement, Free
New, potentially chaotic, mini festival at the Basement starting with a party on Wednesday then into business from Thursday till Saturday with 14 new, unfinished and/or experimental works getting a test flight over three loosely themed nights. 

NEXT WEEK

The Tempo Dance Festival begins and lock up your daughters, Picasso is coming to the Auckland Art Gallery!