Courtesy of Coff Media

When: 30 March 2012

Where: Zambesi Britomart, Auckland

Their first event for 2012 coincided with L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and was simply entitled ‘Cave’.  A space in the popular Curtin House (located on Swanston Street in Melbourne’s CBD) was transformed into a ‘Cave’ of wonders, with jewelry from 7 of Melbourne’s most promising jewelers on display in vintage cabinets alongside various other curiosities that inspired the designers.

The designers included Alexandra Blak, Estelle Dévé, Hamish Munro, Henson, Maripossa, o.t.t By lia t and Young Hunting.

The launch night of ‘Cave’ attracted many industry folks who were in town for LMFF. Stolen Rum was on hand to lubricate these folks and ensure a warm glow into the night.

When: 10 March 2012

Where: Curtin House, Melbourne

Joseph Allen Shea, with his finger in a few pies, is by trade an independent curator, publisher and gallerist.

For the most part his primary focus is the Sydney based Gallery A.S. He describes it as “a site-specific exhibition project” where he finds “interesting habitats for contemporary art that are not necessarily expected homes for exhibitions”. The goal, he adds, is to create an experience through the conversation between the art and its context that will make for an interesting journey for patrons.

When not preoccupied by Gallery A.S. he finds time to curate exhibitions for museums, manages cultural strategies for corporations and publishes limited run artist books, phew.

His most recent exhibition, Anthony Lister’s Bogan Paradise, is also his most ambitious. The exhibition featured four stories of dilapidated early Sydney architecture that for a long time housed a grimy sex store turned into 10 rooms of art installation and performance. Allen Shea says it was a gamble: “I love that it was a great risk that turned to great success”.

Being surrounded by so much talent, it’s hard for Allen Shea to single out his fondest artist. He’s currently working on an exhibition with Sydney / Perth artist Fraser Anderson and describes himself as being “fully enmeshed and deeply inspired” by Anderson’s work.

Outside of his obligatory art duties Allen Shea loves to travel with his family and be inspired by art and culture around the world.

He is currently on an expedition that will see him experiencing art museums and their collections across the States and Europe.

When asked ‘what have you Stolen?’ Allen Shea modestly answered “This readers time”.

Nestled in Auckland’s Lower Hobson St is an underground oasis, home to some of New Zealand’s top bartenders.

The team behind Suite Bar say they like to showcase the best in high quality, local ingredients, mixed to perfection under the mastery of tenders Barney Toy, James Goggin, Kenny Ariaens, Margarita Vovna and Nick Seeherr. Together this team can mix up just about any concoction imaginable – simply describe what you feel like or simply what mood you’re in and they’ll know straight away what to create.

Specialising in the concept of “Provenance Purchasing”, Suite Bar is committed to keeping it fresh and seasonal. The team are always on the lookout for the new and unusual, from homemade jams and grenadine to a unique homemade Orgeat made by hand pressing and macerating almonds to perfection – a key ingredient in their famous STOLEN mixed rum sour. Made of STOLEN White, manuka honey, egg white, lime juice, and fig and cigar bitters (also homemade), this tantalising cocktail will more than tickle your taste buds with a velvety texture and subtle dryness.

Suite pushes the envelope to offer a variety of cocktails using all kinds of new and exciting flavours. With bartenders travelling across South America, Scandinavia and Asia to research new trends and exciting flavours, you can expect to enjoy some of the best drinks New Zealand has to offer.

Their STOLEN Capsicum Daiquiri is a true winner with the sweet spice of red capsicums and the mellow sweetness of STOLEN White. Suite Bar owner Dave Hawk has even worked to create a new range of “Cool As” in-house sodas, developed by bartenders for bartenders. Using local ingredients like lemons from Havelock North and New Zealand Horopito, these sodas are set to be the perfect mixer for any drink.

But don’t just take our word for it – Suite carries a full trophy case, including the Hospitality NZ award for best bar as well as previous NZ Bar awards for top drinks selection, best team and top bartender. Simply put, Suite is the perfect place to relax, listen to top local music and be served by bartenders with a genuine interest in delivering guests the very best. With quirky elements like moustaches printed on wine glasses and an eclectic range of glasses to serve up your cocktail, Suite offers visitors approachable sophistication where world class drinks are always guaranteed.

Now in its ninth year, Rhythm and Vines takes centre stage as one of New Zealand’s top music festivals. The event has become an iconic Kiwi New Year’s tradition and this year a record 29,000 festival-goers braved fierce conditions to usher in 2012, with the help of an exciting musical line-up, including local talent Six60, David Dallas, Kids of 88 and international guests Calvin Harris, Cut Copy, Grandmaster Flash and Pendulum.

STOLEN Rum was onsite to host this year’s VIP sanctuary. “Club STOLEN” was the place to be for those after a premium Rhythm and Vines experience, boasting the best place to watch all the acts with an uninterrupted view of the main stage, along with the home comforts of a VIP area. Guests were treated to first class beverages mixed up by the STOLEN Rum Runners (including the hugely popular STOLEN Summer), which saw them lubricated well into the night.

Those who braved the elements were among the first in the world to see the light as the first day of 2012 broke over the hills of Waiohika Estate. But despite the inclement weather, the atmosphere and vibe of the event was as riotous as ever. Guests donned ponchos and gumboots and shrugged off the rain and mud to embrace the Rhythm and Vines revelry and welcome in 2012 with a STOLEN cocktail in hand.

When: 29 December 2011 – 1 January 2012

Where: Waiohika Estate, Gisborne

Nick Ward and James Anderson are the two heads behind some of New Zealand’s most innovative TV of the past few years.

The old school friends first formed their production company Two Heads in 2004 and took the plunge to throw in the towel on their day jobs just two years later.

James says, “We were flatting together and working in film and TV when we thought, why not combine our talents and contacts? I was the artsy, wanky, edit-y one and Nick was the ideas and writing guy with the big commercial show experience, so we figured two heads were better than one, and Two Heads was born.”

Great ideas are essential to the success of Two Heads, and James says they can come from anywhere.

“Sometimes the TV networks will be looking for something specific to fill a slot, sometimes we’ll just see a magazine article or something on the internet that sparks our interest… But anyone can come up with an idea for a TV show – it’s about what you do with it, all the other elements, then selling the idea and getting people to invest in it that counts.”

The pair say 2011 was their best year yet, with three TV series in the bag (including The Food Truck, A Night at the Classic, and Making Tracks) and two more in production.

Nick adds, “The Food Truck’s probably been our biggest, most exciting project. We had an idea, went to an awesome chef, Michael van Elzen, found a truck, and people liked it. It’s been the first show we’ve done that’s been prime time, that lots and lots of people have actually seen, and it’s made our lives a hell of a lot easier because people know who we are now.”

Two Heads capped off 2011 with four nominations and one win at the AFTA Film and TV Awards.

“You can’t drink at the Awards so I took a hip flask of STOLEN Gold in with me,” Nick says. “I passed it down my row… and by the time it came back it was empty.”

Favourite STOLEN cocktail:

James: STOLEN Ginger

Nick: STOLEN Gold on the rocks

Photo by Tom Roberton

The success of their first two Britomart bars, Agents & Merchants and Racket, inspired Auckland hospitality trio Johnny de Monchy, Nick McCaw and Paul Gibbard to further invest in the budding Britomart area.

They were captivated by the historic Stanbeth building and its raw, industrial elements and instantly knew it had the bones to become something special. After a meticulous redesign that pays homage to the building’s industrial roots (retaining many of the original fittings), 1885 was born.

Named after the year it was originally constructed, 1885 has quickly become part of the fabric of Auckland’s downtown scene. The vibrant bar with a dose of class was named Outstanding Bar in the 2011 Lewisham Hospitality Awards.

Johnny says, “The industrial yet sophisticated feel of 1885 fits very well with our personalities and our endeavours within hospitality. We feel 1885 is somewhat of a diamond in the rough which for some reason sits well with us.”

The bar boasts ample space to for punters to socialise across three levels.  The verandah bar is the perfect place to indulge in cigars and cocktails and watch Britomart after hours come  to life, while the main bar regularly features some of Auckland’s best DJs and live acts, with a spacious dancefloor that sees the action run until the early hours of the morning. Down in the exclusive basement, the premium private members bar offers a 5-star cocktail list and a “gentleman’s respite” from the chaos and excitement of upstairs.

Bartender Alan Raythorne is an avid rum fan saying he loves the spirit for its colourful history and its versatility. While STOLEN Rum is most popular in the bar’s STOLEN Cuba Zeala cocktail, Alan adds that it is also “great to use in cocktails that call for more of a sweeter note and touches of vanilla – for instance a rum old fashioned or a rum espresso martini.”

He says, “Cocktail inspiration comes in many forms, depending on the guest you are serving, the environment you are serving them in, the time of day, the season, the age group, their gender. I think of cocktails like a chef would think about his food – what’s in season, what’s popular, what’s different, new or exciting, and also having something for those who know what they like, taking into account all the elements of your surroundings and incorporating them into what your guest might want.

“Then again it’s always nice to ask.”

Photos courtesy of Dean De’Souza from Prop Joe Photography

Auckland creative studio Special Problems was conceived in 2007 after mutual friends of the pair suggested that founders Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali should get together to create greatness. Their multi-disciplinary aesthetic skills, which brings together their backgrounds in graphic design, film, animation, music and fine arts, has seen Special Problems become one of New Zealand’s most respected studios. As well as making magic for brands, they’ve produced music videos for everyone from The Mint Chicks to Crowded House, David Dallas to Tame Impala, Wolfmother, Zowie and more, and recently took out the 2011 Vodafone New Zealand Music Award for Best Music Video (Punching In A Dream by The Naked and Famous). STOLEN caught up with Campbell Hooper to learn more…

Were you an arty kid? When did you work out that your future was in the creative field?

Hmmm, arty kid? Not especially. Pretty normal I think, I played rugby and video games. But I was quite insular and off in my own world a lot. Maybe you should ask my mum? I gravitated toward art because I was terrible at everything else.

How did Special Problems come in to being?

Joel and I started sharing a studio space together above Stephen Marr in Ponsonby and out of that we made a couple of music videos and then people asked us to do more and that was that. As organic a ‘start up’ as you could get really.

You work across the creative spectrum doing graphic design, film, music, fine arts… Could you ever pick a favourite discipline?

The pendulum swings from one to the other probably based entirely on boredom.  When I finish an animated project, I want to direct photographically, then I get bored and start working on sound stuff, or design, and the cycle continues. I’d get depressed working just as an editor or a DOP or a designer. I’d start to fall into stylistic formulas if I did the same thing day in day out. By the time I go back into animation I’ve forgotten how to do it and I have to start all over again. Special Problems has always worked with a belief that directing occurs inside the making of something rather than outside. Directing should be more than just abstracted opinions. It’s about your opinions becoming informed by wrestling with the forms yourself.

You won the Best Music Video Tui at the VNZMAs. Who would you most love to make a music video for?

John Maus.

Have you caught any live acts recently that have blown your mind?

Embarrassingly no. I hardly ever go out. I think the last really great shows I’ve seen were The Clean at the Kings Arms or Foals in London.

Who’s rocking your world in the NZ creative scene at the moment?

Artists Sriwhana Spong and Kate Newby, songwriter Tiny Ruins, Kody Nielson’s Opossum project, writer Matt Harris and of course, Joel Kefali, who I direct with.

Favourite STOLEN Rum cocktail?

Molotov

“If I wasn’t doing this, I’d….”

Be gardening.

Photo by Tom Roberton