logo
Stationer has the Midas touch

Stationer has the Midas touch

Alyssandra Skerrett with her two NZ Pride in Print Awards gold medal-winning entries
A solo Queenstown stationer/printer — competing against the 'big boys' — has once again struck gold at the recent New Zealand Pride in Print Awards, held in Auckland.
Alyssandra Skerrett's Striking Stationery won two gold medals and three highly commendeds to go with the 21 golds and 11 highly commendeds she'd picked up at 10 previous annual awards functions.
Her golds were for a cookie wrap for local cafe Bespoke Kitchen and a 70th birthday 'Let's Get Physical' invite she produced for local fitness guru Anne Oliver.
Skerrett also received highly commendeds for her cookie wrap in another category — the first time she's received two awards for the one product — as well as for her Christmas Eve 'Santa's Surprise Bags' and a Christmas checklist.
Having started her business in 1996, she attributes her success to originality and innovation — "taking someone else's dream and having the imagination to put it into print" — as well as producing "a perfect print".
Skerrett also thinks she's the only entrant who designs and prints all her work by herself.
PrintNZ chief executive Ruth Cobb says she "continues to wow the judges year after year with her outstanding entries".
"Her bespoke creations showcase exceptional craftsmanship, and in recent years she has taken her talents even further by successfully expanding into categories such as packaging.
"Her work is a shining example of creativity and excellence in print."
Carmen Tough, senior account manager with her supplier B&F Papers, says Skerrett's "amazing work is an absolute showcase of creativity backed by quality paper".
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tourist season extending
Tourist season extending

Otago Daily Times

time6 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Tourist season extending

Wānaka's shoulder season is shrinking, as visitor numbers hold steady 12 months a year, according to visitor data. The region's rapid tourism growth is undeniable and, in addition to its growth, Wānaka is experiencing a gradual shift in its peak days too. Many outside the region regard the town as a winter destination, but operators say summer has risen in popularity and visitors are now making the most of off-peak seasons as well. Destination Queenstown chief executive Matt Woods said Wānaka had been seeing steady tourism from about mid-June through till mid-April, making the shoulder season next to non-existent. Last year and this year, the twilight zone was between December and March, during which there were about 94,000 to 140,000 commercial guest stays. The rest of last year had stable numbers ranging from about 53,000 to 70,000 guests per month, except for May and June with just over 35,000 guests each. Hospitality businesses in Wānaka have felt the impact of this shift. Te Wānaka Lodge co-owner Mandy Enoka said in the 17 years she had been in the industry, summer was a busy season, but it had grown over the years. "We've had a really busy market. I think summer has extended slowly," she said. " ... So we're now busy from November through until, like, the first of May." Before Covid-19, the summer season would run from mid-December to mid-March, she estimated. As the very peak of the summer season was at Christmas and New Year, some visitors were pushing their check-in dates in order to skip the high prices, Ms Enoka said. However, the winter season was not experiencing the same visitor increase that the summer was. While occupancy rates for the lodge used to be roughly 85% during the July school holidays, they were now sitting at 60%, and one of the most significant contributors was the late snowfall, she said. "I think they're not necessarily wanting to commit to travelling to Wānaka when potentially the snow isn't as good." Archway Motels and Chalets manager Mark Hamilton also said the summer had been a busy time, particularly with events such as Warbirds over Wānaka and Wheels at Wānaka. The high number of visitors made Mr Hamilton feel the town could not handle the tourism industry it had been bolstering. "Summer is definitely crazy. I mean, Wānaka has always been popular and now we have the R&A concert in the valley, which adds to the nightmare. "It's like, Wānaka's really struggling, capacity-wise, which pushes your prices up, of course ... The shoulder season really hasn't eventuated," he said. The winter saw fewer visitors who stayed longer, whereas the summer had more people coming for shorter periods. Deputy mayor Quentin Smith said the growing peak seasons had become something to seriously consider when looking at future development. "It's really hard to manage the infrastructure for the peaks, depending on who's riding, electricity, sewage, all of the above," he said. Building more infrastructure was only one part of the solution. The focus also had to be on regenerative tourism, where sustainability was encouraged. Mr Woods shared a similar opinion, pointing out that high visitor numbers needed to be considered hand in hand with resident population growth. The demand projection from the Queenstown Lakes District Council, released in May of this year, showed the projected resident population in 2025 was 54,440, with visitor numbers on peak days averaging 68,050 people. Looking ahead to 2035, the resident population was projected to hit 69,405 in the district and visitors on peak day to be 86,756. Mr Woods said the growth in resident and visitor numbers meant it was necessary to look at adding more infrastructure that could be used by all those living in or visiting the district. It was also important to look at the regenerative tourism strategy in the destination management plan, which aimed to make tourism sustainable for everyone in the region, he said.

Stationer has the Midas touch
Stationer has the Midas touch

Otago Daily Times

time19-07-2025

  • Otago Daily Times

Stationer has the Midas touch

Alyssandra Skerrett with her two NZ Pride in Print Awards gold medal-winning entries A solo Queenstown stationer/printer — competing against the 'big boys' — has once again struck gold at the recent New Zealand Pride in Print Awards, held in Auckland. Alyssandra Skerrett's Striking Stationery won two gold medals and three highly commendeds to go with the 21 golds and 11 highly commendeds she'd picked up at 10 previous annual awards functions. Her golds were for a cookie wrap for local cafe Bespoke Kitchen and a 70th birthday 'Let's Get Physical' invite she produced for local fitness guru Anne Oliver. Skerrett also received highly commendeds for her cookie wrap in another category — the first time she's received two awards for the one product — as well as for her Christmas Eve 'Santa's Surprise Bags' and a Christmas checklist. Having started her business in 1996, she attributes her success to originality and innovation — "taking someone else's dream and having the imagination to put it into print" — as well as producing "a perfect print". Skerrett also thinks she's the only entrant who designs and prints all her work by herself. PrintNZ chief executive Ruth Cobb says she "continues to wow the judges year after year with her outstanding entries". "Her bespoke creations showcase exceptional craftsmanship, and in recent years she has taken her talents even further by successfully expanding into categories such as packaging. "Her work is a shining example of creativity and excellence in print." Carmen Tough, senior account manager with her supplier B&F Papers, says Skerrett's "amazing work is an absolute showcase of creativity backed by quality paper".

Reviewers Of Legislation Treaty Clauses Expected To Report Back In Months
Reviewers Of Legislation Treaty Clauses Expected To Report Back In Months

Scoop

time11-07-2025

  • Scoop

Reviewers Of Legislation Treaty Clauses Expected To Report Back In Months

Friday, 11 July 2025, 4:43 pm Article: RNZ Russell Palmer, Political Reporter The reviewers of all Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation include three lawyers and a director, and will be expected to report back "within months". New Zealand First secured the commitment to a comprehensive review of all legislation (except when it is related to, or substantive to, existing full and final Treaty settlements) that includes "The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and replace all such references with specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty, or repeal the references" in its coalition deal with National. The creation of the group has been led by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who is also the Treaty Negotiations Minister. His office confirmed former Waitangi Tribunal member David Cochrane would chair the review group, which also includes Marama Royal, James Christmas and John Walters. They would be "reporting back in the next few months". Cochrane is a Wellington-based lawyer who has been practising public and commercial law since the 1980s, has worked on the Parliamentary Counsel which drafts legislation, and has been a member of the Law Society's Reform Committee and the Legislation Advisory Committee. Royal (Ngāti Whātua ki Tāmaki) is a former public servant and chairs - or is a member of - several boards including Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, Pou Take Āhuarangi under the National Iwi Chairs Forum, the Variety children's charity, Sky City Community Trust and several Māori or community trusts. She previously worked for the Courts and Ministry of Justice, and was last year named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Christmas is a lawyer and former senior advisor to then-Attorney General Christopher Finlayson, who was also Treaty Negotiations Minister in the John Key government. He also advised Sir John and his successor as Prime Minister, Sir Bill English. Christmas stood for National as a list-only candidate at 28th in 2023, missing out on a seat in Parliament partly as a result of the party's success in electorate races. John Walters is a founding partner at his law firm Walters Law, specialising in property, commercial and trust law, serving clients including large corporates and businesses, Māori Trusts and iwi, and acted as a Treaty claims negotiator for his iwi Te Aupōuri. In a report based on hearings in early May last year on the proposed review, alongside its consideration of the Treaty Principles Bill, the Waitangi Tribunal said the outcomes of the review were pre-determined and the Crown had not acted in good faith by failing to consult with Māori on it. The review would likely remove or narrow Treaty clauses in the law, the Tribunal said, impacting Māori rights and breaching the principles of partnership, active protection, equity, redress, good government and the article 2 guarantee of rangatiratanga. The Tribunal recommended putting the review on hold until it could be reconceptualised through collaboration with Māori. The review will examine about 28 pieces of legislation dating back to 1986. New Zealand First's 2023 election manifesto included no mention of the Treaty, but the party has a long-standing view that the Treaty was what first formed New Zealand as a nation, but it does not have principles - and to try to define principles will not push the country forward. During a media conference last Monday, Goldsmith said the review was underway and a panel had been appointed to give initial advice. "There's about 20 pieces of legislation that we're looking at... over years we've developed a whole lot of references, a wide variety of phrases that have been interpreted very broadly by some government departments and other places. And so we want to be clearer about what we do, and what we don't mean." NZ First leader Winston Peters interjected that, "if they should be there they'll be there, and if they shouldn't be there they won't be there". © Scoop Media

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store