16 January 2009

Clever... New Zealand

Introducing the 'cleverbastards' of New Zealand art and design.

The cleverbastards.co.nz website is a one-stop-shop for the best of emerging and established New Zealand art and design.

The site obviously doesn’t take itself too seriously, but is seriously committed to nurturing Kiwi designers, artists and their brands.

You can discover clever bastards by region, read the clever bastards’ stories or just browse the ‘definitive list’ of clever bastards. The Store provides a portal to snagging your own piece of NZ design.

cleverbastards is about informing the rest of the world of the ingenuity and kick-ass creativity coming out of ‘the land of the long white cloud’. Described on the site as “Head Bastard”, designer and ex-creative director in advertising, Paul Kayser is passionate about uncovering clever bastards.

“I arrived at a place where I realised the innate passion New Zealanders have for their own country. It snuck up on us. We used to be mildly self-conscious, then suddenly – bang – we realised where our roots really lay. A big part of that is our egalitarian nature: the bloke next door turns out to be a legend in his or her field,” he says.

There is a range of clever bastards on the site, from ceramic artists to homewares designers, architects to song-writers. Check out architect Andre Hodgskin and artist Lucy Gauntlett for a start.

Make sure to keep cleverbastards.co.nz on your radar.