“We work with amazing people who know that business can be about ethical products, beautiful designs and social
enterprise,” Indigo Greenlaw.
JUNE 15 - AUGUST 04
Hanging collaborative art in transient spaces is a perfectly Paper Rain way of doing things, say Indigo Greenlaw, as she
prepares to take The Paper Rain Project to Wellington.
“We work with artists throughout New Zealand to create streetwear and skateboard art that cele- brates shared design, a
social ethic and environmental responsibility,” she says. “Now we’re changing our business model to become more fluid,
to bring our product, story and selves to more people who want to be involved in it’s story.”
Wellington’s pop up - at 64 Manners Street from June 15th to August 4th - will have upwards of 30 NZ and International
artists represented in the part-exhibition, part-industrial/ethical fashion design store which Paper Rain has become
known for. That’s part of a collaborative ethos that has driven the business from day one, with Greenlaw and co-founder,
Wills Rowe determined to celebrate design, support charities and create change.
Both work with a small team from a cherry orchard workspace in Marlborough, Rowe crafting the staves of used French oak
wine barrels or locally grown macrocarpa into gently curving, gleaming longboards.
The boards are then painted or etched by artists and designers, including Flox, Michel Tuffery, Greenlaw, and Paper Rain
assistant manager, Hannah Heslop.
Paper Rain also produce a Cause range of fair trade organic cotton t-shirts that are adorned with art from many of the
same artists, with a portion of their sale price gifted to selected charities.
A Nga Tuna t-shirt created with Tuffery, for example, supports Sustainable Coastlines, while a new Sean Duffell t-shirt
design is raising money for the Wildlife Hospital, Dunedin.
“We work with amazing people who know that business can be about ethical products, beautiful designs and social
enterprise,” says Greenlaw. “It’s about making thoughtful connections and honest transactions for good.”
Last month Greenlaw and Rowe shut the doors on The Paper Rain Project’s Picton store, and set up (temporary) shop in
Ponsonby. Nelson artist Hannah Starnes popped up too, painting Wills’ gleam- ing boards in store. “We have always wanted
to be positively disruptive,” says Greenlaw. “This allows us to be nimble, creating experiences that evolve according to
the people and community involved. We want temporary addresses but enduring connections.”
POP UP DATES: 64 Manners Street, Te Aro, Wellington
June 15th - August 4th
Launch Party: Friday June 22nd, 5.30 - 8.00 pm
THE PAPER RAIN PROJECT: www.thepaperrainproject.co.nz
ARTISTS REPRESENTED:
Mica Still, Gina Kiel Illustration, Sean Duffell, Milarky, Kelly Spencer, Cinzah, Michel Tuffery, Flox, Hannah Jensen,
Erika Pearce, Ellaquaint, Hannah Starnes, Monique Richards, Natasha Vermeulen (From The Mill), Tukana Kaya, Darelle
Knight, Jacqueline Macleod & more (including in-house artists, Hannah Batty & Indigo Greenlaw).