Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about good shit in Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. This week, the complicated but positive return of the in-person event. Welcome to all the new clipboard readers this week, nice to meet you! You can get in touch with me on email or Instagram anytime, and I encourage you to share clipboard with your best pals, too.
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The most exciting thing I did this week was attend the opening of Minkyu “Paulee” and Lisa Lee’s (of Ockhee fame) latest spot, a Korean toastie joint on Kitchener Street in town called Swings. Paulee and Lisa are the perfect modern hospo operators, in that not only is their food, drink and service outstanding, but they’ve also crafted a brand beyond the traditional restaurant experience - my favourite t shirts are Ockhee merch, I light my incense at home with an Ockhee lighter, I have Ockhee stickers in my notebooks, the list goes on.
Needless to say, the Swings opening was packed with cool people who share my convictions: other hospo operators, photographers, artists, fashion designers, clipboard readers (obviously the coolest subsection of people). It was a reminder of why I love Auckland after a few months/years of living a slightly more siloed life, for obvious reasons. This city is packed with fascinating people doing cool shit, beyond the walls of the corporate office I spend so much of my time in.
It’s a complicated thing to go out and mingle at the moment: I still haven’t had Covid, and it feels as rampant as it’s ever been, and attitudes towards limiting its spread as casual as ever (imagine telling March 2020 you that we had thousands of cases and tens of deaths a day but we were all allowed to go to nightclubs…). Every hug or drink out is a roll of the dice where the wrong outcome means a week in bed, or worse, whether we think of it that way or not.
On the other hand, though, there’s a fundamental joy that comes from catching up with people in person, running into someone you haven’t seen since they were a regular or colleague at the cafe you worked at pre-Covid, having a drink and laughing with people while too-loud music plays in the background.
I’m 23, with regular disposable income and a bit of freedom, and although I’m not a huge extrovert or partier, my mental health and wellbeing fares a lot better when I’m out and about once a week or so and catching up with people I like.
Everyone needs to assess their own comfort levels with being out and about, but I’m stoked to see more in-person events planned where I feel that I could roll up without plans, grab a drink or two, run into some people I know, before heading home to watch Netflix like usual.
Next up, East St. Hall’s Record Fair today (featuring excellent clothes from Inward Goods and Buddy) Cafe Morison at Thom Morison’s studio (featuring ceramics from personal fave Richard Beauchamp), and the long-awaited opening for my old boss Jack Young’s new spot off K Road, No. 7. If you have a cool event coming up, get in touch and I’ll give it a shout out, and maybe even swing by!
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🌌 Whānau Mārama is back for a second year! Whānau Mārama, which starts on June 18, connects Māori artists like Lissy and Rudi Cole and Heidi Brickell with the retail spaces in Commercial Bay, for 3 weeks over Matariki. If you get your timing right, you could even get a tour from Liv Stewart, a brilliant mind in the world of Māori art who happens to be my partner. I can’t wait.
👕 Buddy Hemp Goods has launched a new range of tees, featuring long-sleeve options, which is very exciting for people like me who want to make a clean break with AS Colour. Buddy makes the best tees you’ll find in NZ, I’d heartily recommend them.
☕️ My favourite cafe Daily Daily reopened its doors for sit-in service for the first time since August last year this week, and it was so exciting to go back and enjoy a coffee in their amazing ceramics — weird to say, but it smells as good as ever in there.
🥪 I don’t watch John Oliver often any more, but this one about Subway is bonkers
👟 A few sneaker picks: new Wales Bonner x Adidas, cool New Balances and drop-top Vans slip-ons
That’s all for clipboard, thanks for reading! I’ll see you right back here at the same time next week, have a good one! In the meantime, hit me up on Instagram or send me an email. Have a great week!