Resourceful Craft Practitioners
We are fortunate to work with an extraordinary whānau of craft practitioners who are passionate about resourceful craft for the wellbeing of people and planet.
Our tutors and residents are capable and experienced in their particular areas of practice and are committed to developing and extending their craft. They are mindful of the impacts of their practice, of the provenance of their techniques and materials, and of those who came before them, and of those to come.
Our tutors align themselves with our teaching and learning values of being self-aware, reflective, compassionate, kind, encouraging, patient, respectful, inclusive and non-judgemental, and are able to relate to people from a range of backgrounds and experiences.
Juliet Arnott
Juliet maintains a craft practice alongside her directorship of Rekindle. She has been working with undervalued materials & resourceful craft traditions for over 18 years. Her work includes green woodworking, willow, tī kōuka & other basketry, studies of the Orkney chair - this all leading her to establish the Resourceful Skills workshop programme in Ōtautahi Christchurch in 2017, & the festival of Necessary Traditions in 2018. Juliet's previous work includes founding the Whole House Reuse project 2012-2015 & Rekindle's furniture series 2010-2015.
Juliet teaches a number of greenwood-working and tī kōuka workshops within our Resourceful Skills workshop programme. 
@rekindle_nz & @ju_and_pip
Images - Above: Juliet making a greenwood stool 2018, photographed by Justyn Denney.
Below: Hazel nest woven in Clisset Wood, Herefordshire UK 2006.
Douglas Horrell
Douglas has taught spoon carving since 2017 and specialises in hand-carved, functional items such as spoons and bowls, as well as having an interest in chair-making and other green wood traditions. He also has a growing interest in tool making - forging his own tools from high carbon steel. Douglas is teaching spoon carving and sharpening, and his kuksa workshop is new in 2024. He also hosts the monthly spoon club sessions. @cleftcraft
Gemma Stratton
Based in Mohua Golden Bay, Gemma works predominantly as a brush maker. She majored in sculpture at the University of Canterbury’s School of Fine Arts where her practice focused on making tools and devices to assist her colleagues with their work. She weaves her long-held dedication to
resourcefulness into everything she does. Gemma is teaching hand brush, pencil brush, whisk brush, and wreath-making.
@g.m.stratton
Greg Quinn
Greg works with wood from fruit tree care to craft, as a professional in home orchard care as well as a furniture maker. His practice has focussed on making beautifully conceived and executed greenwood furniture, rakes, pegs, food storage crates, brooms and other objects of use, using traditional machine-free techniques. Greg is teaching four of his sought-after two-day stool making workshops in 2024 - don’t miss out! @homeorchardcare
Images - Above: Greg making a greenwood rake (photographed by Justyn Denney). Below: Greenwood stools.
Simone Bensdorp
Simone is a dynamic textile artist and an experienced teacher with a contagious enthusiasm for creativity. Her work is grounded by a philosophy of resourcefulness, using local, repurposed and sustainable materials wherever
possible. Simone is passionate about keeping traditional felt making skills alive, while continuing to expand and push boundaries with contemporary techniques. Her practice includes working with felted wool, and plant dyes and inks. Simone is teaching eco-printing, eucalyptus printed hotties, felt bowls, and felt slippers. @wildfelt.art
Images - Above: Portrait of Simone (photographed by Justyn Denney). Below: Felt slippers with neoprene soles, Felt bowls, Hand felting.
Diana Duncan
Since 2016, Diana has been developing her weaving practice with locally grown and foraged fibres. Having studied fashion design and worked in clothing repairs and alterations, Diana has always enjoyed creative design and problem solving. Her desire to tread lightly on this earth and conserve its resources has found a
natural fit with the materials she grows and forages. More recently, Diana has
turned her attention to willow growing and weaving. Diana is teaching frame basket, foraged tray, wreath, and floor mat, and is hosting monthly basket club sessions and mending club sessions. @diana.iama.maker
Images - Above: Diana making a doormat from tī kōuka.
Below: Frame basket with willow and ivy.
Bella Roake
Bella specialises in textile craft. She has a special interest in handmade objects using slow intentional processes including growing her own natural dye and pigment garden, weaving, stitching and spinning. She aims for quality in all things
she makes and believes slow creation is important in a world that moves at great pace, always endeavouring to create enduring pieces with an emphasis on storytelling, resourcefulness, and care. Bella is teaching darning and felt bowls, and hosting some of our mending club sessions.
Annie Mackenzie
Annie maintains an artistic practice as a weaver and spinner, occasional dyer, and gardener. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Canterbury but learnt her craft through the New Zealand Woolcrafts Society of Spinners and Weavers Guilds. Through her practice she celebrates the beauty of wool from fleece to yarn to cloth. Annie is now based on Te Tai o Poutini, the West Coast and teaches drop spindle spinning in Whakatū.
Mirabel Oliver
A longtime lover of many craft practices, Mirabel has a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honours in sculpture from The University of Canterbury School. Her journey in wool began with knitting and she loves the domesticity associated with working with wool and its incredible uses, seeing it an important feature of family life. Mirabel was given a spinning wheel by her mother-in-law and was taught to spin by Annie Mackenzie. Mirabel is teaching drop spindle spinning in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Sonia Barrish
With a passion for living simply and sustainably, Sonia enjoys and respects what the wilds can provide. She believes in making use of what can be found in nature to fulfil our everyday needs, making by hand and cultivating as much as she can on her urban section in Kaiapoi, to support her growing family. Sonia is teaching soap making and how to make natural body products in the later part of the year.
Ayumi Hirata
Growing up in Osaka, Japan, Ayumi moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2010. During her studies, she started thinking about what it really means to be sustainable. This led her back to Japan, to the centuries-old practice of furoshiki. Ayumi now creates these traditional wrapping cloths from textiles that would otherwise end up in landfill. Founder of FabWrap and the newest member of our team, she began teaching her workshops for Rekindle in 2023. @fabwrap_nz
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