Ere’s Debut Furniture Collection Features Upcycled Finds

New Zealanders are proud of what’s known across the nation as Kiwi ingenuity, a reputation for practicality, resourcefulness, and improvisation born out of geographic isolation. It’s a mentality that certainly applies to Erena Te Paa, whose debut furniture collection for her company Ere (pronounced “air”) is an inventive mix of new designs and upcycled finds. Inspired by a crafty Nana who volunteered at the local charity thrift store “(op shop” in the local lingo) and following a career in fashion and interior styling Te Paa switched lanes. “As a mother to two young sons, I’ve learned to channel my creativity closer to home and found that renovating my own home has been my greatest training ground and playground. In a sense I have had free reign to express and interpret my style while also getting to source, design and upcycle pieces to enjoy within it,” she says. “Everything in the collection has been inspired by pieces in my own home or items I have wanted to create,” she adds. “I will always look to upcycle or re-work a piece first but if I can’t, I will develop that idea into a design to be made from scratch.” She refinished the thrifted molded-plastic shell of a Ron Arad Tom Vac chair and added new timber legs inspired by candlestick holders to create Sentinel. Pet Bed, with wool-filled cotton canvas cushion and a gel-stained milled-plywood base, riffs on one she’d fashioned previously from ad hoc recycled elements. Long-held dreams of designing side tables with carved organic shapes from locally sourced timber resulted in Arcade, a side table in striated tulipwood that nods to the grooves of Sentinel, and Verge, carved from layers of stained plywood, evokes stones in balance. Each piece is made by hand in Auckland and the Waikato. “I feel a deep sense of connection to my homeland and am proud of my heritage (my mother is Maori, my father is New Zealand European of Scottish descent) so it was important for me to look to our local craftspeople to help me produce these pieces,” she concludes.