Heroes for Sale has been a stalwart of the comics scene for 30 years. But when outside forces conspired against owners Stu and Sue Colson it looked like doom for the Auckland institution...

Leon Kirkbeck isn’t quite sure when he started “people collecting”, but it’s an endearing descriptor for a managing director and a clue to Augusto’s kaupapa and why it has endured...

At 29D Mt Eden Road, Hookd is so much more than a hairdressing salon – it is a commitment to community...

If you’ve ever thought of impulsively stepping off the street and into a tattoo parlour, rolling up a sleeve and telling a tattoo artist to go for it, Three Dice Tattoo could be the place for you...

Sarah Daniell talks with the founders of Father Rabbit, Claudia Zinzan and Nick Hutchinson, about connection, community and things that last...

Think running is a solitary sport? Think again.

Shoe Science has barely opened its doors when a customer bolts in...

It is said timing is everything and when Auckland Climbing Gym (ACG) opened on 1 October 2023, there were lines of people...

Good Stuff at 127 Symonds St is a vintage, designer and gently loved clothing store with proceeds going to the Auckland City Mission...

If I had a dollar for every time a friend said they wished their hair was less curly, straighter, thicker or longer, I’d be a wealthy woman...

Kiwis have a passion for entertaining. Whether it’s around the dining table, kitchen island or outdoors by the barbeque, enjoying a shared...

If you don’t recognise the name Georgia Jay, the brand’s distinctive handbags might be more familiar.

You could have been forgiven for not noticing the nondescript building at 94 Newton Road before dealer gallery Starkwhite moved in.

The Surfboard Warehouse is making surfing more accessible with quality, affordable surfboards made for New Zealand conditions.

Ratbags concept store holds a vibrant, lovingly curated mash-up of covetable handmade clothing, jewellery and hats.

To set foot in Bennys Bike Shop is to step into a very particular world. It’s not just the bikes, each with its own story to tell...

It’s a busy Friday afternoon at Ultimate Barber Styles. Two guys in their 20s are sitting for super-sharp skin fades...

There are few stores as iconic as Uptown’s House of Knives. Opened in 1987, New Zealand’s first dedicated knife store...

Goat Loft is a design studio using repurposed commercial fabrics to manufacture a sustainable range of products and installations.

Don’t let the weather get you down; there’s plenty to keep you dry, warm and entertained around Uptown this winter.

The green concrete building on the corner of Dundonald Street and Newton Road is a creative hub of musicians and artists.

In the world of New Zealand skate- boarding, one name towers above all others. Its legacy, unrivaled.

Somehow, one of the world’s most sustainable and comfortable fabrics is one of the most misunderstood. 

Peter Lamont has been in the greenstone business since he was 20 years old – and he’s just turned 83. 

Talented broadcaster Kanoa Lloyd is a vibrant, strong wahine toa who beams into the nation’s living rooms five nights a week. 

Webb’s auction house has a unique New Zealand heritage, which was instigated by its founder, Peter Webb, a key art dealer of his time. 

After an injury forced him out of playing competitive rugby, Joe Naufahu was motivated to share what he had learned about fitness.

The closure of Normanby Road roundabout for construction of the Mt Eden underground train station has made access to Bloc Collective tricky for more than a year, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel, with the road set to reopen soon. 

Could the long season of the tracksuit be over? As we emerge from both winter and two-and-a-half long years of staying (for the most part) inside, could Kiwis finally be ready to shed their grey and black layers and embrace a bit of colour?

If you look up Bungalow Bills on Google Street View, you won’t see much. Walk up the alley and you’ll find a place that, for a certain kind of person, is paradise. 

Magali Corpas didn’t want a name for her tattoo shop that included the words “ink” or “skin”. She wanted to capture what the craft of tattoo is all about: solidifying identity, reclaiming bodies, and capturing creativity and art in places that need healing. 

Behind the doors of an unassuming fabric shop, a quiet revolution is taking place.

There are a million DJs in the world, figuratively speaking. No one knows exactly how many. But what can be said is that hundreds of thousands of people around the world use DJ gear made by Numark and Denon.

Ryan Cooper built Mukpuddy with two buddies fresh out of animation school and has grown the business supplying animated children’s shows to TVNZ, Channel Ten and ABC (Australia).

Suzanne McNamara catches up with the Wrightsons, who live and work in Uptown. 

When Jeffrey and Lisa Stothers were sizing up a new home for Southbound Records six years ago, one thing was very important: how does music sound in this room?

From giant monarch butterflies to a scary pirate, kites are fabulous, fun and affordable Christmas presents for young and old.

Frances Valintine isn't afraid of change. When she founded The Mind Lab in 2013, she left behind 14 years at Media Design School in the central city. 

It’s the season for entertaining and Gene Jouavel, owner of Uptown’s Kwik-N-Ezy, provides some top tips to make your home event a success.

Bayaraa Odonchimeg and Baya Khaltar met as youngsters attending full-time circus school in Mongolia.

Soar Print began life in Onehunga in 1920, then moved to New North Road in 2000. This year, the company is celebrating 100 years of not just surviving, but thriving – in spite of depressions, recessions, world wars and pandemics.

In 2017, it looked like the end of the story for the Hard to Find Bookshop. After 35 years, it seemed there wasn't anywhere for Warwick and his 90,000 books to go.

A regular feature that offers a snapshot of the working lives of some of Uptown’s most colourful characters. This issue we meet Wiremu Burkhardt, 34, the owner and head mechanic at Master Mechanics on Upper Queen Street.

At EM Studio, Sam Mentink teaches musicians of any skill level how to use Ableton Live’s flexible and fluid digital audio software.

This issue we meet Arran Gemmell, 38, a fourth-generation cobbler, leathersmith and co-owner, with brother Blair, of Gemmell’s on Symonds Street.