Raglan Surf Co. | Raglan Net | Travel & Visitor Information

Raglan Surfing Company

The fundamentals of surfing

T he Raglan Surfing Company was originally founded as a surfboard manufacturing company, with the factory situated in the back of the building where they currently reside. But at the end of this summer, Surf Co will be closing up the old shop once and for all, and opening in a new space just two doors down.

The late Craig Hughes opened Surf Co in 1992, fuelled by his passion for surfing, his talent for making surfboards and his deep love for Raglan.

Craig and his wife Liz were offered to take over the existing shop from longtime Raglan local, Matt Holl, who was making surfboards in the space under the moniker of Ocean Rhythms. To help things get off the ground, Craig called on the help of Larry Foster, who at the time, owned Blitz Surf Shop and New Wave Surfboards in Gisborne.

In the beginning, Surf Co was the New Zealand manufacturing hub for the international brand Town & Country, and down the line the well known Xanadu label was added to the franchise list. With mastercraftsman Craig at the helm and a town of skilled locals to back him up, Surf Co quickly became one of the most progressive factories in New Zealand.

In the early 2000s, the manufacturing side of things was moved just out of town, which allowed Surf Co to evolve as a retail shop through the vision of Craig and Liz. The pair transformed the building from a dusty factory into the homey retail space that is now known worldwide.

Shortly after moving the factory, Craig began to develop and focus on his own label, Hughes Surfboards. With an intimate wealth and knowledge of local, national and international surf conditions, Craig produced high quality surfboard designs, treating the boards as canvases for his considerable artistic talents. He was known to use paua shell veneer inlays on many of his creations, and his boards only added to the quality lineup of homegrown surfboards and custom orders being shaped in Raglan.

Although the shop’s reputation began to grow, Craig continued to keep it as local as possible.

His involvement in the Point Board Riders and the Manu Bay management team kept him connected to the community. He looked after the younger kids, giving them jobs and taking care of their boards, and Surf Co became one of the first funding sponsors of the Raglan Surf Academy.

His involvement with the community was a genuine reflection of who he was and is emulated in the way his family continues to run Surf Co today.

As his family prepares to carry Craig’s legacy into a new space, it is clear that his love for shaping and creating surfboards is still at their core. The move gives the family and their third generation surfer children a chance to start this next chapter in a fresh space that will allow them to reflect what Surf Co is; not just as a “surf shop” but as a place where anyone can walk in off the street and learn the fundamentals of surfing through the legacy of Craig.

It will be a space built upon the same passion that once influenced their father and many other pioneers of those early surfing days. Allowing them to move forward as a family of creators and, of course, as surfers.

For now, pop by to see them in their original space to get your fix of the ol’ shop one last time. When you return next summer, you’ll find the Surf Co repositioned in the lineup just a few doors down, by the Wainui Rd roundabout, where they will call one of the oldest buildings in Raglan their new home for many years to come.

HeartBeads / NZ Handmade Glass Art

From Venice to Raglan, glass artist Peter Hohenberger GIVES us a glimpse into his beading life

Peter Hohenberger – The Glass Artist:

What fascinated me most in high school was art, particularly Art Noveau with all those intricate flowing, flowery, complicated designs.

When I migrated to New Zealand in 1996, after a professional career in software and high-tech IT in Europe, I set up “La Fleur bleue”, a glass studio dedicated to the art of L.C Tiffany. For many years I created beautiful lamps, mirrors and windows, reflecting the work of Mr Tiffany and introducing my own designs.

Ten years ago I watched a glass artist in Venice working at the torch, melting glass, creating three-dimensional objects, and I was hooked. Since then, I started HeartBeads, making handmade glass objects and jewellery completed with sterling silver. Everything is created in Raglan, New Zealand.

HeartBeads – The Studio:

What I do

I concentrate on glass objects, beads and jewellery, created from my own work. My inspirations come from simply looking out of the window at Moonlight Bay – the colours of Aotearoa, the light and the ever- changing wonders of nature.

How I do it

My raw glass comes from Murano, an island near Venice, Italy. Working on a glass artist’s torch (running on LPG and oxygen) I melt this glass into different shapes and structures, giving colours with different transparent and opaque glass. Techniques like raking, swirling, dots help me to shape every single glass object into something totally unique. There will never be two the same.

Open studio – what you will see

You can watch me working “at the flame” – using the torch, melting glass, making beads. You can even try your luck and make your own bead! It might be easier than you think … (Conditions apply.) For more information go to:

www.HeartBeads.nz.

The HeartBeads Studio is located at 78D Greenslade Rd (ph 07 8250992)