We brought the fun to a rainy evening in Tāmaki this week, with a joy-filled celebration of two years of Ensemble. After launching in the lockdown of August 2020, then cancelling our first birthday celebrations last year due to the Omicron lockdown (boo), we were both amazed and excited that no major health disasters or dramas befell us as we gathered with friends, literal family, supporters, Ensemble Members and treasured contributors. All those who weren’t in Europe, NYC or off-sick with Covid or any other number of nasty winter bugs, that is.
The venue was the independent gallery Coastal Signs, owned by the very chic Sarah Hopkinson, and we were incredibly supported by the amazing NZ-owned businesses who helped us turn our dreams of birthday festivities, themed on our ethos of ‘intelligence and whimsy’, into reality.
We drank delicious Fairy Bread natural wines from Garage Project along with their beer and Dirty Water Seltzer, and we served ‘an ensemble of cakes’ by an ensemble of baking icons, including Bluebells (banana), The Caker (halva milk chocolate hazelnut), Decor Cakes (chocolate), Zi Sweet (chocolate fudge) and Ensemble’s multi-talented publishing co-ordinator Lara Daly (fairy bread).
The shrine of cake chaos was styled by the amazing Izzy and Lydia from Isadia Flowers, who also designed the perfect floral installation to display them within.
Guests included fashion designers Kate Sylvester, Ingrid Starnes, Rachel Mills, Chloe Julian of Videris, Grace Ko of Baobei and Natasha Ovely of Starving Artists Fund, rapper Diggy Dupé and stylist (and Ensemble model) Kama Scretching, models and actors Roxie Mohebbi and Ash Williams, Tanya Barlow, Evie Kemp, author Stacy Gregg, The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive, Shit You Should Care About co-founder Lucy Blakiston and more beloved Ensemble friends.
And in the spirit of an ‘ensemble’, we asked guests to RSVP by responding with a song for the party playlist - you can listen to that here.
Next week we are excited to do it all again in Pōneke - our first visit to our capital city since we launched. In the meantime, enjoy these photos by Abigail Dell’Avo from our Auckland celebration, of all the cake, flowers, and fun!
