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Living artist
Tom Koene is a craftsman tiler - and an artist. He was born in the Netherlands and learned his craft doing restoration in Amsterdam, learning traditional methods and styles.
Tom has worked in New Zealand since 1982. One day he was asked to do the tiling on the gecko that lies beside Khyber Pass Rd, under the motorway. Since then he has not looked back. Some of his work is traditional, like Mexican bathrooms, but most is entirely unique, while influenced by Friederich Hundertwasser, an unusual and rebellious Austrian artist who also came to live in New Zealand and who designed the famous toilet block in Kawakawa.
Tom's designs are playful, anarchic, and finely detailed with tiles that are hugely variable and often unique, with imperfections from the production process that give them curious colours and textures. 95% of the tiles are created and hand glazed in New Zealand. Included also may be pieces of pottery and stones, all skilfully integrated into free flowing forms, like flowers and koru, and patterns that lead to discoveries of new resonances over time and space each day.
Examples of Tom’s work include bathrooms and kitchens, indoor and outdoor patios and walls, paths, steps, pool areas, arches, barbeques, baths, benches, murals, birdbaths, pillars and other free-standing structures. In my case it was an ensuite, and Tom welcomed my collaboration and help, although mainly in preparation of tiles, rather than design, which I soon learned was best left to the master, after defining the scope and dimensions.
The results are delightful and professional, works of art that can never be repeated. Thank you, Tom for catching that sense of fun and colour and bringing it into my home, to give me a sense of childhood delight each day.
For more pics: insta@tom_organic_tiling
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Let's see who's the neighbourhood Einstein is!
I am a five-letter word, yet if you remove my first, third, and last letter, I still sound the same. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
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Poll: Is it rude to take a full trolley to self-checkout?
Luckily self-checkout is being pretty common in supermarkets these days and we generally use it to quickly buy a few things without the long lines. But perhaps it's appropriate to head there with your full trolley to skip the lines?
What are your thoughts? Is that rude?
Share in the comments below if this has ever happened to you.
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52.4% Yes!
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44.2% Nah, it's okay
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3.4% Other - I'll share below!
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Poll: Have you ever had a scary flight?
A plane flying from Christchurch to Wellington on Sunday had smoke billowing out of the engine and upon landing, passengers had to open the emergency exit and jump out. Have you had any scary flying experiences?
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54.9% Yes!
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45.1% No, it's always been smooth flying