The power of 3: Wellington’s new creative spirit

Julia Palm, Bridie-Rose O’Leary and Louise Clifton – fashion designers, LED-neon signmakers and shoemakers respectively – recently moved from Dunedin to the creative hub of Wellington.

Julia (JPALM), Bridie-Rose (Glowjob) and Louise (Shoe School) decided to re-launch their businesses in Wellington after realising they needed a greater audience. Tenacious entrepreneurs with a keen sense of design, they share a love of the transformative process that goes into making by hand.

These three have a history of deep south collaboration, which has continued in Wellington. From sharing homes, studios, food, business advice, suppliers and many instances of clothing swaps, the support they’ve gained from each other has meant re-launching their businesses in a new city has been much easier than it would have been had they arrived alone.

Bridie-Rose assembles all her glowies by hand in her central city workshop, across the hall from Julia. Her practice is a rare bird as most LED-neons (which she calls ‘glowies’) in New Zealand are manufactured offshore. Keeping production close to home is dear to Bridie-Rose as it means she can develop truly custom designs for her clients while maintaining the bedazzling quality of her product.

“It’s pretty classic how we’ve come full circle. Back in 2010 Lou and I shared a flat in Dunedin, and almost 10 years later we’re living together in Wellington! I work a lot on my own and having Julia across the hall is a total delight,” says Bridie-Rose.

Julia designs and sews all her garments, hand-stitching the JPALM details with needle and thread under the light of her Glowjob glowie. Keeping her production-runs small means she can constantly innovate and create a variety of fresh designs. Julia has travelled en route from New York and Stockholm honing her dark, punk-inspired aesthetic which simmered in gothic Dunedin so well. She is excited to be launching her new multifaceted workspace ‘NEITHER.project’ on May 9th on Courtenay Place.

Louise’s Shoe School workshop sets Newtown ablaze with her Glowjob glowies. She was Glowjob’s very first client, asking if Bridie would be interested in making her some signage for her then future Wellington workshop. She loves that the glowies reflect her contemporary spin on a traditional craft. Through Shoe School her aim is to regenerate New Zealand’s shoemaking practice by giving students the skills to create shoes and set up their home workshops.

“It gives me heart to have Bridie’s first ever glowie and to wear Julia’s clothing. Snmall business can be scary but I’m not alone!” she says.

Photo (L-R): Louise, Julia, Bridie.