The corporate rebel who convinced IKEA to imagine a future without furniture

From travelling the world pondering her existence to convincing a Swedish furniture giant to back a venture looking at the future of living, Carla Cammilla Hjort has lived several lives. Hjort, who is speaking at the Future of the Future conference next month, told Charles Anderson her story. Carla Cammilla Hjort grew up as a … Read more

How a Matiere-based swing maker caught a Kardashian’s attention

Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Jenny Etherington who, along with her partner Thomas Mortimer, founded Solvej (sool-vay) Swings – makers of sustainable and long-lasting swings for babies and toddlers.  ONE: How did Solvej Swings start and what was … Read more

So much more than meatballs: The Spinoff’s official IKEA food rankings

The Swedish retail monster is coming to New Zealand, but amid all the excitement, its greatest asset has been left in the shadows. No longer: here we celebrate the unique culinary experience that is eating at IKEA. Even though globalisation has had its slimy tentacles tightly gripped around Aotearoa for some years now, we still … Read more