All my early jobs were in kitchens, cooking, prep, and front-line service. While travelling, I found myself working for catering companies that specialised in catering for events, and specifically for bands and touring artists. After being in the catering scene for a while, I discovered production work (crewing and setting up equipment for gigs across numerous venues around London). This led to larger and larger jobs. Following a chance meeting while working at the Freddie Mercury AIDS Awareness Concert at Wembley, I found myself working for a staging company that specialised in delivering stadium-sized setups for some of the biggest artists around. The Michael Jackson HIStory Tour in Dublin, an Eddie Grant concert in Tobago for the BBC, and the Big Day Out across Australia and NZ saw me through the following ten years or so.

The next few years were a blur of tours and one-off events across the globe, erecting stages and structures. When the kids came along, I discovered that the touring life was not conducive to family life and decided to base myself permanently in NZ. It was at that time that I got together with two others and started Theme Productions… and that was nearly 20 years ago!

I have different favourite jobs for different reasons. From a company perspective, I like jobs that make money (typically “dry hires” and jobs that have a high hire component tick this box). From a satisfaction perspective, I like jobs that present a challenge, be it logistically or creatively. Working on Fieldays in Hamilton and on the pre-match entertainment for test matches ticks this box.

I also find great enjoyment in working with repeat clients, coming up with new, innovative ideas and looks, and getting to know not only the individual staff involved but also helping to develop a culture for those companies through their events and activations. Perhaps the biggest bonus that comes with the job is the ever-growing list of clients, people, and individuals that we get to assist, hold their hand, and help deliver their event. The level of intimacy and personal attention to detail that comes with working closely with people quite often results in clients becoming friends. This, in turn, means I get to work with people I regard as friends more and more.

It’s a real mix. Some days I am stuck in the office, dealing with emails, doing quotes, or thinking about design concepts and solutions for events (or dreaming up new product ideas…). This creative process, at some stage, takes me out to the warehouse or workshop to dabble with materials and techniques to bring it to life or test the idea. Other ways that my day is consumed are meetings, either at work, on-site (or now, with Covid, via Zoom). A typical day also sees me doing all or any of the following: driving, drinking coffee, collections and drop-offs, installs, pack-outs, liaising with suppliers, building things, and more coffee….