Giant Silver Fern to Be Built on Los Angeles Beach

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Fern on Bethells Beach

Giant Silver Fern to Be Built on Los Angeles Beach on Waitangi Day

Kiwis Making Their Mark on the World for launch of 'Made From New Zealand' Brand

December 20, 2006, Auckland: Waitangi Day is set to go global in 2007 when a giant sand sculpture of a Silver Fern will be created on Santa Monica beach in Los Angeles.

The massive icon is being built to launch Made From New Zealand, a new brand representing New Zealand ideas, creativity and entrepreneurship.

The fern is being built by Mike Mizrahi and his team from Inside Out Productions, the New Zealand based international theatre and events producers made famous with their production for the global 150th birthday celebrations for Louis Vuitton. The Santa Monica Beach installation is the second giant fern sculpture Mizrahi has produced: he built a similar sculpture in 2001 on Bethells Beach in Waitakere City.

The building of the 100m long fern will create worldwide media attention and Maori Television are covering the progress live from Santa Monica Beach as part of their Waitangi Day broadcast.

The Made From New Zealand brand has been developed by Auckland-based creative communications partnership Ready Now. The event on Waitangi Day is the global launch of the brand and its website www.madefromnewzealand.com. The website is been developed as an online community of New Zealand businesses, entrepreneurs and creatives, providing them with the ability to network with each other more easily while promoting themselves to customers in New Zealand and around the world.

"By building the Silver Fern on Santa Monica Beach, we are literally making New Zealand's mark on the world" says Ready Now's Simon Shattky. "On February 6 it's Waitangi Day all over the globe, so what better day to focus the world's attention on all the great ideas that New Zealanders come up with?"

The project is being funded by the sale of a range of commemorative teeshirts designed by Daniel Buckley of Huffer and Michelle Dowd of Kerosene Design. 10,517 teeshirts are being produced, representing the number of kilometres between Bethells Beach, where the first fern was built in 2001, and Santa Monica.

The Made From New Zealand teeshirts have been marketed to New Zealand business community, with orders already placed by a range of corporates, small businesses and individuals. "Air New Zealand were the first company to get on board" says Shattky. "They literally got Made From New Zealand off the ground."

"Since then, we have received a support from right across the private sector from companies who want to demonstrate their support for New Zealand thinking, risk taking and entrepreneurship."

"Air New Zealand is proud to be supporting the Made From New Zealand global celebration of Waitangi Day" says Steve Bayliss, Air New Zealand's General Manager, Marketing, "Air New Zealand is very passionate about taking New Zealand creativity and entrepreneurship to the world and this event is an excellent showcase of both."

Each Made From New Zealand teeshirt contains a 'magic thread': a piece of merino yarn that has been spun with one of Sir Edmund Hillarys' woollen climbing socks.

"The 'magic thread' represents what we're calling the Kiwi DNA" says Shattky. "It's that intangible but recognisable uniqueness of what we have inside us as Kiwis. That's the stuff that goes inside the products we produce, and Made From New Zealand has been developed to promote products that contain that essence".

The Made From New Zealand teeshirts are available for sale to corporates and individuals at www.madefromnewzealand.com from today and companies can start registering to be part of the site when it goes fully live on Waitangi Day.

"This project is particularly relevant in 2007, which is officially New Zealand's Export Year" says Shattky. "95% of New Zealand businesses employ 19 people or less, while just 150 of our companies account for 80% of our exports. Our ambition is to provide New Zealand businesses, particularly our SME manufacturers, with a way to leverage their New Zealandness and network with each other so they can grow their market share, both within New Zealand and offshore".

"Made From New Zealand's Waitangi Day launch is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to support New Zealand entrepreneurship and creativity" says Shattky.

"We invite all New Zealand businesses and Kiwis all over the world to get behind the project, buy some teeshirts and wear your Kiwi hearts on your sleeves - together we'll make our mark on the world."

ENDS

To see the Made From New Zealand tee shirts, please visit: www.madefromnewzealand.com will be up by the end of December 21.

video on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT3825e0i2Y

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