10 July 2022
By River and Road
Kei te Taiao. Back Roads.
Writer: SIONAINN MENTOR-KING
Photographer: MICHELLE HEPBURN
Natalie Bradburn
Natalie, 33, never intended to stay in Whanganui when she first moved to the area five years ago. But the architecture graduate and founder of CleanCleanClean – a self-described research project exploring all things bathroom – has found the city so accommodating she doesn’t want to leave.
A view of the Durie Hill Elevator with the modernist lines of the Whanganui War Memorial Centre.
What was your path into architecture? It was a long, winding road. I did a fashion design course when I was living in Melbourne, and a few courses in French and art history. Then I landed in an interior design diploma. I decided a diploma wasn't going to be enough, so I moved back to New Zealand and started a degree in interior design. But after two years, Unitec basically rewrote the whole programme into more interior decoration, which wasn't where I was going, so my tutors pushed me into architecture.
And now what do you do? When I was doing my masters, I had my first baby. I was trying to finish a thesis while I was pregnant, so it's been a few years on and off, trying find my place. I definitely think of myself as more of a designer. I work as an architectural graduate three days a week and do CleanCleanClean on the days in between the family/babies thing. I've got two kids - Marlowe's five and just started school, and Frances is three.
Is CleanCleanClean just about bathrooms? It's about sanitary spaces - bathrooms is the easiest way to explain that. At architecture school, because I came from interiors, I had this different way of thinking about spaces. There's this joke: whatever you do, don't end up designing bathrooms. It's like the butt of architecture. It's the worst of the worst, and I just thought that was so funny because bathrooms are such an important space! We all spend time in them
Where do you find inspiration for your designs? I don't reference a particular era, but there's something about stark white bathrooms I find absolutely hilarious. The last time there was significant colour in bathrooms was the retro period, so I'm often referencing bathrooms from the seventies. Nobody's really looking at bathrooms in a way that does them justice. I'd love to do it full time.
How did you end up in Whanganui? I grew up in Auckland. My partner, Ben, grew up in Whanganui. He had built a house here, and when we were living in Wellington and our first child was due, we thought, "Let's go there and make a plan. We'll stay for six months." So we had Marlowe, and then we thought it was quite nice here. The weather's good, the house is nice and people are so lovely. Ben's got family here and they've been really supportive. There's something so specifically unique about Whanganui that keeps us here. Every year we're like, "Shall we move now? Is this the time?" But we just can't bring ourselves to. So we're still here!
EAT
Porridge Watson is a great bar and has a great chef as well. It encapsulates Whanganui - everyone's very nice and it's pretty low-key, but it's warm and you always find someone to talk to. There's not just one go-to dish, it's all so wonderful. Most recently I had the great pleasure of accompanying a lager with some perfect bao buns. facebook.com/porridgewatson
Article Cafe & Store is run by Jack Mitchell-Anyon - who is actually my brother-in-law - and he makes the most incredible coffee. The space is on the ground floor of the old Chronicle building and is marked by its large shared tables, both inside and out. We spend our Saturday mornings there after the market. It's the perfect start to the weekend. @article.whanganui
SEE
Castlecliff Beach is so incredible. It's wild, like a pirate's beach. The whole place is full of driftwood. It's such a strong place. The ocean's strong, the wind's strong... It's taken me five years to feel confident to take on daily swims, but once you get to know it, it's just amazing.
DO
One of the most impressive and unique things in Whanganui is the Durie Hill Elevator, which is an underground public transport elevator. It's the only one in the Southern Hemisphere still going. It's rickety, and you can't be claustrophobic if you're going to go on it, but it has this exquisite tunnel that's subway-tiled the whole way. There's nothing quite like it. @duriehillelevator
This story was produced with support from Whanganui & Partners. discoverwhanganui.nz
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This story appeared in the Takurua Winter 2022 Edition of Shepherdess.
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