Our Whanau
Find the name on your ROADWORN product and learn about them here
Bosko AKA Bush was born and raised in Strathmore. He calls himself the Croatian sensation; he traces his heritage back to Croatia, Romania and Greece. He has always lived in Wellington and reckons Wellingtonians are good kind people. Growing up he used to go riding BMX with his mates in Strathmore in Army barracks and watched planes coming in.
He has been with Roadworn for more than 3 years. He went to the undercroft at St.Peter’s at Willis st and “got stuck since”. He specializes in making kids and adult bracelets. He tried his hand at making belts and necklaces but found his niche in making bracelets. He insists that he suffers from Voluntary Tourette’s when enquired about his unnecessarily profanity laden vocabulary
His message to the buyer of one of his products is “Cherish it”.
Paul
Born in Capetown South Africa, of South African and Mexican heritage, Paul came to New Zealand at the age of 5, along with his parents. He was bought up in Burnham military camp.
Growing up Paul had a reading disability, battled with low vision and deafness. At the age of 15 Paul moved to Wellington.
Paul was introduced to Roadworn through Rosina whilst volunteering (“she pulled me by my ears and dragged me to roadworn” - he said under duress) at the Freestore at St.Peter's church on Willis st. Although initially Paul felt out of place when he entered Roadworn workspace at the undercroft of St.Peter's, he has become an integral part of the team.
After trying his hand at making accessories, Paul started making clocks out of cogs and disk brakes from discarded bikes. He found his passion there and started making clocks of all sizes and shapes.
His artwork is on display at different establishments around Wellington like 'Everybody Eats', 'Pedal Project' and 'St.Peter's on Willis'.
Making clocks is like an art therapy for him. And his primary reason for coming to Roadworn. He later admitted it was actually for the company of people at Roadworn.
Paul's message to his customers, "enjoy something unusual".
Harvey
Born in South Africa, Harvey came to New Zealand with his family more than 2 decades ago. Harvey founded Roadworn in 2020 during the pandemic in between lockdowns over a coffee with Manjit (Founder of another local charity – EKTA). His intention with starting Roadworn was to get the members of the marginalized community involved in an enterprise.
He rode his first bike at the age of 7 and fell in love with it. He has ridden his bike around different nations around the world; the best places to bike he said were Croatia and Albania. He has been learning a digital boost program with MSD to utilize the digital space to sell more products.
He likes how compact of a city Wellington is and the accessibility to people of influence. One of his fond memories with Roadworn, is of when former Mayor Andy Foster would rub shoulders with the homeless, which he has not seen anywhere else in the world. He envisions expanding Road Worn to other cities like Whangarei and Christchurch.
His message to the buyer is “The number of lives we can touch are restricted by our number of sales.”
Rosina.
“I consider Wellington Home”
Born in Palmerston North, Rosina moved to Wellington to study arts when Massey moved its Media studies department to Wellington. Battling with dyslexia all her life, led her to leave University studies unfinished.
The first time she rode her bike, she rode it into her dad’s car, smashing one of the tail lights. Instead of fixing it her dad just superglued it and for the next 10 years it served as a reminder for when Rosina learned to ride a bike.
The reason she works with Roadworn is that she loves working with her hands. Her dad was an electrician, and her great-grandfather made a plane at the back of his house. Family called it plane that flew out of the window.
One of the most consistent artists; not only does Rosina come up with innovative designs for the jewelry range but also turns up to Artisan crafts market to (wo)man the stall. (She is a spectacular salesperson)
Her message to the buyer is that childhood trauma stays with humans for life and everyone deals with it in a different way hence everyone needs to keep that in mind when dealing with fellow human beings.
Natasha.
Born in Auckland, Natasha has lived in cities in the U.K & Australia and eventually moved to Wellington. This city’s arts & music scene, social justice movement and markets of cheap and artsy things is what she loves about Wellington.
She used to ride bikes in Brisbane where the pavements were wide. She remembers how they used to wear helmets to ride bikes primarily to escape magpie attacks. One of our longest serving artists, Natasha initially made belts out of recycled tyres, she now makes jewelley out of bike chains.
The reason she works with Roadworn is because she likes working with her hands and its also like therapy for her. Making creative products out of waste and giving them a second life for the buyer seems like win-win situation for her. Another reason she works with Roadworn is because she feels isolated where she lives, which is rife with crack addiction.
In 2023 Natasha moved to Whangarei as part of a kainga ora relocation, where she has continues the roadworn kopapa and started “leftcycles” upcycled jewellery and fashion.
Her message for the buyer is “keep supporting creativity; recycle, reuse and don’t buy mass produced stuff and fuck up the planet even more.”
Tania.
For anyone who buys product made by her she says, “Anything is possible.”
58 year old Tania grew up in Wairoa with her grandparents, As a child, she had a horse named Thomasina wo she loved and adored and on Fridays she would ditch school and go to her brother-in-law’s farm and ride horses. “They are very smart and have their own personalities” says Tania.
She left Wairoa for Wellington at the age of 17 in search of her biological mother. At 18, she landed a job making shoes at the Puma factory in Owhiro Bay. She loved making shoes still has a keen eye for shoes. She thinks ladies Sketchers are the worst design for a women’s shoes and is perplexed by its popularity.
Tania was kicked out of her last place recently and relies on friends generosity for a nights shelter. She has four children and a grandson. She misses her grandson, but the grandson’s mother is not on speaking term with her. Sleeping in discreet and deserted nooks of the city, she sleeps in Te Aro Park, with the crew that hangs out there regularly. She feel safe and has the best sleep she has had in months.
Tania makes belts because, “I enjoy making them and I like unique things”. Some days she contemplates about leaving Wellington to and work as a fruit picker up north which would pay better, but making upcycled products gives her a sense of worth. Tania is incredibly grateful to Pastor Joe at St. Peters on Willis and Harvey to give her this opportunity to work. She usually makes belts, but recently has found niche in making dog collars.
Shannon.
A gifted polymath whose tunes leak through St.Peter’s church on Willis street, Soup Kitchen on Tory street and pretty much any piano he can get his hands on.
Born in Timaru, he reminisces about the times he rode mountain bikes in the wonderful scenic terrain of South Island. He spends his days volunteering for various local community groups creating art, music, poetry, design and puzzles. He lives a lonely life but keep busy by writing books and creating piano pieces.
His homelessness experience has been really tough but is grateful to be living in a rental in CBD currently. He makes Roadworn products because it is a great recycling initiative and provides opportunities for the community and the consumer.
He works as a designer, creator and a bookkeeper for Roadworn. He loves dogs. He says he is an empath and struggles with depression but that he is positive and loves to lift other’s inner spirit.
Excerpt from one of his poems “ They could put the bird in a cage / cut off its wings / put lead weights around its ankles / and still make it believe / it could fly and it could fly / happily for them / when it came to manipulation / that thing had skill”
Chris.
Born in Otara, Chris rode his bike as child to catch up with his family and friends who lived half an hour away. Chris is also fond of motorbikes and races cars as a hobby.
Before coming to Wellington, he lived in Australia for 5 years and drove trucks for a living. He fondly remembers the time he drove from Perth to Melbourne in 4 days crossing the Nullarbor Desert.
He likes Wellington because of the community it has. He helps his family with fixing stuff around the house with electricals, building and yard duties. He has been clean since early 2020.
Chris battled with addiction issues and remains clean by being with friends, going to church and the gym, meditating up on the mountains and going to art classes at Pablo’s Art Studio at Tory street.
He wants the buyer to know that he is “a hard worker, a family man and is multi talented”
Frances.
Francis is 37 years old gentleman from Papakura. He moved to Wellington recently, and reckons that it is the best decision he has ever made. He has an 11-year-old boy who he loves very much and takes any opportunity to visit him. He fondly remembers of the time when he used to bike to school.
He has been sleeping in his car for months and sometimes sleeps on a couch at his brother’s place. As a younger man “Once, while asleep I saw god sitting on a throne, he was made of pure white light. God told me that I was ‘Anointed Created Odell’”. He does not know what it means.
He spends most of his days worshipping and helps out at the The Free Store at St. Peter’s Church. Unlike his comrades who make belts, he makes necklaces out of paua shells. A slit on the inner part of the shells breaks it into manageable pieces. He then sands them with a polishing machine, very delicately and makes a hole as to not break the shell, and then threads it.
When asked what did he want buyers to know, “I am a single man in search of true love.”
Gorgery.
"I think everything is art. Architecture, fashion, food, it's all art. Making the world a beautiful place to live is art, too."
There's a good chance your ROADWORN belt was made by Gorgery. When asked how many belts he'll make today, "I'm going try break and break my record!"
He's from Hong Kong, but today the Wellington creative scene is his home. He also makes pottery and linocuts.
Phillip.
"It's not all about me... I do what I do to help others. That's what I was taught. It doesn't matter where we're from; we're all the same."
Philip is from Otara; he's lived in Wellington for the past six years, saying his spirituality called him there.
To him, life is a journey.
“It’s not about me anymore, it’s about God and his son.”
Matia.
"Helping people heals me. Saving lives is a spiritual thing. I feel pushed to do it!"
Matia comes from Turangi, and she had only been in Wellington two weeks when she started coming by to help out ROADWORN.
She donates the money she makes back to food charities, "I see myself differently now... This is a restart for me."
Wesley
Wesley was born in Wellington hospital, spent his early childhood in Chicago and finished his high school in Wellington. He finished his schooling when NCEA was being established and thinks that the initial implementation was a bit chaotic.
He has been living in Wellington for the past 20 years. Wesley finds Wellington easy to get around and finds the city Dynamic. He has worked at McDonalds at Manners st for 7&1/2 years(Affectionately known as House of Manners).
Wesley found out about RoadWorn through Rosina and it has given him an avenue to show off his talents with artistic value. He likes to make paintings. Roadworn gives Wesley a space to get to know more people.