Out in Publik...on Bridge Street
The 2025 Publik Christmas Day
For this year’s work Christmas do, Publik hit up Bridge Street (with a wee detour) as the entire team was set on supporting the amazing Bridge Street businesses operating during the street’s construction closures. Read to the bottom of this for our challenge to you to also support Bridge Street however you can!
We went from one end of the street to the other and back again. We learnt, laughed, shopped, crafted, ate and drank. Was there enough to do, you ask? The street answered a resounding and spirited “Yes!”
The day started with selecting some baking for morning tea from The Little Dutch Bakery. Sticking to just eight delights was not an easy task (the doughnut got rave reviews), so we will absolutely be back another day to try the rest!
A party is not a party without a festive hat, and so Godzilla Clothing was the natural next stop, where everyone found something that suited the day and them (to be fair, everything suited Claire and Alex... people like that are so annoying!).
Izzie then gave us a tour of the ‘new’ Sublime Coffee roastery, where we of course had our ’sublime’ morning brew. While in the Sublime lane, we caught up with Apes & Apples milliner Lisa, who is in the middle of some fun fabric collaborations with Common Threads, and with Emma from The Green Collective. Meanwhile, Jeweller Ash Hilton is also working literally next to the roaster equipment, Kiln pottery is upstairs (where we spun clay two Christmases ago) and Nutty D’Lites handcraft their tasty morsels there, too. The creative vibe in the place is palpable.
A bit of silent disco shopping at Cultural Conversations was next. Tanya has a great boogie playlist, so keep an eye out for future discoes! In between tunes, it was lovely to hear more from her and three newcomers to Nelson about the value Culture Conversations adds to their lives in Nelson. What an asset to our community! Find out more and support them here: www.culturalconversations.co.nz
Time for a breather: a sit-down lunch at Victus. For a few of us, it was their first time to have a cooked lunch at Victus as usually there is only time to grab from the counter. And what a lunch selection to choose from. All meals were amazing! Thanks Nick and team!
With bellies full, we headed to Red Art Gallery for the first of two Bridge Street-themed challenges – a painting competition, filling the black-and-white outline of the gallery’s iconic corner building in with all the colours of the rainbow (and then some!). The silence of concentration throughout the gallery was deafening, until it was time to view each other’s work. Let’s just say it’s kinda not fair when there is an actual painter on the team, but great to see the artist Chris at work, and to be surprised by Anna’s pink fluro and Claire’s bright yellow choices! If Red Art Gallery wants to use any of our pieces as inspiration for a future redesign...we won’t complain.
The next challenge was a teams’ rally-style quiz, with answers to questions within stores and at landmarks right along the street. In and out, weaving and bobbing, Chris and Claire the victors!
Time for prosecco, pizza and pasta at Comida to end the day. It is usually a daytime favourite for us, so cool to catch a different evening vibe. (PS, their Christmas foodie stock has started to arrive, so a good time to go and restock your pantry for summer!)
Oh, and on a side note, we also fitted in a wee trip up the Maitai Valley to Two Arrows Archery for some therapeutic archery and axe throwing. And just saying, Jamie sure can shoot and throw!
So what did we learn from our big Bridge Street day out this year?
Bridge Street rocks, whether the road is closed or not. The people are clever and creative, friendly and fun and very patient. There is everything you need in the shops, galleries and eateries! To be honest, there were places that our team hadn’t taken full advantage of before and we are only over in Hardy Street! You can get a bit set in your habits even in your own town sometimes, so it is refreshing to walk beyond the normal route to see what is around the corner, down the lane and behind the door.
The challenge from all of us at the Publik team is for you - all of you reading this - to go for an explore and visit somewhere new on Bridge Street. Spend some time there, get to know your Bridge Street neighbours, savour the flavours and feel inspired by the creativity amongst us in the city.
The road is back open again now for summer, but next year works will start again - for many months. If we want our vibrant city to remain vibrant, our support of our local city businesses needs to continue, indefinitely.
Thanks for having us Bridge Street. We will be back soon!