Man-about-town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, Eric Murray’s move from rowing to renovation; award-winning TV journalist Karen Rutherford on her new career; Eastern Suburbs hospo power couple on their former family rivalry; designer Emilia Wickstead’s big week.
Society Insider: Olympian Eric Murray’s big renovation business plans; former TV journalist Karen Rutherford’s real estate success; Emilia Wickstead’s royal designs; hospo power couple’s new St Heliers hotspot
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Former TV journalist Karen Rutherford is now in real estate; Olympian Eric Murray and his partner Thea Lyle are renovating their Cambridge home; London-based New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead is celebrating a big career week. Photo / Herald composite
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The couple have taken on their next reno – a 1950s property, also in Cambridge, close to town.
“We went into this latest project knowing the potential to renovate and add to the property, and it would take a lot of work,” Murray tells Society Insider. “The house layout needed to be completely changed as the aspect of the living spaces was wrong.
“We created the business around it, with the possibility of doing more projects in a more official capacity in the future.”
However, Murray wants Grosvenor St to be the forever home for him, Lyle, who works as a teacher, and his son, Zac.
“We will see how it all pans out at the end of the build,” Murray says. “I would like to have the next project, after Grosvenor, to be more of an investment property.”
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Murray says he has never entered into any of his renovations with the intention of selling.
“With life’s circumstances, I have had to sell both of the previous homes – a family home in a nice location next to the greenbelt in Cambridge and then the villa – to enable me to look after Zac and work around whatever life throws at you,” says Murray.
Zac, 13, is neurodivergent and Murray is passionate about raising awareness for autism. When he entered Celebrity Treasure Island in 2019 and Dancing with the Stars in 2022 his chosen charity for both reality shows was Autism New Zealand.
Asked what he thought of US President Donald Trump’s comments about Tylenol and autism this week, Murray said he stood with Autism NZ’s chief executive Dane Dougan’s comments to the Herald on Tuesday.
“Autism NZ supports autistic Kiwis so they can live the best life they can possibly live and that’s what’s most important,” says Murray.”
Murray, Lyle and Zac have lived in the house for the entirety of the renovations, and Murray says his son was right into the demolition and has had a keen eye on helping through the various stages.
“I can handle a little bit of roughness,” Murray says. “We didn’t have bathrooms or toilets for about four months and lived with a porta shower and Portaloo for probably a bit longer than I would have liked.”
The title on Grosvenor St is a cross-lease with the neighbours, who have agreed to enter into a subdivision and split it into two freehold titles, with that process ongoing while the renovation takes place.
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Murray says he has done most of the work to give the house a complete makeover and has added a new roof, extended one side of the house and added a lap pool at the back of the property.
He hit a speed bump with his plans to build a 70sq m sleepout, garage with a gym, bar and golf simulator.
“We had an issue with the main council sewer line running through the property right where we wanted to build it.
“We overcame that with engineers and our architect, which allowed us to go through a ‘build-over’ process, while keeping our building plans under council restrictions.”
Murray says he has also made the most of eco-building. He has insulated the home’s walls, ceiling and underfloor with recycled PET bottles and has used professional recycled plastics and materials throughout the home.
He is pleased they were able to recycle the rimu timber floors from the bedrooms to finish the flooring in the living and bathroom areas.
To minimise water usage, he will add a water collecting cylinder, which will be plumbed back into the toilets, washing machines and outdoor taps. He is adding an 8kW solar system to allow the home to produce and store energy.
Award-winning TV journalist Karen Rutherford on her new career
Karen Rutherford never envisaged she would pivot from a 30-year career as an award-winning journalist into the world of real estate.
The former TV3 reporter and presenter first graced our screens in 1997, when she started as a young cadet at TVNZ’s One Network News. Last year, she was made redundant when news organisation Newshub abruptly shut down. She was one of 300 staff who were axed.
“It was a pretty turbulent time for the entire news industry,” Rutherford tells Society Insider.
“We worked hard for years to bring New Zealanders edgy, informative bulletins and had each other’s backs.
“I never thought I’d find another work family like it again.”
But taking up an offer to join Bayley’s Cambridge last November has meant she’s found a new work family.
The former Aucklander, who moved to Waikato in 2020, is selling residential and lifestyle properties and cannot believe the new lease she has on life.
“Good real estate is all about relationships, I’m a people person and I love problem-solving, so I’m literally jumping out of bed each day ready to crack into it,” she says.
“There are real synergies with journalism. [In real estate], everyone has a story, a reason to buy or sell.
“So, it’s all about listening, being respectful, giving them the intel they need to make informed decisions and sticking by them on the journey.”
Other familiar faces from television who have found success in real estate include Rawdon Christie, Jayne Kiely and Rutherford’s former TV3 colleague Hamish McKay.
Rutherford grew up in St Heliers, Auckland, and she thought she was happy creating the same life with her husband Jason and their three young children in the seaside suburb.
In 2012, when their three children were young, a move to Dairy Flat set the family’s life on a new trajectory.
“Horses became our world, with our daughters Ella and Abby competing for many years all over the North Island and, in Ella’s case, Australia.”
In 2016, Rutherford and then 13-year-old Ella were involved in a highly-publicised crash when a visiting overseas driver hit the pair at high speed while they were horse riding on the edge of a country road.
Decked out in high-vis gear, Rutherford, who was riding Ella’s horse, nearly lost her leg, suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent almost two years undergoing rehab. The horse died at the scene.
The foreign driver was prosecuted and faced a $25,000 fine before leaving New Zealand.
“Gratitude is one hell of a powerful tool,” Rutherford says.
“It’s amazing how it helps you up out of a dark hole. That and incredible family and friends.
“When life throws you curve balls, you’ve got to pare it back, put one foot in front of the other and look to what’s important.”
The 52-year-old says she counts herself lucky every day, and is loving the change of pace in her career.
Rutherford says Aucklanders, Bay of Plenty residents and Americans are quick to pick up the phone to inquire with Bayley’s about Waikato lifestyle blocks, which she says go for the price you’d pay for a pocket-sized lawn in Grey Lynn.
Rutherford has had multiple successes in sales, and this month, with a colleague, achieved the highest sale price in Waikato’s Pukekura for more than a year, with a four-bedroom lifestyle block, in an exclusive estate, selling for more than $2m. But she is quick to point out she gets as much enjoyment at the other end of the scale, selling units for $500,000.
Knowing the tricks of the trade, she is presenting her own real estate videos for the properties she is selling, which she describes as “a bit of fun, that you’ve got to mix up”.
Her next step will be entering the world of auctioneering.
“Cambridge is quaint and friendly but oozes class with gorgeous eateries, Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain and Lake Karapiro,” she says.
“People genuinely look out for each other. No one’s in a hurry and everywhere is five minutes from anywhere.”
Rutherford says people are polite when she knocks on a door in Cambridge. She is often invited in for a cuppa and some even remember her from the telly.
She says keeping life simple is important to her these days, and the equestrian and high-performance sporting community in Cambridge are “hard-grafters who keep it real”.
Eastern Suburbs hospo power couple on their family rivalry
Hospitality power couple Paddy Kean and Victoria Blake haven’t had a day off in more than a month, and that’s just the way they like it.
The pair opened their latest venture together, Water Boy, last week – a chic pub in the centre of St Heliers beachside hospitality offerings. The venue has been chocka ever since.
The pair, who are engaged, already own two well-established venues in Remuera – The Corner on Upland and Remuera Rds, and 1Up Sports Bar across the road. They are also shareholders in Kiwi gin brand Scapegrace, and Kean is a shareholder in Speight’s Ale House Tower Junction in Christchurch.
While Kean works fulltime in hospitality, Blake juggles their business with her job as national business manager of Dyson NZ.
The new venture in St Heliers feels like a homecoming of sorts.
“Both our families have been based in St Heliers for more than 30 years,” Kean tells Society Insider.
“Setting something locally is a way to pay respects to both our amazing families who have supported us our whole life.”
The pair grew up loving the hospitality sector through their fathers, Peter Kean, who once ran Lion Nathan, and Brian Blake, who was the former GM of DB.
“Dad is a huge part of The Corner and Water Boy, both financially and helping to steer the ship, while Brian’s advice often plays a role in our decision making,” says Kean.
“Dad and Brian have been huge in shaping the hospitality scene in New Zealand, both having run the biggest breweries in the country at the same time.”
Given the competitive rivalry they once had, both fathers were surprised to hear five years ago that their respective children were dating.
“Friends, family and old colleagues within the brewing industry have found it very entertaining when they heard that we got together, and we always get asked what [drinks] we’ll be serving at our wedding,” says Blake.
Kean, 39 and Blake, 34, attended the University of Otago. Although they knew of each other, their paths didn’t cross until New Year’s Eve at their mutual friend Madeline Fay’s New Year’s party on Waiheke in 2019.
The pair started dating in 2020 and became engaged in 2023 while on holiday in New York.
Kean packed the engagement ring he had designed by Auckland jeweller Sylvie Kirton and proposed at the Ace Hotel, a boutique hotel in a historic building in the NoMad neighbourhood.
“Paddy didn’t want to cause a scene in public, so he went down on one knee in our hotel room,” says Blake.
They bought their first home together last year, an immaculate villa in Grey Lynn, with a state-of-the-art kitchen for Blake, who loves to cook and entertain.
“We love hosting people for dinner or a pre-drink before an event and even installed our own bar unit in the house,” says Kean.
Although they have not set a date for their wedding yet, they are spoilt for choice when it comes to venues. Blake’s parents have a home in Matarangi in the Coromandel and the Keans in Cromwell, where Scapegrace – for which Peter is chairman – has built NZ’s largest distillery.
The pair say they would love to open more venues together and, once everything is set, start their own family.
For now, they are focusing on making Water Boy a success – a venue they believe has the makings of the best beachside offerings in Sydney.
A good week for... designer Emilia Wickstead
London-based New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead debuted her London Fashion Week Spring-Summer collection at her Sloane St store on Sunday.
The show crowned a busy week in which Wickstead dressed the Princess of Wales for her meeting with US President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle, and the dress she designed for British actor Marisa Abela’s wedding made a huge splash in fashion bible Vogue.
Abela, famous for her role in the HBO series Industry and for playing Amy Winehouse in the biopic Back to Black, married fellow actor Jamie Bogyo in East Sussex in an Audrey Hepburn-inspired dress.
“I knew I wanted my wedding dress to feel like a real moment,” Abela told Vogue. Her bespoke Emilia Wickstead gown was crafted from 20m of ivory silk duchess satin and took more than 250 hours to complete.
Abela was among the stars front row at Wickstead’s runway show, as was ex-Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
Wickstead’s latest collection was inspired by celebrity photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s muses, with denim creating a splash among the classic designs.
It came a week after Wickstead had spent time in New York to celebrate her friend, Kiwi jewellery designer Jessica McCormack, who recently opened her flagship store in a historic building on Madison Ave. McCormack’s designs have been worn by celebrities including brand ambassador Zoë Kravitz, pop star Rihanna, model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, fashion designer Victoria Beckham and actors Zendaya and Dakota Johnson.
Wickstead presented her Fall-Winter 2025 collection on the second floor of McCormack’s townhouse, alongside her jewellery collection.
Since Wickstead was home in April to launch her designs for the Air NZ uniform, she has dressed an array of acting stars, including Pamela Anderson when she attended Copenhagen Fashion Week, Laura Dern when she attended the Venice Film Festival, and Elizabeth Olsen at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Our own London-based acting star Thomasin McKenzie has recently served as a collection muse of inspiration for Wickstead.
Party People of the Week
Art in the Park
Art in the Park returned to Eden Park last weekend with NZ’s national stadium hosting Australasia’s largest curated artist-led exhibition and sale.
The internationally renowned exhibition opened its doors to VIPs, celebrities and dignitaries for a preview last Thursday, giving them the chance to view more than 3000 works from over 130 of the country’s leading and emerging artists, before opening to the public on Friday.
Canapes were free-flowing, with arancini, prawn tostadas and lamb crostini on offer, and Mumm Champagne served with blood orange cocktails and amaretto sours.
Local artists, including FLOX, Mike Weston, and Jimmy James Kouratoras were in attendance alongside Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith, University of Auckland University vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater, Newstalk ZB’s Kerre Woodham and Matt Heath, Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner and Eden Park Trust board chairman Kereyn Smith and man about town Colin Mathura-Jeffree.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.