Big Mac Slabs owners Steph Smith and Andy Harvard.
Sturdy and strong slabs of macrocarpa with smooth, rich wooden tops are the hallmarks of Big Mac Slabs furniture.
The family business has been operating since 2003 after Steph Smith met arborist Andy Harvard at a business coaching course she was running in Masterton.
Andy owned Problem Tree Solutions and was working as an arborist in the area.
Finding himself chopping down a lot of old macrocarpa trees after their life as shelter belt trees came to an end, Andy ended up with piles of macrocarpa trees in the paddock.
"After 60 years of life they get a bit wobbly and need to be chopped before they fall down because they could fall in any direction on top of the new ones which have been planted," Big Mac Slabs co-director Steph Smith said.
"He ended up with all these logs in the paddock and one day saw a mill on the side of the road for sale. He decided to buy it and taught himself how to make outdoor furniture from the trees he was chopping down. When it was raining, Andy and his workmates started making furniture to keep themselves busy."
By the time Steph met him, Andy had been making outdoor furniture from macrocarpa slabs for two years and Big Mac Slabs was starting to take off.
"I was working as a business coach at the time and Andy attended one of the training courses I was running. He was the only person who I had to take out of class and say, 'You need an attitude adjustment or you can't come back after morning tea'," Steph said with a laugh.
However, a romance ensued, the picnic tables became the core of Andy's business and with Steph's marketing and business management experience, together they turned it into a thriving business.
"I said if I'm going to take on Big Mac, it's going to become big."
Furniture
When Steph got involved she implemented measuring, making Andy cut the slabs to specific lengths, rather than just winging it based on the size of the log.
"I said you're going to cut it to the right length so people know what to expect."
With sustainability being a core value of the business, during the creation of the furniture, no materials are wasted.
"The process of milling happens on site, with everything used right down to the offcuts, which are used as firewood, and the wood shavings, which can be used on the garden."
Macrocarpa trees are not native but are hardy Californian trees that are easy to dry out and don't require treatment, making them ideal for picnic tables that will be eaten off.
Once cut down, the macrocarpa is air-dried naturally in the yard for at least two years before being coated with a special water-based UV reflector, which increases the lifespan of the furniture.
"The coating stays on it even when the wood stretches and if you maintain it, it should last a lifetime."
Picnic benches for commercial clients are a large part of the business because of their durability.
"Councils buy our benches and picnic tables because they need them to stand the test of time as well as the challenges of New Zealand's weather."
Because the slabs need no preservatives or chemicals, schools and kindergartens also make up a large part of their business.
Growth
In 2009, the Plimmerton site was opened to service the increasing demand for naturally produced, New Zealand-made furniture. Masterton was not the place to grow the business because it was logistically hard getting products out of the Wairarapa.
Plimmerton was easier access for trucks to pick up the furniture and meant less handling and changeovers, reducing the risk of damage between distributors and the environmental footprint from transport.
As the business continued to grow, Steph and Andy started looking for a site that could further meet their needs and growth aspirations to have their manufacturing and retail on site together, but found it hard with resource consent, twice missing out on places in Pauatahanui.
Eventually, they came across their present location in Mazengarb Rd in Paraparaumu that was formally a mushroom farm and had been sitting empty for 10 years. Battles for resources consent ensued after concerns around noise were raised by neighbours, but after support from the community, the business eventually moved onto the site in 2015.
"It was absolutely derelict as it had been empty for 10 years," Steph said.
"We had to do a lot of work to convert it. We needed a big building to make furniture in but we didn't need all the other buildings."
However, the site had the access they needed to get logging trucks in and out. Moving the manufacturing to Paraparaumu, they now had two sites operating with furniture being sold from both Plimmerton and Paraparaumu.
This worked for a while but over the Christmas of 2019, too many customers got confused about where to pick up their orders so Steph and Andy decided to close the Plimmerton site.
Creative centre
The large site provided potential to expand their business, and a suggestion from local glass artist Caren Ashford to use the space for artists to display their work sparked the creation of Big Mac Creative Centre.
"We hadn't thought about having anything like it but after talking to Caren, I started ringing everyone I knew that had anything to do with galleries to get the rundown on how to open one."
The creative centre was opened in 2016 with six artists and is now home to over 80 artists, providing a place for creatives in Kāpiti to showcase work and develop their art into a business.
"For someone like Caren who has a disability, we provide a space where she can display her work because she can't have people coming to her house all the time. Being able to have a permanent display and not permanently be there works really well for her."
The space allows up-and-coming artists to display their work and gain confidence.
"There are a number of people who do their art part time and have other fulltime jobs, or just lack a little bit of confidence in their art and need a place like this to get their work out there."
With a marketing and business management background, Steph uses Big Mac's large following to help the artists reach bigger audiences and helps them commercialise their art so they can make significant sales.
Artist Holly Chapman now works at Big Mac Creative Centre four days a week and spends the rest of her time painting.
"When I went to art school I was told that my art was not serious enough," said Holly who paints funky animals with colour and humour.
"It's amazing being able to sell my art and be supported by Steph at Big Mac. She's helped me make cards, and coasters from my work and monetise it in a way that sells."
This has enabled Holly to quit her former job in aged care and live out her dream as an artist.
Donna Noble is another artist who has gained confidence from having her work at Big Mac. Creating stunning art from pumice and hanging artworks that spin in the wind, Donna works part time in the creative centre with Steph saying, "She's just a different person at the centre now, she's gained so much confidence in herself and her art".
Kāpiti Arts Trail
The number of artists increases from 80 to well over 100 during that Kāpiti Arts Trail each November.
"While the arts trail is on there are demonstrations running so visitors can see how things are created and perhaps get inspired to create themselves," Steph said.
"The creative centre is a place to gather ideas, inspiration, art, sculpture, homewares or furniture so that the visitor can create their own version of a dream home or garden. It's just amazing when the arts trail is on, we have a cafe running, have live music and people are welcome to come down with their picnic blankets and hang out.
"It's such a cool vibe."
This story was first published in the Celebrating Kāpiti 2022 spring/summer magazine.
