There's some good stuff happening in Nick Jones' Inglewood workshop, unless you are a ferret that is.
Nick and his partner Emma Boyd are working on the rollout of a newly designed predator trap to support the Government's Predator Free 2050 vision.
"The trap is designed to trap ferrets in particular because they are the hardest predator to catch and kill humanely. Their biology and anatomy is just really tricky, the only way to kill them humanely is to hit them on the head. We needed a trap that would make sure they were in the right position once caught for that to happen immediately, ensuring they didn't suffer."
Nick has been working on the trap design in his free time when he is not busy working on client projects for his product design consultancy Indemic, which he co-owns with Emma.
The business is all about turning ideas into reality, he says.
"Indemic is all about bringing people's ideas to life. We work for a wide variety of clients designing a range of things, from electric fence units to animal weigh scales, wearable sports tech, digger controls and even an internal device to measure pelvic floor muscles."
Being busy with other people's ideas has left little time for Nick to work on his own dream of helping reduce the number of pests destroying New Zealand's countryside.
"As a family, Emma, myself and our children enjoy spending time outdoors, it is something we really value. We see the importance of areas becoming predator free and designing a suitable trap to help achieve that was an idea I felt I could bring to life. It's been a case of picking it up when I am not busy with other things though in the past, but it is time to give it full attention and take the project from theory and prototype stage to full production."
Now Nick can do exactly that, thanks to a kickstarter grant of $30,000 from TSB Good Stuff.
"It's brilliant, it means I can effectively become my own client and give the project the time it needs."
The grant means Nick can work fulltime on the trap design, something he says will benefit Taranaki in more than one way.
"Obviously, getting the trap out into the field, literally, means we will be reducing pest numbers which is great, but getting the trap into the manufacture stage will eventually lead to the creation of new jobs in Taranaki as we will be manufacturing them here in the region. We see the potential for a couple of jobs being created quite quickly, and then more jobs long term once the trap reaches the full production stage."
Nick and Emma's business Indemic, which is based in Inglewood, will continue to grow as well with one fulltime employee continuing to work there on projects for other clients, while Nick focuses taking the trap from prototype to production line.
That prototype is more than just a box with a metal trap attached, he says.
"There's a lot of design work in it, as it needs to be humane, last a long time in all weather situations, be easy to use and safe for people to set up."
Some traps currently in use are unwieldy, he says, requiring a fair bit of strength to set up, and can be dangerous if used incorrectly.
"I have hurt myself plenty of times working with traps in the past, and really we want something anyone can use as that helps more people do their bit to help the environment."
Sustainability is also important.
"I would rather sell a trap once every 50 years knowing it will last, than 50 traps in that time. We don't want more stuff going to the landfill, we want less."
Nick says he has had great support so far in his work.
"Conservation groups in Taranaki have been really helpful throughout the process, as have local engineering businesses. When we can't make something ourselves we are able to source the work from other local companies. Getting this grant from TSB is fantastic, as it's not just about the money, but also that they have seen the value in the project and the concept itself."
Having worked in the product design field since graduating from Massey University, Nick says he knows just how hard it is to find funding.
"Investing in new ideas is a hard leap to make for many people, so it is really exciting that TSB have seen the value in this and have been willing to put money into this project."