A man wearing a bluestone Giant Weta t-shirt looks sideways beside the newly constructed, concrete and steel New Brighton Pier in Christchurch

Bluff Weta T-Shirt: Celebrating New Zealand’s Insect Dinosaur

May 31, 2024 / / No Comments

Don’t say “ooh!”, say “aah!!” for this design is one of the best-looking wetas you’ll see. This print celebrates the recent rediscovery of the Bluff weta, New Zealand’s insect dinosaur that can be found in scree and on rocky bluffs of the Kaikoura ranges, Mt Somers in mid-Canterbury and on both sides of this t-shirt.

This design features a twice life-size pixel painted portrait of the Bluff weta on the front with the option of another print on the back. The Bluff weta was until recently thought to be lost to history, but it turns that it roams free in the scree and rocky bluffs of the Kaikouras and Mt Somers. The grey marle fabric of the shirt is the rocky texture of a mountain bluff for a comfortable fit. The design is also available on a range of colours, short and longsleeve tees for women and kids.

Because the colours of this design are earth toned and the weta is casting a shadow, the best colours for the shirt are on greys and earth-toned hues. The lighter toned backgrounds help create the 3D effect, the illusion the weta is in three dimensions standing on the surface of a t-shirt.

Purchase Options: Shop Locally or Internationally

Shop by ordering here to have it locally printed in Christchurch and DTF heat-pressed right here by the designer, Shaun Waugh, in New Brighton, or shop online at our NZ based and international DTG printing partners. (Use code: “PERFEC” for 5% off your international store purchase.)

Prices for Shirts Printed by the Artist in New Brighton:

  • Teeshirt: $48 plus shipping
  • This design is also available on longsleeve tees for men, women and kids
  • Mens/Unisex longsleeve tee: $58 plus shipping
  • Shipping is via Courier Post, price starts at $8 for 1 adult shirt, $10 for two or more.

International customers will be charged the actual shipping cost based on the weight and the destination of their order. As a guide a Large Surface Active 185 gsm t-shirt weighs 130–150 grams.

Alternatively our t-shirts are available for purchase at our stall at New Brighton Seaside Market on Saturdays, and at Brighton Gallery and The Creatives Edit in New Brighton Mall.

A man showing the back of his Surface Active giant weta t-shirt beside New Brighton Pier.
Bluff weta beside the sea! The back of our Giant Weta T-shirt at New Brighton Pier.
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A smiling woman wearing a jewelled gecko t-shirt walking in the outdoors.

Vivid Jewelled Gecko T-Shirt | Unique New Zealand Wildlife Tee

May 23, 2024 / / No Comments

Our wildlife art print of this rare and beautiful native lizard is so animated it looks likes it’s going to scamper right off the shirt! In this case a crew neck, mid-weight (185gsm) women’s t-shirt. 

New Zealand is ground zero for geckos, with more native lizards found on these islands from north to south than in any other temperate place in the world, they thrive in forests, dunes, grasslands, rocky alpine areas, even under the odd stack of corrugated iron roofing. The Jewelled gecko is a species found only on the South Island of New Zealand, particularly the southeastern regions of Canterbury and Otago from Banks Peninsula southwards.

This design pairs best with white, kelly green, forest green, and black for maximum contrast.

Level up your black t-shirt with our vivid jewelled gecko print. The intricate details are printed directly onto the fabric, while the black in the print is knocked-out, this allows the colours of the print to pop more against black of the shirt.

The Jewelled Gecko design is available from our online stores, our local store that supplies our New Brighton Seaside Market stall, Saturdays 10 a.m.–2 p.m., and from our two retail outlets in New Brighton Mall; Brighton Gallery and The Creatives Edit.

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A man with a serious expression wears a white t-shirt with four playful leaping dolphins printed on it, standing beside New Brighton Pier.

Dolphins Leaping T-Shirt: Kaikoura Wildlife Art

May 16, 2024 / / No Comments

Channel your inner Jacques Cousteau with this t-shirt featuring four playful common dolphins leaping out of the ocean as they pass along the Kaikoura coast. A perfect conversation starter for any nature enthusiast.

Our Common Dolphins Leaping T-Shirt—Kaikoura Wildlife Art Printed by the Artist

Having had the magical experience of a free-range childhood in Titahi Bay, encountering pods of common dolphins in Kaikoura during our summer holidays at Goose Bay and when snorkelling for Paua with friends near Barneys Rock, enjoying the spectacle of seeing them traveling in large groups parallel to SH1 near Oaro, playfully leaping out of the water, and, as a child being enchanted by their surfing and breaching alongside boats in the waters of the Hauraki Gulf I was seeking a way to express my sense of how dolphins symbolise how wonderful and beautiful New Zealand is.

Prices For Shirts Printed in New Brighton:

Order here to have your dolphins leaping shirt locally printed in Christchurch and DTF heat-pressed right here by the designer, Shaun Waugh, in New Brighton, or shop online at our NZ based and international DTG printing partners. (Use code: “PERFEC” for 5% off your international store purchase.) You can visit Shaun at the Surface Active stall Saturdays 10:00–2:00 at New Brighton Seaside Market, or shop at one of our two retail outlets in New Brighton Mall, Brighton Gallery and The Creatives Edit.

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A black Surface Active t-shirt with illustration of a 1961 Ford MkII Zephyr re-imagined as NASA’s space shuttle being worn by a man in sunglasses at New Brighton beach, beside the Pier.

This Kiwi Space Shuttle tee is a triumph of Kiwi ingenuity. 

May 9, 2024 / / No Comments

For the Kiwi who dares to dream big, this Kiwi Space Shuttle tee is a must-have. This black Surface Active tee showcases the beloved Kiwi icon of a classic MkII Zephyr transformed into a NASA spaceship, manned by three Kiwis soaring through space, bound for a drive on the moon.

The clever design incorporates the rocket science of the black fabric of the shirt as deep space for a comfortable fit. The design is also available on garments for women and kids.

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Native Animal Lovers Rejoice!

December 6, 2022 / / No Comments

You can order your very own New Zealand nature t-shirts from our brand new exhibition at Brighton Gallery, open until January 8th. All works, t-shirts & original prints, are designed & printed in New Brighton. To order contact: www.surfaceactive.digitees.co.nz/contact

Looking for the perfect way to show your love for your favourite native animal? Order your kiwi t-shirt today. T-shirts are available in a variety of colours and styles for adults and kids, making it easy to find the right one for you.
Three friends in Surface Active t-shirts with designs of Adelie penguins, Paua shell, and a red-billed gull at dawn, posing for a selfie at New Brighton Pier.

Surface Active—New Zealand Nature T-shirt Company stores

November 16, 2021 / / 2 Comments

November 2021
Dear Surface Dweller,

We’re excited to announce our two online retail stores, the Surface Active global store and the brand new New Zealand-based store! To celebrate this significant stage in the development of our clothing brand we are rewarding our customers with a discount offer.

🛍 NZ-based store
🛍 Global store: Use code: “PERFEC” for 5% off your purchase, storewide.

Global store links: Adelie penguins, Jewelled gecko, and Kiwi iconic, light colour variant and the Treefern t-shirt, all-over printed.
NZ-based store links: Adelie penguins, Jewelled gecko, and Dolphins leaping, Kaikoura.

Actively yours,

Shaun Waugh (boss),

Chrissie Terpstra (bossier)

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Absolute-Proof website 1998 launch design

Absolute-Proof digital proofing launch website 1998

July 7, 2018 / / No Comments

Absolute-Proof | Digital Proofing Resolved | The 1998 product, website and brand launch

AbsoluteProof_logo_radiused_256px

Best-in-class colour-managed workflow hub / digital proofing software solution, brainchild of brilliant friend pre-press professional Hjórtur Kristínsson, named by me ‘Absolute-Proof ’, launched in 1998, this was the first iteration of the web design I designed for the product launch. The launch was aligned with Hugo showing at the Drupa print fair in Dusseldorf that year. The AbsoluteProof website was developed in collaboration with a web design firm in Reykjavik, Iceland.
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AbsoluteProof website, Markets page header detail.

Technical writing: Digital Proofing

June 29, 2017 / / No Comments

Technical writing: Digital Proofing for print, packaging & graphic arts

AbsoluteProof logo black and white iconI began to develop my technical writing skill in the late 90s when I was involved as a stakeholder in the development and marketing of the AbsoluteProof digital proofing solution. My stake in the development of this innovative “highest achievable standard” Digital Proofing solution encompassed both marketing strategy and the provision of all the marketing communications materials, including the writing of software “quick start” user guides and both marketing and technical writing about the printing, packaging, desktop publishing and graphic arts industry for the AbsoluteProof website and print promotions.
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‘Only two for Everest’ book launch event

October 14, 2016 / / No Comments

A friend’s father, Ed Cotter, has had a biographical book ‘Only two for Everest’ by author Lyn McKinnon (pictured above) published. This post contains galleries of the book launch event at the Sumner Surf Life Saving Club last Thursday night, 6 October 2016.

The book tells the untold story of Ed Cotter’s mountaineering career in the 1950s. It describes how a Kiwi expedition to the Himalaya, culminating in a first ascent of Mukut Parbat in NW India by Riddiford and Cotter, shaped climbing history.
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Infographics: present information with speed & clarity

August 28, 2014 / / No Comments

Illustration beats explanation

Illustration provides an overall impression of what an object is or does, how a process flows or functions, or to map or chart information with the aim of immediately engaging the viewer’s interest and understanding, and being memorable.

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visuals that represent data, information, processes, or knowledge and skills with the goal of making complex information clear and understood quickly.
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