About Us

Our Story

Welcome to Mint Roots and Ivy! We're so glad you're here.

We are 1 Englishman and 1 Kiwi gal, teaming our creativeness together.

Our story began firstly as friends 8 years ago, where we often would share mutual creative ideas. We then got together as a couple and our concepts have just gelled seamlessly. Tommy is the muscle and Jade is the brains behind our projects (exaggeration on both parts btw). We both bring different aspects of concept design and finishing that really compliment each other. 
The name, Mint Roots and Ivy, came about one night when sitting in the backyard with some red wine and cheese, checking out the weeds. We were discussing how invasive Mint Roots are and which was worse, Mint Roots or Ivy. Tommy mentioned this sounded like a really cool business name and then we got to discussing what kind of business we would start...And the rest is history!

Our Mission

Our mission with Mint Roots and Ivy is to forever create pieces that question us both as designers/creators and push our creative boundaries. We both love a challenge and we both love interesting pieces that never fall into the "minimalist" category.

We purchased our house 3 years ago and have made sure we use/reuse sustainable materials where we can and to try not to create more rubbish than is necessary, which we have carried over into our creative designs.

The Copper that is currently being used in the Jewellery has come from the innards of the house, which holds big nostalgia for us - keeping the originals and reusing for other things. We use flowers and branches from plants that we have planted in our garden as inspiration. Concepts from nature that we see out the window have huge involvement in our work.

Any other bright and shiny objects used in our creations are often found at secondhand shops because again, keeping the reusable aspect is important.

We have also used other bits and pieces found from historic buildings around Christchurch city in our work (DJ tables and Serving boards). When this happens, the story comes with the product.

Meet the Team

Tommy is originally from the UK and after a bunch of travel around Asia, he settled in Christchurch. He has been Welding for the last 20 years and prides himself on his attention to detail and passion to get it done eventually (mistakes are sometimes a great learning curve). 

He loves colour, whimsy and lots of uneven textures and is still not convinced he is creative (I beg to differ).

He brings logic, mathematics and measurements to our table and has a really good way to step back and give true constructive criticism, without being overbearing.

Jade is a Kiwi, grown up mostly in South Canterbury. She went back to school at 29 after wanting to investigate being a fashion designer. This soon changed when introduced to the world of sculpture. She stayed for 3 years and completed a Level 6 Diploma in Visual Arts and Design and managed to win a couple of awards along the way and she has never looked back.

Over the years, Jade has continued to create in whatever medium took her fancy at the time (there has been A LOT) and has also facilitated Art classes with young children and teenagers and LOVED the process. Once she moved to Christchurch and finally found a personal art space, she managed to exhibit at the Darfield Art Gallery and also Linwood Gallery.

Being a mixed media artist has often proven to be a struggle to stay focused on one medium, but she recently really kept her passion for the Metalsmithing. The way light can dance with metals, textures and negative space plays an important role in how our jewellery is created, and being able to make these tiny sculptures for others to wear/share is really exciting.

Thank you for being along on this creative journey with us and if you're ever keen to either collaborate or have something custom made, please don't hesitate to make contact.

Jade and Tommy xx