HOKEYPOKEY

I remember the sound of it,
a sweet hiss
then a slap as the water demanded
attention while
the heat of it,
stiffened wet, salty hair and stuck
our backs to the chairs while
the taste of it,
smooth
cool
white
the crack of hidden golden nuggets
rolled around our teeth.
That’s summer
that’s what my sticky finger bones remember
that’s what it felt like to be here.

This joyful memory of summer is the inspiration for this new collection from LyZadie Design Studio: The Hokey Pokey Collection—a fun, collaborative celebration of memory, form, and flavour. With its creamy vanilla base and bright pops of honeycomb, HokeyPokey Ice-cream is a quintessential part of any New Zealand summer. It evokes time spent near the beach, of long hot days and sand caught between the toes. It’s one of the most popular ice-cream flavours in Aotearoa and for good reason, as its hidden honeycomb provides a richness to the otherwise simple vanilla treat that is both a surprise and joy.

Initial pieces for this collection are brought to life by LyZadie Design Studio in a new collaboration with ceramic artist Susannah Bridges. Susannah’s process is intuitive and playful, echoing the way we once scooped ice cream straight from the tub. She presses soft clay into bowl forms like ice cream balls dropped onto a cone. Marks are left intentionally—cuts, curves, fingerprints—like tongues swiped through vanilla, like fingers in the tub. Nuggets of clay are slipped onto the surface with gleeful abandon, like honeycomb pieces folded into churned cream. Some stick where they will. Some are coaxed. But all hold the spirit of spontaneity and joy.

For forthcoming pieces, a sustainable outer skin in pale vanilla Pinatex and Merino will clothe our new armchair, daybed, ottoman, vases and light pendants. The materials flow over rescued river timber making for a bright, evocative piece to catch the eye within any room. But while its pared back white base is clean and simple, the brilliant lines of polished brass nuggets allow these pieces a sense of humour, of joyful, summer fun.

Like our childhood memories of summer, these pieces evoke an emotional response. They are made to be touched, displayed, and enjoyed. And as with all products in the LyZadie Studio range, they are created with care and attention by some of Aotearoa’s best makers, from durable and sustainable materials. These pieces spring from a childhood memory of laughter and summer light, and we hope they engender a sense of fun for all who come across them. Everything here is made with intention. Everything has been touched—literally—by hand, by memory, by summer. This collection is a celebration of process, of imperfection, of moments we want to hold onto just a little longer.

Because design doesn’t always need to whisper.
Sometimes it hums with laughter.
Sometimes it’s sticky and golden and full of light.
We hope you enjoy our work in this playful, celebratory collection.