Kiwi Graeme Offord’s works are inspired by New Zealand but created in his apartment in 42nd Street, New York.

Words  Brenda Ward     Photography Mathew Williams

The 42nd Street area in New York is all about “bright lights and chaos”, says Kiwi graphic artist Graeme Offord, who overlooks the iconic strip, one of the world’s most famous streets.

He loves the buzz. “There’s always something for a creative person to do here. There’s anything you could possibly want going on every day, right outside.”

Graeme and his partner Alistair Forgan have been living in New York for four years, where Graeme creates packaging and branding for businesses as a contractor and does graphic artworks as a hobby in his spare time.

Graeme says he arrived in New York “by accident” after he was transferred by his corporate employer. “When they offered me a job here, I couldn’t say no. My first job here was for an investment bank working in their internal marketing department. It was awful, so I did design work for them for a year, then escaped when I won a green card lottery.“That meant I could work for myself, and now I’m mainly doing logo and design work.”

Among his projects were a graphic identity for a German beer brand, and branding for another New Zealander’s Brooklyn restaurant, Kiwiana, which showcases the food of Kiwi chef Mark Simmons.

Graeme’s best-known artwork is his ‘Home’ alphabet print, sold by Kiwi website Endemic World. The Kiwi alphabet print was one of four global design posters he created at university for his friends as they headed out into the world and it’s still loved by Kiwis everywhere.

Graeme’s creativity shows in the décor of the apartment, which features a Bo Concept sofa and ottoman, and lots of graphic elements.

“I’m a hoarder, which is difficult in a really small apartment. I have to purge from time to time. We have 72 square metres, which is big for New York, but it fills up pretty fast. We moved here with nothing, just books.”

He loves low-cost design and created some of the apartment’s coolest touches himself. Inspired by a lamp he saw at the Ace Hotel, one of the city’s hottest boutique hotels, he bought a surveyor’s metal tripod at a Seattle street stall for $50 and clipped a $4 light fitting onto it to make a studio spotlight-style lamp.

And when he couldn’t find a magnetic spice rack for the kitchen, he made his own with magnetic tins and four magnetic knife holders.

Bursts of colours reflect the drama of the streets below, from a block colour rug to a huge bean bag covered in Marimekko fabric. Graeme says, after four years away from home, he’s thinking of heading back to the southern hemisphere to live. Although he’s become a New Yorker by default, he’s looking forward to being a Kiwi again.

Visit www.endemicworld.com for more on Graeme's work.

To see more from this home pick up a copy of the lastest issue of homestyle. On sale now at supermarkets and book stores nationwide.