What's in a chair?
In 2012, soon to be Albatross founders, Ellie and Isla were enjoying a wine in a North Wharf bar in Auckland. Enjoying because they were both recent New Zealand residents again after stints in London - and because they were swinging from the egg chairs suspended from the ceiling, which are features of The Conservatory and which lend themselves very well to drinking wine. Having both come from the international superyacht industry, Ellie was filling later arrival Isla in on the goings on in the local industry. "It's busy," she said, "but no-one's talking about it." That was something the girls were familiar with. As journalists, they'd regularly had to cajole, plead and borderline harass the good folks of the superyacht industry to encourage them to tell their stories to the magazines they each worked on; and no one was as guilty of reticence as the Kiwis. In their time as London-based editors, each - with the inbuilt bias that came from being born in New Zealand - had pushed New Zealand companies as much as possible. But they could only do that when news or PR came across their desks. Another glass of wine came but the discussion remained on the local market. With the number of successful companies in the regional industry, news should be pouring out of the country, and out of the Southern Hemisphere in general, they agreed. They looked at each other. "Someone needs to tell these stories." Swinging in the egg chairs, Albatross PR was born - alongside a serious affection for egg chairs. As the company grew, the girls made sure to head down to The Conservatory periodically when they needed time out of the office for solid thinking; and stints swinging in the sun. So when the lease was signed on Albatross' new office in Westhaven, there was one item that topped the list of office furniture. Buying the first egg chair three years into the business was a big moment for the team, but bigger is the collection of clients, and industry friends who've stopped by to sit in it and enjoy it. Thanks for your support, eggs; here's to the next three.
