Uther D.'s
Okay, so, you're stuck in town and you need something printed ASAP
- 16It’s strange the amount of times I’ve found myself in the centre of town five minutes away from a meeting or reading or something desperately needing to print a few copies of something. And if I’m really (un)lucky its something I only have stored on my phone or in the cloud. Warehouse Stationery has always saved me in these moments of total paper-based despair. They don’t publicize enough that you can email them stuff to print, so you can just click it through from your phone to their printers. Maybe it’s a niche a solution to a niche problem but I’ve been in this situation too many times for me to be the only one.
- 26It’s strange the amount of times I’ve found myself in the centre of town five minutes away from a meeting or reading or something desperately needing to print a few copies of something. And if I’m really (un)lucky its something I only have stored on my phone or in the cloud. Warehouse Stationery has always saved me in these moments of total paper-based despair. They don’t publicize enough that you can email them stuff to print, so you can just click it through from your phone to their printers. Maybe it’s a niche a solution to a niche problem but I’ve been in this situation too many times for me to be the only one.
- 32Skynet Gaming CafeTe AroThe biggest problem with these printing-need moments is the sheer time-pressure. It’s like when you lose your keys, it quickly evolves from being a simply annoying situation to a spiral of reminders of all the mistakes you’ve ever made. So you want helpful and quick people on your side and if you can’t make it to Warehouse Stationery (it is a little out of the way), then Skynet is a good (and surprising relaxed) alternative. They can be very understanding.
- 41Rieger's Copy CentreWellington CentralRieger’s are the place to go the moment you go over about ten pages or copies. Their service is great, the people are nice, the turn-around just tends to be a little slow. Any other time, when you’re organised and doing it ahead of time, this is the place to go.
- 51Ink DigitalWellington CentralThe moment you need anything other than a document printed out. The moment it has a splash of colour or a photo in there, head to these guys. They’ll get it looking good ten times out of ten.
Uther D.'s
Places To Feel Cultured and Cutting Edge
- 130Unity Books WellingtonWellington CentralAre there three better words to the cultured mind than books, local, and independent? Unity Books combines all three things into one dense, delightful cove of culture. From the latest VUP publications to the great classics and everything in between, Unity’s ever nice and helpful staff will always be there to help you find the most cultured and cutting edge book for your current needs.
- 212BATS TheatreMount VictoriaIt’s cheap, it’s hip, it’s exciting, and there is always something new on! What isn’t there to love about BATS theatre? While the quality may not always be guaranteed the short running times and cheap times more than mitigate for that and there is nothing more cutting edge culturally in this city than the hot, sweaty fresh young theatre sprinting across the BATS theatre stage.
- 39MeowTe AroMeow cafe is home to a startling array of comedy and spoken word events throughout the year so its likely that there’ll be something to whet the cultural appetite any week of the year. If writing is more your thing than being read to or spoken at, you could hang around most lunch times and insinuate yourself into one of the several writing groups that meet there at least once a week.
- 43…or more specifically the art gallery that sits underneath it. This is where a lot of up-and-comers get their starts so pop along to have a glance at what the future of art looks like. Sometimes it’s a bit strange, sometimes it’s a bit ugly, but it’s always cutting-edge.
Uther D.'s
Best Places To While Away The Hours
- 17David N White GalleryTe AroThere is nothing like digging through the many marvelous mounds of yet-to-be-found treasures in the David N White gallery to pass a few free hours in the Cuba part of town.
- 214Wellington Central LibraryWellington Central…or more specifically the graphic novel section round the back. Picking one at random and having a leaf through has always been my go-to way of getting through those awkward 20-to-40 minutes gaps, to small to do anything proper but too long to just mess around on your phone, you can find yourself in in the central city between meetings or bits of work. Comics have been shown to be the most efficient form of media in terms of time consumption, so it’s a breeze to finish a whole book in that time (well, go over a hundred pages and there’ll be a problem) making the gap a culturally accomplished one.
- 330Unity Books WellingtonWellington Central**** there any sweeter a torture than browsing through Unity remember all the books you should have bought and read by now? Reminding yourself of all the literary culture you’ve failed to keep up with is a genuinely great way to spend a spare ten to twenty minutes in the Lampton end of town. You might even come out of it with some new reading material.
- 434It may seem a bit touristy but once you get over your own sense of uncool, there is a bunch of stuff to do there. Yeah, while it may not actually be nearly as educational as it aspires to be (and the removal of the library was a pretty dumb move by all accounts), that’s not what you want to do anyway. You want to go on all the silly little games and get really good at them. It’s much more fun than you’d think and because most of them are still free you can, I’ve found get a good hour of free (if somewhat ironic) entertainment out of a dawdle through the Paps.
Uther D.'s
Where to work when you don't have an office
- 114Wellington Central LibraryWellington CentralYou’ve got to get there early in the day because it fills up quickly, but the early rise (and it’s not that early; 9.30 most days) is worth it because there are power-points a-plenty and more than enough desk space, and, most especially, because of the quiet. Obviously it’s quiet, it’s a library, but because it’s right in the centre of town you can still make out the buzz of the bustling real world all around you. This is, at least for me, is the perfect hybrid. Quiet enough to work and concentrate but not that hideous, stark no-sound silence that tends to distract me even more with its bleakness.
- 227EspressoholicTe AroThe almost total lack of any usable WiFi signal in what still feels like Espressoholic’s new location (though it’s been there a while now) should be a massive con but to me it’s a massive pro. The lack of internet removes the temptation to procrastinate (on sites like, oh, this one, ha ha) and works to force you into productivity. I’ve churned out more pure material, more just words in Espressoholic, far more than anywhere else, all probably because I can’t get on Twitter.
- 332OliveTe AroThe only problem with the other entries on this list is that they’re hardly conducive to working with anyone other than yourself. Olive is a great place for casual (or even more formal meetings - I even once interviewed for a job there) meeting or work session. The harmony of the place, the lack of oppressively loud music or chatter and the handful of big tables make this a great place to get in a group and get stuff done.
- 46Central ParkMount CookFor a long time working outside was something I saw people do in movies and dismissed as hilariously impractical. So it was only recently when forced by a mix of a heavily looming deadline, no money to buy the standard drink an hour to work in a cafe, and my total inability to get anything slightly productive in my own home, forced me into scribbling in a notebook on a central park bench. I was ready to hate it. I was wrong. Now I do it at least once a week. There is something incredibly freeing about working outside, and, for those of us (un)lucky enough to toil in the creative fields, it’s really inspiring. Yeah, you have to pick your days to do it and sometimes that can be hard with Wellington’s charmingly changeable weather, but it’s worth the effort. Promise. To feel away from everything is to feel free and when you feel free, you won’t hate your work.