Welcome to the home of CleverBastards of New Zealand
cleverbastards comes to you from a group of people who are passionate about Kiwi creativity, and equally at home with the idea that the internet allows New Zealanders to do what we were always best at: talking to our neighbours, meeting strangers, sharing a yarn and sometimes doing business.
Hunting for ingenious ideas, designs, art and craft from Cape Reinga in the North to The Bluff in the South, is what they do, so you don’t have to. Kanohi ki te kanohi [being face to face] with the most interesting designers, artists, craftspeople, writers, musicians, foodies and all manner of creative Kiwis, is made possible right here on cleverbastards.co.nz. Not only can you buy something from them, but get an idea how it was made and what the hell made them do it in the first place.
Take a stroll around the site via the Scenic Route, or meet one of our latest Clever Bastards. Or satisfy your shopping lust by going straight for Instant Gratification. You can even search by some pretty interesting categories like Upcycled or Other Clever Ideas or scroll through the A to Z of all our Clever Bastards. Whatever grabs you, read about, look and listen, buy it, or comment on it.
Just go for it… and have a bloody good time! cleverbastards is a values-based brand expressing Kiwi innovation, passion for design, adventure, a can-do attitude, pride, sustainability and environmental and human respect. And a damned good sense of humour. We want you to be as safe as possible while visiting this site and have done all we can to protect your privacy and security.
Our Brand Values:
Design-driven Creative Ideas-based Original Passionate Daring Surprising | Ingenious No 8 wire Innovative New Unexpected | Captures the Kiwi essence Authentic/real Unpretentious Can do anything Witty/Quirky Informal |
Affordable Accessible Inclusive | Sustainable Responsible Energy efficient Renewable Respectful | |
Who’s behind it all?
Paul Kayser [PK] is the leader of the gang, the “Head Bastard”. A designer and ex-creative director in advertising – and the creator of several Kiwi iconic ad campaigns like Watties Tomato Sauce, Molenberg, Olivani and Air New Zealand. PK has learnt a thing or two about what makes the Kiwi consumer tick and building Kiwi Brands and is possibly mad in his passion for things creatively Kiwi-made. “I arrived at a place where I realised the innate passion New Zealanders have for their own country. It snuck up on us. We used to be mildly self-conscious, then suddenly – bang – we realised where our roots really lay. A big part of that is our egalitarian nature: the bloke next door turns out to be a legend in his or her field.”
Michelle Procter, the “Pretty Bossy Bastard”, has spent 20 years in the beauty business, which not only gave her lots of free product, but also an understanding of “selling product”. Her other passions are creating things with her hands. If it’s not sewing, its mosaics, jewellery, hypertufa pots or soft stone carving. “I jumped at the chance to join Paul’s new venture. Not sure where the “Bossy Bastard” came from, but I know I am an organized and hard working girl who doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty!”

Blair Peach. Every web-based business has to have one. The “Geeky Bastard”, expert in all things IT and business systems. And they don’t come better qualified. He’s done time in big organisations sorting out their channels of supply, making sure stuff didn’t get lost along the way, as well as designing business systems for smaller start-ups [like us]. Add to that his experience in project managing the building of many e-commerce websites, qualifies him in his esteemed category. Pretty affable bastard he is too, for the geeky variety that is.

Jess Kayser, our latest addition to the team, has earned the title "Designer Bastard". Architecture student full time [going into final and Masters year] and part time designer at CBs making our content look great. Jess also has a shrewd eye for emerging art and design and is always keen to spread the news around our community. So as our Social Media Manager, you could say she's also a Chatty Bastard.
Duncan Stuart, our “literary bastard”, with a background in writing, researching public opinion and creative thinking has led to a career that consists of listening to New Zealanders, and then telling our stories. A philosophy of being a noisy player in whatever community you happen to be in, has led Duncan to be a movie and art reviewer for his local community paper, an outspoken player in the market research profession and a supporter of a school he helped build in Cambodia. “Whatever community I happened to be in ...turned out to be the Global Village.” What is cleverness? For me it is about interpreting our world through a new perspective rather than an old perspective. It involves constant learning and the willingness to cast comfy stuff aside.”
Pip Kayser Another new member of the CB Team, Pip or 'Organised Bastard', is taking your orders online and making sure you get them smart quick. Pip also is our contact with our CleverBastards and keeps our systems looking ship-shape. Apart from being so bloody organised, Pip's real talent is singing [top 24 in NZ Idol], acting [stage and TV] and dancing, and having completed her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre she is saving for her OE. So, she's also a Talented Bastard... and who knows what stage she'll end up on next?