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They survived the recession, kept a foothold in the market while other retail brands fell down around them, and faked it till they made it. Now, in their tenth year of business, the founders of ilabb are pleased to announce that the brand is in its strongest position yet. 

“We’ve had some gnarly years and learning curves but we are in good stead for the next decade,” says co-founder and Creative Director Matt Saunders. “We’re steadily expanding into Australia, have just opened a new store in Queenstown and have a strong family of world-class athletes representing the brand – we feel like we’ve hit our stride and will make some big gains in this next chapter.”

When ilabb became an official business 10 years ago, founders Saunders and Seadon Baker were in no way living the high life their action sports brand portrayed. They were working ridiculous hours, often hunkering down in the office overnight because there was no point in returning home at such a late hour. They learnt to live on Weetbix for breakfast, lunch and dinner – any extra money they made went straight back into the development of their action sports streetwear brand. The first time they picked up a major account was cause for celebration – followed by a mad scramble to find the cash necessary to produce the stock for this first major deal. “The company started in a recession so we learnt how to operate in lean times,” recounts Saunders. 

But Saunders and Baker’s commitment and vision paid off. It’s grown from its humble beginnings as a motorbike decal business to become one of the biggest action sports lifestyle brands in NZ with over 250 SKUs, three retail stores, 90 stockists throughout New Zealand and Australia, customers around the world and ambassadors from sports including drifting, freestyle skiing, motocross and mountain biking. ilabb is constantly in the top 3 of its category sales-wise and is proud to be one of the only top-to-toe label of their type, offering their customer everything they need from shoes to underwear to sunglasses and hats. 

What hasn’t changed is that distinctive upside-down logo, which still has people talking. 

“We’re really excited with what we have achieved over the years, even though at times it hasn’t felt like we’ve been making much progress at all! For us, our biggest achievement is the family of people that we work with: our ilabb team, fans and customers, suppliers and collab partners. It’s wicked that we’ve found people who “get” what we do and are willing to get on board with it. Our mantra has always been “We’re in this together” and that will never change,” says Saunders. 

The ilabb crew will celebrate their first 10 years in business in typical ilabb style: with an epic party. They also have limited edition t-shirts for sale commemorating their first 10 years, featuring reprints of their most popular graphics over the last decade. See them on ilabb.com.

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Unconditional love, mysticism, consciousness and death feature in this year’s Ashton Wylie Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards finalist works, written by New Zealanders from all walks of life and from all over the country.

The Awards’ judges’ convenor, Adonia Wylie, says it is always surprising the depth and breadth of writing in this specialised genre, which varies hugely year-on-year.

“The Unpublished Manuscript finalists in particular, are extraordinary. Ellaine Millard talks of mystical faith and information theory, Terence Green presents a scholarly and extensively researched work demonstrating the interconnectedness of all things, Hugh Major’s manuscript shimmers with a reverence for the mysterious life that seethes beneath the oceans’ surface and makes frequent reference to how our own lives and challenges have similarities to the complexities of underwater existence, Caryl Haley tackles that most difficult experience – the witnessing of a startling and profound spiritual phenomenon and Jeremy Cole offers a convincing argument for divine laziness in his profound, original and exemplary work.
“We face a considerable task in selecting a winner from such a strong line-up. “

There are ten finalists, five in each of the two categories – for published works and unpublished manuscripts. Each category winner receives a $10,000 prize.

The 2017 Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards Unpublished Manuscript category finalists are:

· Paekakariki-based historian and lecturer, Terence Green’s Wisdom’s Lament: A History of God and Science in the Modern Age

· Whangapararoa-based retired teacher, Caryl Haley’s The Splendour of Light

· Matakana-based English and Drama teacher, Hugh Major’s Out of the Mouths of Fishes

· Plimmerton-based web developer, Jeremy Cole’s Divine Laziness: The Art of Living Effortlessly

· Whakatane-based holistic healer Ellaine Millard’s A New Mystic’s Teaching & Testimony on Holistic Faith:

Integrated Healing of Body, Soul & Spirit through Information Theory

Ms Wylie says this year’s Book category finalists are deeply personal works, each with powerful messages, to be read slowly and returned to over and over again.

“These published works are thought provoking and contain much wisdom. We are delighted to see 2014 Manuscript category finalist Cathryn Monro in this year’s Book category and encourage all unpublished finalists to persevere to publication stage.”

The 2017 Ashton Wylie Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards Book Category finalists are:

· Wellington writer, artist, educator and mother Cathryn Monro’s Spilt Milk Yoga: A Guided Self-inquiry to Finding Your Own Wisdom, Joy and Purpose Through Motherhood (Familius)

· Muriwai Beach-based writer Emma Farry’s Beloved (Be Loved Press)

· North Shore, Auckland writer and coach Stephanie Harris’ Death Expands Us: An Honest Account of Grief and How to Rise Above It (Lion Crest Publishing)

· Wellington social entrepreneur Scottie Reeve’s Twenty-One Elephants: Leaving Religion for the Reckless Way of Jesus (Scottie Reeve)

· West Auckland Sangeeta Sharma’s Reality in Reflection: a Journey Towards Holistic Living (Blurb Inc)

The awards are unique in the country for their encouragement of writing in the mind, body, spirit genre. The awards were established in 1999 thanks to a bequest from the late businessman, Ashton Wylie.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust’s own venue, Hopetoun Alpha in Auckland on Friday 18 August, 2017.