I called in to see Robert Currie, aka Robert of Raglan, the other day. As usual he was brimming full of ideas and energy around his art. His latest idea is around an improvement to his lanterns. When he orginally created these they were a cubic brown paper bag with a small tea light candle sitting on some gravel on the bottom of the bag. The sides of the bags are painted by Robert with a Raglan scene. This design was improved with a wooden block in the bottom bag to hold the candle safely and a complimentary taper was suppied to light the candles. While the painted lantern bags have been a top seller for Robert, he said that some people were concerned about the fire safety of the lanterns if they used them inside a building. So now Robert has developed a battery operated version and is importing a bulk order of battery powered candles.
You can usually find Robert in his studio in the old Post Office building in Te Uku on State Highway 23 as you drive from Whatawhata to Raglan.
