Our Story 

Beautiful &Creating Art from Wood and Wax

We create stunning distinctive art pieces We are Simon and Sarah Peacey from Northland/Tai Tokerau, New Zealand/Aotearoa. Together we are Wairua Wood and Wax. We love creating beautiful and distinctive art pieces from New Zealand/Aotearoa wood and beeswax. We work with nature, pouring our love/aroaha, experience and skills into designing beautiful, distinctive, elegant and unique artistic pieces for you. Wherever you choose to display these creations, they will fill your life with beauty, colour, joy and light.

Collaboration:
Simon and Sarah have been collaborating together on sculptural wooden pieces, which incorporate coloured beeswax and LED lights, since 2022. They had two pieces exhibited at the NZ Sculpture on Shore in 2023. Their sculpture “Tai Tokerau Totara; Going Full Circle” was unveiled in September 2024 as part of the Hundertwasser Art Centre Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition.
 
We have lived on a bend of the Wairua River in Tai Tokerau/Northland, Aotearoa/New Zealand for 31 years. We enjoy working together to develop new ideas, designs and artistic pieces. Surrounded by the extraordinary beauty of the area, we are fascinated in and gain inspiration from the shapes and designs that come from nature.

Sustainably Sourced:
All our wax comes from our own hives and we source a beautiful range of wood types from trees that have fallen down, recycled wood and ancient Kauri trees that have been buried for a very long time. 

Beekeeping:
We were commercial beekeepers for 21 years, raising queen bees, pollinating orchards and producing gorgeous Northland honey. The work was exciting and exhausting - we ran 1100 hives - and caused a bunch of back problems! We've sold all but a few of our hives to concentrate on wood and wax art. As a result of years of beekeeping we have a lot of beautiful beeswax.

Other Interests:
Simon gets huge enjoyment from tramping or simply being in the native forests that abound in Northland/Aotearoa. He's fascinated in the shapes and designs that come from nature and developing beautiful designs in his wood art.

Sarah sings like an angel (yeah, ok, that's her biased husband speaking!) with the Charismata Singers and is loving the creativity involved in the luminaries and other wax art. When she isn't ooh-ing and aah-ing over the latest wax creation, she loves to cook, especially Indian and Thai. Sarah likes to cook and Simon likes to eat, so it's a wonderful partnership! We enjoy living amongst the extraordinary beauty of God's creation in Tai Tokerau/Northland and we're fascinated in and gain inspiration from the shapes and designs that come from nature.

Family/Whanau:
We have 12 grandchildren and spending time with them and their parents is a whole new exciting adventure. A number of the grandies are showing some distinct talent in creating things from wood and wax and it's so much fun working alongside them.

Sarah Peacey: Beeswax Artist
 We have 12 grandchildrenSarah's signature pieces have been unique Beeswax Luminaries. These are thin walled, translucent, beeswax "bowls" created from 100% pure beeswax in unique and striking colours (from vegetable based dyes). Each luminary is a completely unique artistic piece. They are beautiful by day and stunning at night. All the wax comes from our own hives.

Sarah is enjoying the challenge of taking the skills, developed over a decade, creating luminaries and using beautifully coloured flat sheets of beeswax in new forms of wax art.

Her pieces have been displayed at the Helena Bay Gallery, the Bach, Tuatara, Journey Studio, Auckland War Memorial Museum Store and, in collaborations with Simon, at the Franklin Arts Festival, New Zealand Sculpture on Shore and the Outdoor Exhibition at the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei.

Simon Peacey: Wood Artist
Simon creates a range of artistic pieces, predominantly using wood from native trees which have fallen down, from demolition timber or from Northland swamp Kauri, which has been buried for thousands of years.
 
He is fascinated in the shapes and designs that come from nature and translating these into beautiful designs in wood. Careful design, high quality turning and carving and a very smooth finish make his unique art pieces a delight to pick up, look at and display.
 
Simon has been turning wood since 2015 and has been venturing into carving and sculpture over the last couple of years. He is heavily involved in the Northland Woodturning and Woodworking Club, works on the committee and demonstrates occasionally on club nights. Simon enjoys teaching wood turning and has given a presentation on Practical Design for Woodturners. He was a participant artist at CollaboratioNZ in 2021.  His artistic pieces have been displayed at the Franklin Arts Festival, New Zealand Sculpture on Shore, Journey Studio, Auckland War Memorial Museum Store and Megan Dickinson Gallery. In collaborations with Sarah, his work has exhibited at the Franklin Arts Festival, New Zealand Sculpture on Shore and the Outdoor Exhibition at the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei.