John and Allison Brebner are teachers, printmakers and book artists. They have combined their talents to develop a working letterpress printing museum, maintain a private art gallery and provide a studio for teaching book art and a wide range of creative activities.

Allison is a keen gardener with a large vegetable garden and herb garden, orchard, and native tree nursery. To keep fit, Allison spends up to 8 hours a day in her organic garden and John plays golf first thing in the morning on most days.  Swimming in their new solar-heated swimming pool is another exciting proposition.

Allison, now retired works at home in her organic garden, studies Te Reo, contributes to Feilding’s transition garden and experiments with storing and preparing high-quality food.  John, an ex-School Principal, has now worked for over 25 years developing the Homeprint business based in their studio.

In 2020 John sold the retail side of his business to Joe McMenamin. (New Zealand Art Supplies)  51b Fergusson Street, Feilding. 0273036974.

The resources available to John and his students are considerable. During the last 25 years John has repaired, sourced, designed and built or bought, a wide range of equipment and materials that are accessible to visiting students and artists to experiment and work with.

Vintage working equipment is on display such as a fully restored and frequently used Royal Imperial flatbed press, designed in London, in 1828.

The garden has a number of interesting areas, with a herb garden, organic vegetable garden and orchard. Behind the trees, there is also a floodlit tennis court and a passive-solar cottage with a solar-heated swimming pool.

Sheltered outdoor decks with tables and umbrellas provide outdoor working and eating spaces for the studio. Side and back verandah areas allow for wet processes such as paper making and marbling to be done outdoors but under cover.