Holly Jean and Rico Brooker started urbanmac in July 2009, stemming from (one of!) Holly’s dream to be an urban hippy and grow organic veges at her city pad (and have chickens). Rico wasn’t thrilled on the idea of his new wife floating around in muslin cloth but agreed that they should find a way to grow veges in their small Parnell apartment. Holly grabbed some macrocarpa from Macdirect Ltd and proceeded to “make her own garden box” (Rico actually made it). Pretty quickly they realised that ‘ready-made’ boxes delivered to the door (with the option of soil) would be a hit with their friends and other urbanites and so..... urbanmac was born.
In 2011 urbanmac merged with NZ’s leading macrocarpa specialist and the original supplier, Macdirect Ltd, headed up by dynamic duo Murray and Karen Grant. With over 15 years in the industry these two certainly know the ins and outs of quality timber and are preferred suppliers to well-known timber merchants. Having built a number of their houses from macrocarpa, Karen and Murray are passionate advocates of the natural qualities of this timber. Holly and Rico are still on hand to offer support to the Marketing Team at Macdirect Ltd.
Specialising in sustainable outdoor living, urbanmac supplies quality macrocarpa kitset raised garden beds, outdoor tables, bench seats, cape cod chairs, stools, pergolas. urbanmac has recently included therapeutic sand trays and indoor designer coffee tables to their range. Macdirect Ltd sources macrocarpa sustainably, with over 90% of their timber coming from sustainable plantation forests. Their timber is kiln dried on site and does not need to be treated due to the natural qualities and durability of this remarkable natural product.
urbanmac believes in choosing natural and environmentally careful ways to enjoy life. We believe we each have the responsibility to care for ourselves and others, and with that philosophy comes the need to show respect and care for the environment. Living in an urban or modern environment makes 100% environmentally friendly living nearly impossible, however making eco mindful decisions and incorporating small green actions into our current lifestyles will bring about change- one step at a time.
The team at Macdirect and urbanmac aim to make it as easy as possible to choose great eco products! Our raised garden beds come in a range of standard or custom sizes, and are delivered in a uniquely kitset form: all the holes are pre-drilled, and the stainless screws provided. We also sell delicious, nutritious bags of organic eco soil, which can be delivered with your kitset garden box, to make setting up your self-sufficient garden super easy.
