The Magic of Gardening
A 10-Year Creative Partnership with Julia Atkinson-Dunn (Studio Home)
Client: Julia Atkinson-Dunn / Studio Home
Sector: Creative Media / Home & Garden / Online Publishing
Location: Canterbury, New Zealand
Film Type: Brand Story + Lifestyle + Creator Content
Your Role: Director / Cinematographer / Editor / Long-term Creative Partner
Overview
I’ve been working with Julia Atkinson-Dunn for over a decade — one of the longest and richest creative relationships of my career.
Julia is the force behind Studio Home and The Magic of Gardening, an independent platform that has celebrated Kiwi and Australian creativity since 2008. Today, Studio Home is a hub of inspiration centred on non-trend-based home design, gardening, art, and creative community.
Our collaboration began in 2009, long before Studio Home became what it is today.
Back then, Julia was the Sales & Marketing Assistant at Treble Cone Ski Area, and she gave me my first full-time commercial contract as a filmmaker.
We spent a winter producing weekly video content for the mountain — fast turnaround, storytelling under pressure, and a partnership built on trust, humour and shared energy.
That partnership never stopped.
As Julia grew Studio Home, moved to Auckland, then returned to Canterbury, and as I relocated my own operation to Christchurch, our creative paths kept reconnecting.
Over the years we’ve collaborated on:
Studio Home brand films
Creative content for The Magic of Gardening
Work for her clients, including Stile and Jax Hamilton
Art exhibition coverage
Lifestyle + home + garden storytelling
Social and editorial content
It’s a relationship built on trust, curiosity, and the freedom to explore ideas together.
Delivered Assets
Brand-story films for Studio Home
The Magic of Gardening feature content
Lifestyle + garden B-roll
Client-facing films for Stile & Jax Hamilton
Social cutdowns
Still frames for web + print
Art exhibition coverage
Planning something similar? Let’s talk.
Whether it’s home, garden, lifestyle or creator storytelling — I specialise in films that capture authenticity, texture and human connection.
The Approach
1. Relationship First
Unlike most jobs, this is an ongoing creative dialogue.
We bounce ideas, trial concepts, chase inspiration, and build films that feel like something she would make — but with my cinematic language layered over it.
2. Understanding Julia’s World
To tell her story properly, I spent time:
Understanding her design approach
Learning the rhythm and ethos of her gardening philosophy
Capturing her artistic, grounded, Kiwi tone
Filming the intimate, tactile moments: hands in soil, rooms filled with light, staging art in her home
Reflecting the balance of creativity + practicality that defines Studio Home
3. Filming
The visuals were crafted around warmth, texture and authenticity:
Close-up tactile shots
Soft natural light
Slow, observational camera movement
Real-life home + garden environments
Art-gallery moments within her own home
Seasonal transitions
Plants, interiors, tools, hands, family life, and the stories that tie it together
4. Editing & Storycraft
The tone is quiet, intentional and human — matching Julia’s own approach to creativity.
Clean grade, soft colour palette, minimal graphics, storytelling through rhythm and detail.
The Outcome
This project isn’t just a film — it’s part of a long-term collaboration that has shaped both our careers.
The work has been used for:
Studio Home platforms and social media
The Magic of Gardening brand
Editorial content
Client campaigns
Art exhibition promotion
Community-building and audience engagement
And it stands as one of the most personal and rewarding creative partnerships I’ve ever had.
We’re already developing more Studio Home projects — and I can’t wait to share them.