Through the Weekly, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of interesting people. The lady in this week’s feature turned out to be virtually my neighbour – her beautiful villa is a mere 10 minutes’ walk from my place. I’m always keen to find out how other mums juggle work and home life so I found her story very inspirational on more than one level, and you might too.

English-born Angie Dennis first came to New Zealand with her husband Pat Fernley in 1997 and the couple was immediately smitten.

“We just loved the countryside – and the sunshine!” she remembers.

Angie, who had studied zoology in the UK, soon found a job in the corporate world but when redundancy came along, she reignited a talent for art, turning it into a lifestyle – and an income. It wasn’t long before Angie hit on the key to success: painting New Zealand botanical icons, such as nikau and pohutukawa, in a vibrant, realist style.

She first introduced her paintings to the public via the popular annual Auckland Home Shows.

“Those events alone generated enough work to keep me going for two years!”

When Angie could no longer keep up with the demand from Kiwi art lovers, she created limited-edition prints, which have sold very well, especially to tourists.

“Some have gone to very famous people, but of course I can’t reveal who!” she smiles.

As Angie’s art career gathered pace, babies Chloe (5) and Thomas (3) arrived and the couple moved to a villa, which they began renovating. The house boasts ornate pressed-steel ceilings, and polished floorboards gleam throughout. An almost all-white scheme provides the perfect backdrop for Angie’s colourful paintings, which adorn nearly every wall

Angie's kitchen is a relaxed, open-plan affair with doors to extensive decking and a compact garden with subtropical planting. The living room is spacious and airy with stunning original leadlight windows as a focal point. The couple added pizzazz with a striking wallpapered feature wall in the bathroom, while the children’s rooms are bright and cheerful.

The furniture in Angie and Pat’s own bedroom came from the UK but it turns out that’s not the only major thing they brought with them.

“When my parents came to visit us here, they loved New Zealand so much, they relocated too!”

Amidst all this renovating and painting, you might think Angie, whose studio is a converted garage space, would have little time for new projects, but then somebody from Farmers saw her work in a gallery.

“They came to me and we sat down to talk about putting my paintings onto a range of tableware They were so nice and enthusiastic – they’ve made the whole process fun.”

“The first shipment sold out at Christmas,” she adds modestly, “but I’m told there’s new stock arriving now!”

Angie’s pohutukawa design can be found on products such as trivets, platters and serving bowls, and new patterns are already in the pipeline