About Us

Tony’s role is multi-faceted. He leads the Downing team and provides the creative soul to everything we do. As a company Director, he and Vanessa have been building Downing for over 30 years. From the early days of Downing to today he has sought to bring the very best creative communication to businesses, to help them stand out in national and international arenas.

Vanessa is a Director of Downing, operating the engine room which makes the business run. She has an extensive background in sales and project management. Vanessa is a human magnet, with an uncanny ability of bringing people together. Being an activator, there is nothing she loves more than taking on a project, with enthusiasm, through to completion.

As Creative Director, Joseph has spearheaded high-impact work for some of the biggest national and global brands around. A genuinely hands-on creative, his side projects range from t-shirt printing, prison-style tattoo gun making, and cigar-box guitar crafting. Whether he’s catapulting new brands onto the world stage—or making actual catapults in his garage—you’ll not be bored when working with him.

Megan is your ultimate plate-spinner. She leads the Marketing Management team, ensuring our strategic and creative output meets our exceptional standards, as well as being on time and on budget. She cut her teeth on major brands across the UK and US, such as Booking.com, HSBC, Sainsbury’s, Disney, and Lucozade.

Oriwa is your go-to person for getting the job done. From large projects to one-offs, she approaches each job with a level-head, and a commitment to make you succeed. Specialising in brand strategy, she brings a fresh perspective and clarity amongst the chaos—probably a result of her extreme experience as a mother of four!

Holly is our marketing specialist. She can turn an idea into a marketing campaign before you can say, ‘Timaru’. Proficient in digital marketing across many platforms, and a story-teller at heart, Holly is always looking for ways to tell clients stories in creative and engaging ways.

Sinead brings a strategic lens to brand, communications and campaign development at Downing, shaping work that connects creatively and performs commercially. She combines more than 10 years experience with real insights to create strong brand strategy, clear comms and product launches that land.

Lilly is our purpose-powered Marketing Executive from way down South. Her skills are nearly endless. Strategic content creation? Yep. Marketing flair? Loads! Crocheted keepsakes? Maybe later. She does it all with curiosity, creativity, and good old-fashioned hard work.

Annabelle is a creative who prides herself on delivering work that evokes a feeling. She has the unique ability of uncovering unseen ideas in brands, and to turning them into visual treats. She is our go-to designer for hand-crafted illustrations and anything we want to look beautiful.

Originally from Cornwall, England, Kaylie is a print and packaging expert. Having worked in some of New Zealand’s most awarded print houses, she knows ink! Her speciality includes large-format printing, specialty embellishments, and packaging design.

Emma’s approach to design is the same as her approach to life: give it everything, with full energy and the handbrake off. Unfortunately, it’s also her approach to driving. She’s designed her way across a few continents, dented one bumper, and never once looked back.

Molly learned design at the south of the South Island, where the winters are long enough to make you either very patient, or very good at knitting. She’s both. She can turn a simple brief into something exciting, considered, and—if you really need it—into an actual cardigan.

Nadia is our production powerhouse—website builds, photography, and pretty much everything in between. Put simply, she makes things happen. She’s the person who weaves many creative threads together into one crocheted work of art. Which is no surprise as she’s known to crochet a cosey or two in her spare time.

Josh is our in-house web developer. He has a bachelor’s degree in IT (systems development major) and loves developing beautiful websites (and games as a creative outlet). Josh is a lateral thinker and skilled coder who brings fresh energy to the downing team.