2025 marks the third year of BLUNT’s ongoing partnership with Forest & Bird, a charity dedicated to protecting Aotearoa’s native flora and fauna. Each year, the collaboration sees the release of a limited edition umbrella, brought to life by a New Zealand artist, with proceeds going directly to support the organisation’s important conservation work.
This year, the spotlight shifts to a lesser-known, but deeply vital, pillar of Forest & Bird’s mission: the protection of New Zealand’s sea and shore birds.
Often overlooked in favour of their forest-dwelling counterparts, these coastal species are equally deserving of our attention, with many now classified as endangered or at risk.
To bring this story to life, BLUNT and Forest & Bird partnered with acclaimed artist Tanya Wolfkamp. Based on Waiheke Island and surrounded by the natural world that inspires her, Tanya brings a painterly approach shaped by her background in textile and mural design.
The 2025 Limited Edition Metro umbrella features 16 native sea and shore birds, including four species currently classified as nationally critical or endangered; the Hoiho (Yellow-eyed penguin), the Kōtuku (White heron), the Tarāpuka (Black-billed gull) and the Tūturuatu (Shore plover).
Tanya began the design by painting a layered background of teal and aqua gouache waves, complete with rocky shoreline details. Each bird was then illustrated individually in pencil and ink before being arranged in a harmonious, swirling composition across the canopy. To unify the scene, she added a watercolour salt texture that evokes sea spray and softens the artwork with a gentle haze.
Other at-risk species that grace the canopy include the reef heron, Kaikōura tītī, variable oystercatcher, Cook’s petrel, and several penguins and dotterels, each carefully chosen to raise awareness and encourage protection.
“Hopefully they will feel cheerful on a rainy day, looking up through the canopy at the seagulls and petrels swirling above, whilst being happily buffeted by the salt spray and wet weather”
Quote by|Tanya Wolfkamp
The partnership continues beyond the umbrella itself. 2025 also marks the first of many volunteer days, with BLUNT staff working alongside Forest & Bird on the Hibiscus Coast, recording native species, removing invasive weeds, and helping newly planted natives flourish.
This collaboration is more than a beautiful design, it’s a celebration of nature, a call to awareness, and a tangible way to support the guardians of Aotearoa’s precious coastal wildlife.
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