Amber & Friends Ltd

The two things I love more than a catch n cook with good mates? When one is a Superyacht chef and turns cockles into a full on Mexican fiesta, and the second is when that Superyacht chef’s Aunty lives around the corner and has a vege garden not dissimilar to some kind of plant Narnia 😍🌱🥦🥕

The gals cloaked in shades of gold and pinks (for half a second before cyclonic weather came back) ✨

Happy 🧡

Our 30’s. The world has told you you’re supposed to find him/her, some kind of partnership. It’s your belief that you’re supposed to be already at a finish line and you don’t even know where the race started or that there is one, and you’re racing against yourself. Thirties are brutal and also wonderful, it’s so strange.

My project, Hapū, is all about the mental and physical journeys we go through as ocean women and the sacrifices we make in pregnancy and motherhood and how hard it all is to navigate. We are women who’s entire being is made up of time spent in and around the ocean whether it be recreational, business, sport, gathering kaimoana; how does that all look when the challenges of having a pēpi come into play? How does it feel?
The end result will be an exhibition & a coffee table book with a small story from each wāhine accompanied by ocean based portraits and it will hopefully serve as a guide and some comfort for other women going on their own Hapū adventures.
Please email [email protected] if you think you’d like to be a part of it, I’d love to hear your story 🧡 thanks so much to everyone so far for your openness and vulnerability about such personal stories. I was moved to tears today by one in particular (happy & sad) and can’t wait for borders to loosen to keep meeting you 🧡

Becoming acquainted with the divine Josie for the equally divine 🕊

That time our funny little 3x3m loft cabin graced the pages off with an appearance by Kona ofc. Thanks so much for having us 💛

Project Hapū is well underway 🥰 thanks to .nz for believing in this project that will hopefully be simultaneously a lovely reflection but also a tool for many Aotearoa Wāhine taking on the journey of motherhoood 💛 I’m still taking expressions of interest so if you know an ocean-dwelling wāhine who is either Hapū or post partum with experiences they’d like to pass on and have a few portraits done in the process please email [email protected] . Currently shooting within the Coromandel/BOP in the next few weeks until Xmas and then until borders loosen I’ll be able to get up to the many queens in Auckland and the far North. Southern Queens, I’ll book you in for when the waters are warmer in Feb/March April 😅 Tag your sea sisters and please have them message me if they’d like to be a part of this movement/education piece/photo album/ fairy tale. I look forward to hearing from you 🥰 - Amber xx

Hi everyone ! Been a little quiet on here due to a bit of a family tragedy (which I’ll chat about later because I think it’s worth opening dialogue on) BUT.. fun stuff for now because Friday is Funday! For all you ocean lovers who would like a slice of salty goodness on your walls for Xmas for either escapism or a reminder for what you love, my printing/framing Xmas cutoff dates are as follows;
- 19 Nov Print & courier worldwide
- 27 Nov Print & courier (Australia)
- 29 Nov Printing & framing NZ only
- 13 Dec Printing only NZ
Go on, surprise the ocean lover in your life or spoil yourself. Check the print section on my website or email me with your favourite image of mine and we’ll see what custom print we can cook up for you. Link in my bio or flick me an email [email protected].
Remember when you order from small business a little person (and her dog) literally does a happy dance 💃💛

Landing your first Kingy: Name a better feeling... (ok other than getting barreled!) GO!
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It’s a dream of mine to put together a little collection of Aotearoa's best kaimoana recipes from our amazing community of ocean huntresses, so if you've got something you'd like to share or know someone that would, tag them below 👇👇and we'll start a little Sunday seafood collection for us all to access 🐟🦀🦐🦑🐠 🤗

Here’s the first one to start us off on our celebration of everything our mōana gifts us in the summer months;

𝒦𝑜𝓀𝑜𝒹𝒶 is the Fijian version of a raw fish salad and when Swedish Lisa made this for me using Snapper she had just caught I almost considered leaving Riley for everyday access to this heavenly dish ;) Here's the recipe below if you're stuck for something different to do with your fish tonight:

𝒮𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝐿𝒾𝓈𝒶'𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒦𝑜𝓀𝑜𝒹𝒶
Coconut Milk (the good one in a tetra pack)
Fresh mint
tomatoes without seeds
cucumber without seeds (she really hates seeds)
Fresh coriander
Fresh chilli
Fresh lemon
Method: Dice the fish and let it sit as looooong as possible, good two hours at least, DON'T drain it (very important) then just add everything else.
Serve with Tortilla chips (without seeds lol) or soft tacos & guac, or eat on it's own.
Easy peasy Swedish Squeezy 💛

Every time the sun pokes it’s little head out in Spring I get all nostalgic for the summers past, and can almost feel and taste the summer ahead. Then, BAM! within a few hours we’re back to drizzle and onshore winds and caught between wearing knits and shorts and shorts and sandals and it’s all a bit confusing. Here are a few postcards from last Summer with some real good mates, as a wee reminder that we’re aaaalmost there.. 🌞

Sugar vs. Spice 🔥
Which do you resonate with? I’m in a constant battle of both tbh. I’m all about the freediving and surfing and meditation but for the life of me can not say no to a bloody good girls night.

For now, the daydreams will do 💭

It’s always a super fun game to imagine what you’d get yourself for a personalised plate, or as a lovely gift, or the one ridiculous thing someone has done that you never want to let them forget, and make sure everyone on the motorway sees it too 🤔🤣 Had a blast shooting these different setups for a little while ago for . Auckland weather did its classic pre-menstrual mood swings all day so we had to beg, borrow and steal the sun from anywhere and everywhere, but it was an epic creative that I was stoked to help the team bring it to life 🌞 I’m thinkingggg.. SHRKB8 to match Riley’s SHKMAN .. 🤣
Client:
Agency:
Prod co:

The feeling of all your girl mates heading out on a boat being driven by boys so you can go and collect food for dinner and drink beersies afterward, all for a beer commercial.. seems like a dream but thankful to be living in a place like Nz where it’s kinda normal and that we have the photos and commercial for the reminder 😎 Thanks for letting us broadcast our dream to helpfully inspire other wāhine and let everyone know that both sexes hunt food and drink beersies 😜
Directed by me
Production co:
DOP: .nz
Post prod:

Postcards from the South ( & me mind-surfing memories). But Dunedin was a real unexpected highlight for me. We slept in a prime surf-viewing car park (unheard of in the Coromandel!) and tried to venture further South but just couldn’t shake Dunnas from our heads; the people, the crayfish, and the waves, and the waves..

Trying to lean into the anticipatory anxiety because really, I have a million things to be thankful for. One day at a time guys 🙏🏾💛

Imposter syndrome.
Fact: it affects nearly everyone you know, me included.
Fact: it’s all in your head
Fact: it’s not conducive to anyone to dwell on it - Use it as motivation to better yourself.
Have you ever felt you’ve had ‘unwarranted’ attention or a really good run of ‘luck’ in your career? That some day someone in your workplace (for me, on set) is going to expose you as a fake and that you don’t really know what TF you’re doing but have gotten away with it for so long that it’s bound to happen soon?? Yah, me too.
I was watching a Jodie Foster Masterclass today and she speaks very vulnerably about the feeling and effects of imposter syndrome, especially in the creative space, and it gave me strength to know a) I’m not the only one, and actually that superstars and ridiculously successful people get it all the time and b) to try and use it as leverage to continue to be better.
Even Tom Hanks in an interview said “There comes a point when I think, how did I get here? When are they going to discover that I’m in fact, a fraud and take everything away?” TOM HANKS!!!!!
I also think those of us that learned ‘on the streets’ (I.e no University) consistently feel the need to prove ourselves because we didn’t go the conventional route, and that probably factors into the ‘non-deserving’ headspace because essentially we followed the dream and crossed our fingers and hoped like f*ck that it works😅
So the next time you step into a presentation, on set, or wherever your work environment is, remember that EVERYONE feels like a fraud - even Tom Hanks! - so just fake your confidence and know that you’re doing a really fuggen good job and the universe wouldn’t have it any other way 👊🏾
(Photo censored for Instagram)

Home, with friends.