Haute Take

12/09/2026

Wow! What a fun day! 🤩

The Last Post hasn’t had an alcohol licence for a wee while, so we’ve been coming up with some new ways to support them & the RSA during this difficult time. & I thought a disco for the kiddies would be a fun idea, and it was! 🎉

We decked out the Razza, got some spot prizes from and had a heck of a time watching whānau boogie their butts off! 💃🏼 🕺🏻

Our beloved DJ offered his time for free, because he’s a good egg + a community boi 💖

Stay tuned for round 2 👀

08/09/2026

📣 Calling all parents/carers 📣

🪩 Our best boi is DJing the kid’s disco at Featherston Memorial RSA this Saturday, from 3-5pm.

👩🏽‍🐰‍👩🏼Bring those tiny ravers along and show off your sick moves! There’ll be spot prizes, slushies, and a bucket load of good times.

07/09/2026

📱Thanks to everyone who has been in touch about getting Haute Take’s help with social media.

💬 It’s been so exciting hearing all of your plans and aspirations, and it’s a genuine joy pulling together ideas and guides which work for you and your business.

🗣️Thanks to those who have recommended me to pals as well. It’s so kind of you!

23/08/2026

So, what can we do for your social media? Basically anything you need! 📲

Our goal is make it easier for you to market your business/charity/organisation/club, and to teach you how to do it for yourself along the way. 👩‍🏫

Haters will say our mission to upskill more grass roots groups and locals businesses in socials is nothing more than an elaborate rouse to help rid the world of bad AI poster art … and they are CORRECT. ✨

22/08/2026

Another busy weekend for Gary 🥳 Club floor fillers at Baavana in Greytown on Fridee, and some nostalgic bangers for a 50th in Silverstream on Satdee. So good to see people groovin’ whatever the vibe!🪩

19/08/2026

Had a great time presenting at the Featherston Business Engine BA5 last night. I spoke about:
🗣️ the best platforms to use in a Featherston context
🗣️ how to structure your content for the week
🗣️ how to work smarter not harder
🗣️ make the algo & SEO work for you
🗣️ how to connect with community & build your brand

⭐️ Check out slide two for some names of companies who are doing good social media locally.

📸 Check out slide three for a particularly gormless photo of me (thanks Peter Biggs) presenting in the beautiful Bakehouse Collective. (I will speak anywhere adorned with a disco ball. Please note this.)

Thanks to Featherston Booktown 📚 for sponsoring the event, and thanks to all who attended (and said nice things about the pres afterwards)!

06/08/2026

Excited to be speaking for the Featherston Business Engine BA5 this month!

Our next event signals the return of the Business After Five (BA5) series! BA5s are a chance to network, share expertise, and perhaps pick up a new trick or two!

💻 This month, Melissa of Haute Take will be launching the Social Media Guide for Local Businesses for members, with a presentation on how to nail social media and your online presence, in a Featherston context.

📲 She’ll help demystify the various platforms and their purpose. You’ll learn how to maximise your reach, stand out from other businesses, and convert likes to sales. As someone who is terminally online, she’ll talk you what people are looking for on the various platforms (and what can put people off).

BA5s and associated resources are for Featherston Business Engine members. Members, check your inboxes for details on the event.

If you’re interested in joining FBE or finding out more, email [email protected], or reach out on here and we’ll get in touch!

This event is sponsored by Featherston Booktown.

06/08/2026

What a delight it was to be able to support Noelle McCarthy with her Featherston, Wairarapa, NZ book launch for ‘Stakes’. 🧛

We (obviously) indulged in the Victorian Gothic, by using dim lighting, dramatic candles, dried flowers, old typewriters moody vases and medical jar oddities. Of course, my custom built coffin table got another outing (any excuse though, right?). The Royal Hotel’s Joy Cowley room provided the backdrop.

Some lessons learned about pre-room inspections before the event set up, but we did a pretty great job of creating a beautiful, intimate, haunting atmosphere (which perfectly compliments Noelle’s book, IMO).

Thank you to Featherston Booktown 📚 for some sponsorship, Jordan Hamel for being our interviewer, The Martinborough Books & Post for being our bookseller, and to all our guests for gothing up for the evening! 🦇

Stakes is available pretty much everywhere, but the Martinborough Books & Post has some signed copies left over ✍🏻

06/08/2026

Ay up! 👋

We’ve had a few queries about the Tremendous Crème, Gary and his sick DJ services. We’re all about flexibility, affordability, accessibility, and providing a vibe that fully lines up with your aesthetic/genre/whatever. 🫡

Whether you’re craving a millennial dance party, some nü-metal mayhem, a screamo-fest, a disco inferno, or just a good old rave, we gotcha covered. 🤘🏻

No egos, all good times 🍾

30/10/2025

Calling all terminally online SJWs, ferals, millennials with bad knees, packet pigs, and messy slags who love nineties/noughties/queer pop hits! Do we have a funemployment opportunity for you!

👩‍💼 Work sucks (we know) but work Christmas parties suck harder. Decline that invite for a shared team lunch in the kitchenette, and celebrate the festive season with your Not Work Besties™ instead!

✅ Your SLTs are Senior Backend Engineer Emily Writes, She-EO Melissa, Sales Ninja Noods, and DJ Fraîche from Customer Servicing.

🫂 Meet your targets and create synergy on the dancefloor.
💬 Cross-collaborate with likeminded stakeholders.
🍾 Photocopy your t**s and make poor choices with the people you wish you worked with!

🎟️ Tickets will sell out, so snap em up quick. HR said there’s no door sales for this one.

🥂 We’ll help you meet your KPIs (Keep Prosecco Imbibed) with a free glass of bubbles* on arrival.

💃🏼 No business casual here, dress to impress!

https://events.humanitix.com/haute-take-presents-everyone-got-made-redundant-but-fk-it-we-re-dancing

*or non-alc option