Life is what happens while you are making plans

I keep meaning to update the blog and life keeps getting in the way. 

I cannot believe it has been 5 months since the last post. It has been a crazy last 5 months. 

So where to start... 

Life has been incredibly busy, but what really happened was, what we were all bracing ourselves for, and dreading, and praying against, and that was the loss of a truly magical spirit that was my 11 year old nephew Tanner. Nothing can prepare you for such a loss, and being on the other side of the globe did not help. 

Tanner passed on May 18th and Eric and I hopped on the first flights we could and arrived the following day. We spent 10 days back in the States with family. 

We were very fortunate in that we had just been in Los Angeles for 3 days at the end of A April (just 3 weeks early) because we had gone to Calgary Expo to run the Weta booth. 

Calgary was a fun convention. And while it is now completely overshadowed by the events that followed, at the time it was a lot of fun. Great people and great atmosphere. Both Eric and I were working this show together. The highlights were definitely getting to meet the lead cast of Torchwood- John Barrownan, Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd. They were incredibly funny and truly friendly. And yes, John is really good looking in person. :0)  I have since been fortunate to meet up with them again - Eve in Australia, and John in San Diego. I also got to meet Nathan Fillion! Who was also very funny and sincere. I am not usually one who gets exited by celebrities, however I will admit there are a few out there that truly entertain me and I do enjoy the opportunities to meet them if just to say thank you.

This is John Barrowman and Casper Van Dien surprising Nathan Fillion with a giant snake.

John Rhys-Davies was there and came by our booth to catch up with Richard Taylor. We all ended up going out for dinner. He is the most marvelous story teller. And Sylvester McCoy (Radagast the Brown and Dr. Who) was one of the friendlies, and great fun tohang out with. I had previously met him at Supanova. The extra added bonus to Calagry was that our good friend Nyssa from Seattle came up to see us and it was wonderful catching up with her. She brought a friend, Chris, as well and we owe them both huge thanks for staying after the show until 2:00 am helping break our booth down. Other fun tidbits: riding in the elevator with Lena Headey,  getting to see another good friend Phil LaMarr, and flying on the plane back to LA with Mitch Pileggi, Robert Patrick, and Richard Dean Anderson.

Eric worked very hard setting up the booth.

Prior to Calgary, I did two shows in Australia - Supanova Melbourne and Gold Coast. This was my first visit over to Australia. And the truth is, I still have not seen much of Australia. The shows were great fun, but the timing was such that I flew in, set up, did the show, broke down and flew back. Worked for a few days before flying back again to do Gold Coast. So I've seen two different airports, hotel rooms, convention centers and a very small slice of town. SupaNova is a great show due to its smaller scale. It is nicely paced and low stress. (compared to the mother of all conventions San Diego comic con. ) We have a much smaller booth and there are only between only about 30 - 60k people depending on the location. 

At the VIP evening events I was able to meet and converse with some great folks. Alex Kingston (River Song of Dr. Who) and Adam Baldwin (Firefly and Chuck). We also had a Hobbit presence. So we had several cast members, Graham McTavish (Dwalin), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Dean O'Gorman (Fili) and Mark Ferguson (Gil-galad from LOTR)

In the Gold Coast I got a few moments to walk the beach. It was a nice little resort town. 

It was three incredible weekends in a row, three shows, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Calgary. It was work, but great fun. Calgary Expo came together kinda late so there was not a lot of planning ahead, but we managed to take 3 days off in LA on the way back to see family. And now looking back we are so very grateful that we did. We got to spend some great time with Tanner. We had dinner together and spent some quality time watching Sponge Bob and other favorite shows, and playing on the iPad. We did not know that it would be the last time we would see him. He was heavy due to the meds, but other than that he was funny and playful and himself. I will always remember and cherish that visit. 

Three weeks later we were back for the funeral. It was a a beautiful service. Over 500 people came to share the morning. Many tears were shed, and many laughs were heard as the family shared amazing tales of the "magic that was Tanner". In the end as he was laid to rest, there appearing in the sky, was a full 360 degree rainbow around the sun. This is not a common occurrence. It was remarkable, it was beautiful, and many took it as a sign and found great comfort in it.

I think it has taken me this long to finally get around to the blog again, because in have not yet been ready to try  and put this all into words. It is a difficult thing, it's a bit like living it all over again in my head. And it still hurts. It will likely hurt for a very long time. To know that I have a nephew that I will never see again except in my memories and photos. And he will forever be in my heart. Thank you to all who sent their love and support. We truly appreciated it. 

So there went April, May and into June...

And we now had barely 4 weeks back at work, before we were planning and packing for our originally planned visit back to the States to see family and friends, head up to Seattle for a quick visit and then down to San Diego to run San Diego Comic Con. 

Eric got called in to help build a giant helicopter out of Lego. He does get some pretty fun stuff to work on. 

And I was busy getting all the last minute stuff together for the San Diego show.Oh and I had one more trip back to Australia for Supanova Sydney. Another fun show that had a great turn out. The Hobbit represented again.This time with Adam Brown (Ori), Aidan Turner (Kili), and Jed Brophy (Nori). I got to meet up again with Eve Myles, Kai Owen (Torchwood), and fantasy author Raymond E. Feist. Another UCSD Alumni and San Diegan. I even met Carrie Fisher (shame on you if you don't know).

Los Angeles was a great visit. It was nice to be back there under better circumstances and it was a much anticipated change in the weather. It is winter in Wellington - cold and wet. Even Myztyc tries to stay warm under an electric blanket.

When we arrived, LA was experiencing a heat wave and the temperatures got up to the high 90's (36 C). We spent a lot of quality time with good friends and family, ate lots of our favorite foods, including In N Out Burgers and Mexican. We spent the 4th of July at our traditional family BBQ. And got to meet the newest member of our family Sienna, who was just 10 days old.

We took a quick visit up to Seattle to spend more time with family and friends up there.

Birthday dinner with family at Benihana -my favorite!

And then it was down to San Diego for ComicCon.

Comic Con was a blur. It was another success, lots of fun, and lots of work. There was certainly not enough time to roam, to explore and to visit with friends and colleagues.

I was at the booth for almost the entire show. So apologies to all those I missed. If I did not get a chance to see you and catch-up, I am sorry. I hope you had a great show and hope we can connect again soon.

To see more great photos check out Eric's website www.nericheath.com

We took the 4 days after the show to collapse, sleep, and recharge a bit before returning to NZ and back to work. We spent more quality time with family, ate and saw a few movies.

Now back in NZ...Myztyc is happy to see us as we are her. We are still keeping busy. I will have a trip to China ahead of me, maybe two. And things are in full swing with the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (film two).

Eric is working again back at Weta and heads off to Salt Lake City for another convention the beginning of Sept.

Eric and I plan to take some much needed and well deserved time off around Xmas and are heading over to Australia to dive the Great Barrier Reef. 

I am hopping to be back on a more regular schedule and will update the blog again soon.

We hope all of you are doing well.

Cheers,

Stacy & Eric

Happy Easter, Passover, Spring and Autumn...

Nelson continues to be one of my favorite places here in New Zealand. I love walking around the town checking out all of the great shops filled with beautifully crafted items - glass, pottery, jewellery, art and more.

Unfortunately, Eric caught that nasty flu and was quite under the weather. He still made the trip, but was planning to take it easy. This was the last stop on Mom/Sue and Mary's trip before heading back to the states. And after 3 weeks, Mom/Sue's knee was also in need of a rest. So Eric and Sue got to enjoy some extra relaxing time together while Mary and I did a little more adventuring.

The highlight was going over to the Able Tasman National Park.
The last time we were there we drove the hour plus. This time, aunt Mary and I took the water taxi over. It was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect. I was in heavan - in the sun, in a boat on the water -wind in my hair. Reminded me of so many other times years ago....
We spent the entire day outside, on the water and walking the trails along the beaches of the park. In places the Cicadas were almost deafening.

It was a great visit and a great little summer get away.

And summer continued. This was the warmest and longest of the summers since we have been here. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. As Autumn now approaches(here)- the cicadas have gone quiet, mornings are dark and the rain is overdue. We are actually having a drought here. And the lack of water is costing the country significant money. They are saying 2 billion.

This is the calm before the storm so to speak. The first three month of the year have been relatively calm and easy. We have had relaxing weekends and some great evenings and meals with good friends. And I only had one 10 day trip back to China.

Now we will blink and the next three - four months will be a blur.
In some ways it will be lots of great fun but it will also be quite a bit of work.
I am scheduled to run our Weta booth at two shows in Australia. This will be my first time to Australia, and unfortunately I won't have any spare time to explore. But I am very much looking forward to it. I will be at SupaNova - a pop culture/ComicCon type convention in Melbourne and then the Gold Coast. Then both Eric and I are scheduled to go to Calgary Expo in Canada. And hopefully a few days visit with family in LA on our way back. If we do get there, we apologize to those we will not have the time to see, but look forward to catching up in July when we return for a longer visit.
Still working out the details, but will likely have another trip to China too.
Still working on new products to launch for Weta and The Hobbit as well as plans for San Diego ComicCon in July. Eric is hoping to get some more work as The Hobbit gears back up for movie pick-ups for films 2 and 3.

Tanner is continuing to hang in there, and Casey is doing amazing. She competed in a dance competition and Wow! She won a 1st place Platinum award. Look at those legs!
Really looking forward to seeing them both again soon.

Myztyc is doing great. She has managed to grow into a healthy full size kitty from the tiny malnourished kitten that we rescued a year ago. Her favorite activity is chasing down any bug that gets into the house.

Warm wishes to all.
Cheers,
Eric and Stacy

Happy 2013

2013 has begun and it has been a very nice first month.

We spent New Year's Eve with some good friends and enjoyed some more quality relaxing time. We celebrate Eric's Birthday with a nice sushi dinner.

Eric's Mom Sue and Aunt Mary came to NZ for a visit and we met up with them in Napier for a long 4 day weekend. We saw The Hobbit (in 3D 24 frames). Movie is still fun after many viewings however we do not recommend this version. 3D 48 is better and we are still hoping to try seeing it in 2D 48 frames.

At the Botanical Gardens

The Trolls at Te Papa

They departed for the South Island and now we are we are currently hosting an artist friend from the States, for a few days.

The Summer weather has arrived and it has been beautiful.  Complete with some great sunsets. These are the days that make living here in Wellington, NZ amazing.

We are catching back up with Eric's family next weekend on the South Island and look forward to more good weather and fun in Nelson.

Our nephew Tanner seems to be doing okay right now and we continue to hope for miracles.


We wish you all a great 2013.

Cheers,
Eric & Stacy
and Myztyc

Don't Blink - part two

November was a blur...

Returning from Los Angels to Wellington just in time for all the premiere festivities...

Wellington has been very busy gearing up and decking the town out. The NZ Post building is adorned with the cast silhouettes and the Wellington airport installed a giant Gollum catching fish. Both were created by our talented coworkers at Weta Workshop as well as some great Dwarves statues at the Auckland airport. Even Air New Zealand at LAX got into the spirit. 

NZ Post Building

Wellington Airport

Auckland Airport

Los Angeles Airport

I got to see LAX first hand since I had squeezed in the quick trip back to LA in between AnimFX and The Hobbit premiere week. My flight back was very exciting. At the Air New Zealand check-in desk I found myself standing next to Frodo - Elijah Wood. And then in the Koru Lounge - the premiere lounge for Gold card members (frequent flyers) I walked in to spot Elijah Wood sitting in a remote corner with Andy Serkis and Marin Freeman. - Very Cool!

The Grove in Los Angeles had just installed a nice display promoting the film as well as some of the great merchandise that I have been working on.

And for the second time, I've been visiting in LA and the volcano blows. 

This time more substantially than the first. Lots of air travel was canceled or delayed.

This is the volcanoe that is Mordor in the Lord of the Rings films.

The Hobbit premiere was amazing! 

There was a Hobbit Artisans Market set up down by the waterfront with many of the local artists that had worked on the film selling their personal work/wares. There were makeup demos and our close friend Kim Beaton was doing a great sculpture demo.

They played all 3 LotR films in the park leading up to the Premiere

The Weta Cave, and Weta pop-up shop we're packed with fans. Plus the Window into Workshop opened. This is a small portion of the Workshop that has been opened to the public sharing some of the amazing things that Weta has done over the years. Also included are resident artist doing demonstrations.

A last minute Dr Grordbort's exhibit was installed on Cuba Street. Eric spent about 10 days setting this up with a small team and we had a delightful gallery opening party Tuesday night. 

Wednesday was the big day. It was a beautiful day in Wellington. and like I mentioned on my facebook page, I do believe that Sir Peter Jackson can control the weather in Wellington.  Eric was up early tasked with setting up the Trolls on the red carpet. 

I met him in town about 12:30 and we spent the rest of the day together. We were in heaven. We both had our cameras and we wandered taking it all in. The crowds, the costumes, the decorations, Eric had a special badge from setting up the trolls that allowed him to get onto the carpet and into areas I could not - up until 3:00 pm -  sooo jealous. But he took some great photos while I waited for him. Weta rented out the upstairs of the St  James theatre and threw a party. So once the red carpet procession started we headed up there and watched from above. There was even a fly by from the Air New Zealand plane. I cannot describe how amazing it was to be there and to have been a part of it all. 

These are the Trolls that Eric and crew set-up

Mmmm -Gandalf themed cupcake!

Fili - Dean O'Gorman and Kili - Aidan Turner

Frodo - Elijah Wood

Bilbo - Martin Freeman

Gollum - Andy Serkis

Richard Taylor - Weta Workshop

Peter Jackson

And then Friday morning we got to see the film. The cast and crew screening was at 10:30 am at the Embassy Theatre. We were so excited. And we were not disappointed. It was great and even at 3 hours, we didn't want it to end. It will be a long year to movie two. As for credits, have fun finding Eric' s name (Eric Heath) it's there!

Never a dull moment here...Dec 2nd - A freak storm shook the house and even registered on the seismic scale. 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/8025191/Rare-storm-wakes-Wellingtonians

"Wellington's unusual rumbling thunder early Sunday morning certainly sounded like an earthquake - and may have even registered as an earthquake"

Haven't even caught our breath and I was off to China again on Sunday for ten days so missed the opening of the Hobbit. Eric and friends went to the midnight showing. And we are both looking forward to seeing it again over the holiday break. 

Eric is off and I will have have most of the week between Xmas and New Years off

And really looking forward to relaxing. 

We will be back in 2013 for more of our adventure. 

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and your family good health, and great joy!

Stacy & Eric

Don't blink - part one

And another 2 months has gone by....

It is amazing to me how quickly the time goes by and how much has gone on in the last few months.
I kept trying to get back to the blog and post, but I never managed to find the spare time. So much to share that this will be the first half of a two part post.

Since the last post I have been back to China - twice, back to Los Angeles, we have celebrated Myztyc's first birthday, Halloween and our 16th Wedding Anniversary, I saw Prince Charles, attended AnimFX, and we celebrated the Hobbit Premiere.

.. and now we are only 5 days away from Xmas!

For our 16th Anniversary we went to one of our favorite restaurants - Crazy Horse. We celebrated a few days late to be able to take advantage of the two for one steak dinners! It was delicious. And then we went over to Strawberry Faire for the best dessert in New Zealand - Chocolate Madness.

Halloween was fun. Weta Digital threw their annual bash. The theme was "ApocOlympics".
Eric and I went as the Transylvanian Ping Pong team. After the Apocalypse, ping pong became a blood sport. Overall the consumes, which are usually spectacular by the Weta folks, were not as good as last year. We attributed that to two things. 1. the party coincided with the "Born Project" show, which is a charity event held to raise money for the local neonatal unit. It is put on by Richard and Tania Taylor and many of the Weta folks are involved. And 2. many of the digital folk have been working away crazy hours to get The Hobbit movie finished in time for the World Premiere.


Then Prince Charles was to visit Wellington and Weta Workshop specifically. It was quite the scene. We were asked not to post photos so I won't - sorry. But it was really interesting having him here. He was very friendly. And very interested in talking with artists and hearing about how things were created. I just thought it was great to see both Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor together.

AnimFX 2012 - I took a day off to attend which was a much needed break. On top of everything else going on, work has been very busy as we are releasing new products almost daily in preparation for the launch of the movie! We are also planning to set-up another store down on the water front for the 5 days before the premiere as part of The Hobbit Artisan Market.

AnimFx is a small conference (mentioned in earlier posts) this was my 3rd, and it was great to see and catch up with old friends and co-workers. As well as meet some great new industry professionals.

It ended on Saturday the 17th. And on Sunday, I flew to Los Angeles for another quick visit with the family. I was hoping to spend some quality time with everyone over the week of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately my nephew Tanner went back into the hospital the night after I arrived. I did spend some nice time with family and friends, but not exactly what I had hoped for. It is a tough time for everyone.
And we can't help but feel helpless. But the hugs help and being able to hug in person makes all the difference.

We hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with those you love.
There is always something to be thankful for.

Hugs to all,
Stacy & Eric

ps- part two to follow soon.