In a megacity like London, it can be hard to find a sense of local community but Emma Rigby has brought her quintessentially kiwi approach to community building to the UK. She has spent the last 10 years building a multi-faceted, award-winning social enterprise for her borough in North London.

“I’ve always been invested in my community, right from a young age in NZ,” she says. “It very much is about my kiwi upbringing. Communities working together - passing a cup of sugar over the garden fence. So I think I brought a little bit of NZ to the community that I live in now in London.”

Emma is the creator of the unique social enterprise, Love Your Doorstep. The organisation began after a frightening experience close to home reminded Emma of the importance of finding community, wherever you are. 

Monique moved to London in the early 1980s only to be told by a prospective employer that she should be working in a pub! However, with a wealth of experience behind her in consumer insight and product management, she was quick to bounce back.

Monique describes growing up all over the North Island. She was born in Auckland, spent her childhood in Hamilton, went to school in the Hawkes Bay and started her studies at The University of Auckland. Her father was a journalist and he had a newspaper that ran in Fiji, so it wasn’t until her parents eventually moved back to Wellington, that she spent her last two years studying at Victoria University.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, Monique went into consumer insights. She acknowledges that very few people go to University with the view to becoming an insights specialist. Whilst doing research for Bonds Hosiery in Porirua, Monique was soon approached for a product management position, where she would oversee the launch of their women’s range.

When Kiwis move to the UK there is little in the way of cultural disparities that come as a shock. Throw a discussion around pie eating etiquette  into the mix, however, and you will ignite some very heated opinions that set our two nations apart. 

Katy Loudon and Steph Armstrong are the two female powerhouses behind the team at Friday pies – the company that has made it part of their mission to set this record straight. After a prolonged period of British lockdowns, it could come at no better time, when so many of us Kiwis are craving that little slice of home.

Both from Auckland and eager to pursue the bright lights and vast opportunities of London, Katy arrived in 2018, with Steph not long after, in 2019. The pair met whilst living together at their North London flat, which has been the home of Friday Pies’ test kitchens, pie storage facilities and pick-up operations for the past 5 months.