After a lucky "break", Southlander Chris Streeter, 37, went on to make props for some of the biggest movies of all time. But his greatest satisfaction comes not from the hype of the big screen but from being a creator.

“When I was five, I wanted to be an artist. I found an old and thankfully very small suitcase and crammed it with crayons, pencils and old bits of brick for drawing on pavements. I called it my ‘artist case’ and carried it everywhere. My mum and nana are into crafts from needlework to DIY home renovation. I think they were the inspiration for my creativity from a tender age.

“I studied fine arts and design at Southland Polytech then left my home town of Invercargill to make my way to Wellington to study industrial design. I gave myself some time to get there and put a portfolio together. Six months later I arrived, broke and a few kilos lighter. I needed a job!

“A friend whom I’d met on my travels had regaled me with stories from within the movie industry. She’d worked at the prop workshop Weta so after I moved into a city warehouse, this was to be my first port of call. My new flatmates laughed when I told them my intentions and said I’d never get such a highly sought-after job. Not to be deterred, I went along anyway.

“The boss was very polite and showed me around. He looked at my sketch book (interspersed with ethanol-inspired poetry) and was in the process of telling me there were no jobs going when, across the room, the clay started to break off a giant worm sculpture. He ran over to help. I felt like a dork standing there and, being of stout Southland character, rolled up my sleeves and got stuck in, doing what I could to help. With the crisis averted, I was told to ‘come back tomorrow’.

“Nearly 15 years and some more transitions later, I still have not been through the industrial design course although I do hear it is very good. I freelanced for 13 years and for six of those I made props for The Lord of the Rings. I made the chandelier that Gandalf hit his head on. The trick with that was making the plastic look like metal. For King Kong I made the articulated replica of a gorilla’s foot in the mud and used levers to wiggle the toes – that was quite cool. For Avatar I made the 80 sets of lights for the interior of Pandora base. It took months to make them.

“I tend to be a little nonplussed about the whole hype surrounding movies. Whether it’s Titanic or Avatar, it’s not about being able to quote lines from the movies; it’s about giving the client a great product they can use. The film industry can be quite hot and cold, so in 2005 I got together with three artisans. We decided to consolidate our skills and see if we could break into other industries. We've never looked back. Not always easy, but I wouldn't change a thing. Now the film work is almost a sideline.

“Izzat Design is a custom fabrication company, specialising in props and theming for the commercial sector from television and advertising to museums and art galleries. We are designers, sculptors, artists and fabricators but, above all, we are creators! I think the secret to our success is our passion and enthusiasm for the creative process and its final result.”

Interview by Rosalind Le Bas Walker.

Photo: Chris Streeter with his replica of the extinct Haast's eagle created for Wellington’s Zealandia wildlife centre. By David Hamilton, PhotoNZ