As a light engineering business, functionality is a key priority and we’ll always strive to ensure your projects function as well as they look.
However, at Coombes, we have a secret weapon – Managing Director, Leigh Mason, a man whose creativity goes above and beyond your average metal man!
Owner of the business since 1996, Leigh’s engineering and design services are second to none. In fact, his design is so good he recently went back to uni and has completed the first two years towards a degree in Fine Arts.
Leigh’s attention to engineering functionality, combined with his design acumen, made him the obvious choice for artist Jon Jeet to partner with when Jon was commissioned by SCAPE Public Art to create He Toki Maitai in 2022. Read more about it at scapepublicart.org.nz/artwork/he-toki-maitai/.
A colossal steel toki that has found its permanent home in New Brighton, He Toki Maitai was originally on temporary exhibit at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre. Exploring the theme of ‘Sweat Equity’, the effect of capital and labour on bodies, Jon drew inspiration from his Indian ancestors who were brought to Fiji as indentured labourers. Also of Ngāti Maniapoto descent, Jon has incorporated the Māori toki into the design, a tool and a symbol of power and authority.
Leigh’s contribution came in the initial stages when he not only assisted Jon in the construction of the toki, but also made a significant financial contribution, ensuring a meaningful addition to Christchurch’s urban landscape with an enduring sculpture of fabricated steel.
Not bad for a metal man!