I Got You, Babe Janelle's Gifts For Tiny Humans

Janelle Hinch (36) Is a Speed Skier Turned Clothes Designer, Who Uses Merino Offcuts to Make Tiny Hats for Prem Babies

- Julie Jacobson

I grew up in Auckland but my godfather, who was a ski patroller, lived in Ohakune. My father took great advantage of that, and we would often head down for weekends and school holidays. I think I was five when I strapped on my first pair of skis.

I moved to Ohakune in 2001, got very involved in the ski community and decided I wanted to be a professional speed skier. I did reasonably well but there’s a lot of risk in that particular field. They ski at more than 200km/h!

My original plan when I left school was to become a costume designer. My aunty was working for a company called Marvel Kitchen, which does film location catering, so I started working with her hoping that would be a way to meet people working in the industry.

I was working on the Power Rangers TV series and then in winter would go back to skiing. I soon realised that if I wanted to travel overseas to ski, having the skills of a chef was a lot more useful than having the skills of a costume designer.

So rather than chase the glory of professional skiing, I worked as a ski guide and spent about a decade doing back-to-back winters in Europe, America and Japan.