Meet the team
Who we are
Back in the 1990s, Mighty Manuwatu mates Steve (Steveo) Turner and Alastair (Al) Wilson hatched a plan to start their own design consultancy ‘one day’. After sharing a pint of light ale or three, they even came up with the perfect name for their venture: Toast! In 2001, the real Toast was born, and we’ve been crunching on all crusts ever since.
Steve Turner
With a Mac called Marmalade, Toast Director Steve (Steveo) Turner may seem like a bitter-sweet guy, but he says nothing quite beats a tangy vegemite-cheese toastie to start each day.
Steve started his design career 17 years ago – back in the good old paste-ups and pre-Photoshop days. Turning visions into actual concepts is Steve’s second nature, plus he’s notorious for his quirky illustrations and managerial talents.
After hours, you’re most likely to find this Kiwi bloke playing Mr Fix It around his house, painting (walls and canvases), getting hot-headed over the footie or roaming the bush with his Australian Kelpey in tow.
Alastair "Smokin" Wilson
Toast co-frontman Alastair (Al) Wilson’s hard-drive tends to crash
when addressed as Peanutbutter. (nuts!)
Al has a real soft spot for toast with a smidgin of Marmite, a pinch of salt and heaps of pepper.
Al has 20 years of graphic design experience under his belt and is
the Bread Bin’s official IT problem solver. He keeps fit by stacking the
beer fridge, operating the coffee machine, and chasing around after his
son Max.
Al spends every other waking moment putting up with his business partner and his constant babbling, and the way he has to verbalise every word he types.
Lydia Jackson
Lydia Jackson is the latest add-on to Team Toast. Making the move north from Taranaki, Lydia completed a Bachelor of Graphic design and a Diploma in Digital Media with the game plan of being able to convert design into functional websites. That is how she found a spot on the web side of Toast.
Although she grew up in the Naki, Lydia’s pretty fond of the Auckland scene and when she’s not cooking up designs and code, she can be found checking out the Café scene.
Milco Serafimovski
Macedonian-born Milco (Milcho in Kiwi speak) Serafimovski is an architect who switched to graphics 18 years ago and brings a unique balance of creative and technical expertise to the table. Like his fellow ‘jaffles’, Milco’s a master at transforming clients’ messages into visual communications. Why Milco HD christened his HD Vegemite is a mystery, especially since its owner-operator has by far prefers French toast with white cheese.
When Milco isn’t doting on his wife Marina, taking on the challenge of parenting (and spoiling rotten) their two youngsters, he enjoys putting paint to canvas, smashing around a tennis ball and just living life Kiwi style.
Lou-Ellen Alexander
Lou is the new kid on the block. She has a keen eye for design and an affinity for Irish IT workers.... a lisp is also an added bonus. It has been said Lou's voice is like the early morning chorus of the rare angelic song bird.
Bear (Dingo)
The Bread Bin simply wouldn’t be the same without Bear the mutt. In fact, the ten-year-old neutered ‘son of Steve’ has a host of crucial tasks to fulfill: strip-sniffing clients, hoovering up leftover Toast crumbs and driving us nuts when we try to eat our lunch.
Elvis (The King)
Elvis is in the building.... and he ain't no Hound Dog.
With good breath and better manners unlike his dingo counterpart, you won't find this dog begging for food. He may lick your blue suede shoes and show him some attention and he'll leave you all shook up. Woof woof!
