Originally established as The Wheelwright Shop in 1994, we the founders; Greg and Ali Lang, have since gained over 30 years of experience building and repairing wooden wheels, horse-drawn vehicles, and conserving heritage carriages for the film industry, museums, and private collectors across New Zealand, and internationally. Our training began in England in the early 1990s, where we learned the traditional wheelwrighting and carriage building trade before returning home to New Zealand to set up our workshop. Greg specialises in wheelwrighting and carriage building, and Ali specialises in coach painting and period-accurate finishing.
We have recently redefined our passion for traditional wheelwrighting and carriage building to serve history better, by evolving to be The Wheelwright Hub; a vibrant center carrying traditional craftsmanship into the future. The Wheelwright Hub is one of the few workshops in the world still practising the full suite of traditional wheelwrighting and carriage building skills and that is something we are keen to future proof.
Our vision
To preserve the heritage of traditional wheelwrighting & carriage building through expert craftsmanship, innovative education in a vibrant centre of artisan exchange.
Today our mission has expanded into a commitment to preserving the wheelwrighting and carriage building trade in NZ.
We intend to do this through offering academy apprenticeships, designed to enable future generations to learn the skills of wheelwrighting and carriage building. We have recently set up The Wheelwright Heritage Trust as a means to gather wider support and knowledge to establish educational programs that will eventually be delivered through The Wheelwright Hub.
If you’d like to support the preservation of the traditional skills and craftsmanship of wheelwrighting and the carriage building trade, please visit The Wheelwright Heritage Trust page and stay updated on developments by signing up to the newsletter.
