Franzi Maciej | Founder | Creative Play & Process Art Specialist
Franzi has spent 20 years working with children, educators, and communities across Germany, the USA, and Aotearoa, creating open-ended art and play experiences built around curiosity, agency, and connection.
Imagine Play Inspire started as a space for children to explore and make freely, without instructions or judgement. Over time it’s grown into something a little bigger… because it turns out adults need creative play just as much as children do.
Alongside after-school classes and school-holiday programmes for children aged 5-12, Franzi now runs creative wellbeing workshops for adults and organisations. Spaces to slow down, connect deeper with yourself & others, and find a little calm in the process.
Originally from Germany, Franzi landed in New Zealand in 2015, spent a few years in Queenstown, and eventually followed the ocean to the beautiful coast of Taranaki in 2021. (Best decision, honestly.)
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Culture & Media Education and a New Zealand Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching. But the most important thing she’s learned in 20 years teaching is this: when you give people of any age the space and permission to create without judgement, something magical happens.
“I have found this environment has helped my daughter establish friendships which now go beyond the sessions and have helped develop her confidence in getting her ideas into action which is something she has struggled with.”
Sam Jay | Art Lab Facilitator | Creative Superstar
Sam (or Super-Sam, as we call her) brings a career’s worth of creative experience to the Art Lab, and honestly, the list is impressive: textile crafts degree, set design, bridal seamstress, wardrobe assistant, upholsterer… she even dabbled in taxidermy at one point. 🙃
Originally from the UK, Sam found her way to Taranaki the way many good things happen, a bit of travel, meeting the right person, and not needing much convincing to stay. She’s now here with her partner Bevan, their two children, and one very energetic dog.
Before taking time out to be with her own tamariki, Sam was a secondary school teacher, and that love of working with young people never really went anywhere. In the Art Lab, she brings the same energy she always has: genuinely fun, endlessly adaptable, and tuned in to what each child is drawn to. She follows their lead, spots their strengths, and finds ways to take those further.
No two sessions look the same, and that’s exactly how Sam likes it.
Imagine Play Inspire 