Sue & David are owners of Thorvald and Little River Estate dairies and The Junction shop in Appleby, Richmond. They moved to Nelson in May 2003 with their eldest daughter Tessa who now works at the Junction having returned (fortuitously) from Christchurch in Feb 2020. They have two more children, Helena and Blake. All the kids attended Appleby Primary School, Waimea Intermediate, and Helena & Blake are currently at Waimea College. Sue originally hails from a small farming community in the southern Hawkes Bay and met David while they were both working and living in Auckland. They knew raising a family and growing old in a big city wasn’t for them. Sunny Nelson and David’s enthusiasm convinced Sue that Nelson was to be their new ‘forever’ home. Sue & David came to Nelson in 2002 to be married and it was while on their honeymoon in the Tasman region they bought their home in Redwood Valley which remains the family home today. Since relocating here in 2003 they have established, run, owned, and/or co-owned several well-known local businesses including both Stoke & Nelson fruit & vege stores and the Sprig & Fern brewery plus several S&F taverns. These businesses engrained them in Nelson and the experience proved invaluable for their next venture. After purchasing the old Neudorf Dairy site in Upper Moutere in 2015, a chance meeting with a young French cheesemaker (Francis) and a young shepherd (Julie) set them on a new path and Thorvald was born. David’s heritage is Danish, his parents immigrated from Denmark to NZ in the early 1950s. David’s father (John), whose middle name was Thorvald, had been a cheesemaker in Denmark, so it seemed appropriate to name their new sheep milk cheesemaking venture Thorvald in honor of David’s parents. Thorvald expanded to include Little River Estate in 2017 and then the Junction in 2018 when they took over the old Wangapeka cheese shop. Sue & David are incredibly grateful to their amazing team and recognize any achievements they have made are only possible with the help of the fantastic people around them. Their commitment to Nelson/Tasman is set in stone. Sue and David are staunchly proud locals and incredibly grateful to this amazing region and its people for the support they’ve shown over the years. This is definitely home forever!

Virginnia has been part of the Junction team for a while but has been selling, eating, and educating about cheese for many years. She has worked with industry leaders like, Simon Johnson, who opened the first walk-in fromagerie in Sydney and Will Studd, the master of cheese, who you may know from his TV series Cheese Slices. She grew up in Nelson and returned with her family last year after 20 years overseas. She loves food and cooking, her husband is a keen gardener so much of their produce is homegrown. The Junctions no additives or nasties policy is important to her. Virginnia was inducted into the prestigious French Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, with the title Garde et Juré (guard and judge) for her work with French specialty cheese; and is one of only 3 people in Australasia to be awarded the American Cheese Society title of Certified Cheese Professional. She really knows her stuff and looks forward to sharing her passion, and love for all things dairy with the junction community.

Ray is for many the most familiar face at the Junction. He was born and raised in Nelson. After a brief stint overseas he worked for Whangapeka cheese who previously owned the shop where the Junction is now situated. Serving and getting to know people has always been a priority in any job he has done, so when Sue and David took over the business they did not hesitate to bring Ray onboard with them as well. He really enjoys getting to know customers and helping them find what they need, even if they didn’t know they needed it. He has the most incredible memory, not only for customers’ names, but also what they bought last time and the name of their dog . Creating that connection with regular clients makes it all worthwhile and is the highlight of his day. He is even warming up to eating blue cheese.

Francis was born and raised in France but has been living in hia new home, NZ for 5 years. He lives in Mapua, the most beautiful place on earth with his partner Magdalena and their two wonderful young kids. He studied for many years in France to become a master cheesemaker and has made cheese in France, Switzerland, Canada and Australia before calling Nelson home. He loves spending time with family and friends and creating memories, he is a passionate brewer as well as a cheesemaker. Food brings us all together and cheese plays an important part in that, a cheeky beer doesn’t hurt either. Bon appetit!

Tessa calls Sue & David, the Junction owners Mum & Dad, so for her, this is the family business. After 6 years in Christchurch, she returned home to spend time with her family for a few months before heading overseas. Covid-19, unfortunately, altered her travel plans for the foreseeable future but just quietly we are glad it did, as it means The Junction gets to keep her a little longer. Tess is a cheerful and loyal addition to our team. Her passions are food, teaching and talking, she loves to talk and will chat to anyone about anything. During her downtime she listens to podcasts and audio books, goes to the gym and spends time with her family and friends and of course her many animals. Tess’s favourite cheese is Thorvald Curado and she dollops Little River sour cream on just about anything.

Anika is new to both Nelson and The Junction. Originally from Germany, she had been traveling the world for a few years before landing in NZ just before the first lockdown. She is a passionate foodie and is enjoying all the locally made delicacies on offer at our Farmers’ markets and now at The Junction. As far as cheese goes, she thinks the stinkier the better alongside a full-bodied, velvety red wine. SAY CHEESE! Anika used to work in advertisement photography, so has a keen eye for detail. We welcome her and her big smile to the team.

Cathie may be a familiar face to many of you as she was the brains behind KETE in Mapua, where she showcased the awesome foods created in the region. Originally from Scotland, she married a Kiwi, had 4 children all born in Canada, before heading back to The Moutere and the olive grove they now call home. She also co-founded a tech start-up telling the stories of primary producers, connecting them with end-users and creating a community around food. Sadly, this didn’t leave the launchpad but the silver lining is we get her as part of the awesome Junction team.

Sharon may be a familiar face – before joining The Junction team she worked at the Richmond Mall and has also worked as a health professional in a number of different roles for 30 plus years in both NZ and Australia so you certainly may recognise her from somewhere. Sharon was born in Wellington and raised on a farm in the Orinoco valley. A country girl at heart. She is married and has 3 grown-up sons who have made her family truly multi-cultural by marrying partners from China, Germany and Samoa. The family has grown to include 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter plus a gorgeous grand fur baby. In the winter months Sharon loves to knit and is a ferocious reader, so make sure to ask her what she has on the go currently. She has recently rediscovered her love of cooking and makes a mean feijoa chutney which cheese enjoys alongside a blue or sheep milk cheese with a glass of wine. Her generous nature and genuine love of people makes her a welcome addition to the team.

Shena is a Kiwi by birth, who was lucky enough to spend her formative year living all over the world, thanks to her Dad’s career as a virologist. She has 4 gorgeous kids and lives on a sheep farm where she spends her free time, which is not much, with four kids, making and creating art. A teacher by trade, she has taught across kindergarten, primary and secondary school and in recent years has been teaching senior seated exercise classes. And yes, the 95-year-old students are just as cheeky as the 5-year-olds! Shena says she is thrilled to have recently joined the Junction crew as she is passionate about local products, businesses and most importantly people. Cheese and wine – what could be better.