A trade learned. A business built.

I didn’t know then that painting would become the work I’d build my future around. It was a skill I could earn a living from, and when I moved to New Zealand, it came with me.

I worked as a painter here for years, on homes and commercial properties. Working alongside other people taught me a lot: how to prepare a surface properly, how to work as a team, and how much the small details matter. You learn to turn up when you say you will and leave behind work you’re happy to put your name to.

In November 2023, I tried to start a business of my own. Around the same time, I also applied for a baggage handler job at the airport. Neither worked out as I’d hoped. It was a difficult stretch, and I had to think about what to do next.

I kept coming back to painting. I already had years of experience, and I knew I could do the work. More than that, I could see a way to make a living for my family from it. So I went back to it and kept going.

In October 2025, I established Leona Painting Limited.

Today, we’re a small team working across Auckland and the surrounding areas, and we’re happy to travel further for the right project. We paint homes, commercial properties and schools, and take on repainting work. Some of our clients now come back to us regularly. That means a lot when you’re building a business.

A job I still look back on

One project that stays with me is the exterior painting at Pak’nSave Silverdale. It was a challenging job. But when it was finished, I remember looking at the building and feeling proud of what we’d done together. Even now, when I see it, I think:

“That’s my team. We did that.”

That feeling is a big part of why I keep doing this. There’s something satisfying about seeing the result of your work out in the world, knowing the effort that went into it.

I want people to be able to afford good painting work and feel comfortable with the team they’ve hired. For us, that means being reliable, doing the preparation properly and taking care with the finish, whatever the size of the job.

There’s still plenty I want to do. I’d like to grow the team and take on larger commercial projects, and eventually have the opportunity to work on government projects too. For now, we’re building towards that with the work in front of us and the clients who put their trust in us.

Painting has been part of my life since 2009. Having our own business now gives that work a different meaning. It’s something my team and I can be proud of, and something I’m building for my family.

From 2009 to today — one brushstroke at a time.