Our story
Born from a love for the ocean.
Tides Out Maps is us, Matt and Kate, and a small workshop in Auckland where the coastlines we love become layered wooden maps.
Why "Tides Out"?
Imagine the tide went all the way out.
You'd see everything the water usually hides. The channels and sandbanks, the reefs, the drop-offs, the deep holes where the fish sit. That hidden landscape is what every one of our maps brings to life, layer by layer.
How it started
From passion project to proper workshop.
The passion project
Matt, an engineer with a graphic design habit, started turning marine depth data into wooden maps of the places he loves to freedive and surf. The first ones sold at Auckland markets, and the orders never really stopped.
Two of us
The maps outgrew one pair of hands and Kate came on board. Our shared love of the ocean, freediving, surfing and kayaking on it, is where the new ideas come from.
A proper workshop
We now work from our workshop in Mount Wellington, Auckland, with over 1,000 maps out in the world, hanging in baches, boats and living rooms across New Zealand and beyond.
The craft
How every map is made.
Design
Every map starts with real bathymetric and topographic data. We spend hours refining the contours so they're smooth yet accurate, and the whole map feels balanced.
Cut
Each depth becomes its own layer, laser-cut from European birch plywood in our workshop.
Build
Every piece is painted, stacked and assembled by hand. Slowly, carefully, until the seafloor comes to life.
from 275+ Google reviews
maps made and counting
guarantee on every piece
made to order, start to finish
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Our promise
We offer a full guarantee on craftsmanship. If you're not happy when your map arrives - or any time in the next 3 years - let us know and we'll make it right. You'll always be dealing with us, the people who made it.
Ready to browse?
Find your place.
Every map is made to order for a place someone loves. Have a browse, from little harbours to the whole country.
Browse the mapsSomewhere special in mind?
Somewhere we haven't mapped?
If your place isn't in the collection yet, we can design it from scratch as a custom piece. Some of our favourite maps started exactly this way.
Custom designs