The Auckland Home Show begins tomorrow and there is one display that will stand out from the rest. It is not that the furniture that is all that different, but the people who make it - the range of wooden lounge and bedroom furniture has been made by prison inmates from Auckland Prison.
To create the furniture, prisoners complete NZQA training and work six hours a day in a prison workshop.
There are more than 140 workshops in prisons all over the country. The inmates train and work in a number of industries from engineering to nurseries.
All up there are just over 4,000 prisoners in work or training - around 65 percent of the sentenced prison population.
"Eventually they are going to have to be released and one day they might be your neighbour, like to think we've done a good job of training them to become a modern citizen," Peter Hosegood from the Department of Corrections says. "It's not always the case, but we like to try."
Once they leave prison, about 42 percent of New Zealand prisoners end up re-offending within 12 months of release.
If they have been in some kind of work or training before they get out the results are better and keeping busy also has an impact on their behaviour in jail.
"When they come into the factories and training programme, it gives them some self-esteem," Mr Hosegood says. "They settle down, enjoy work.
There is also a small incentive for working prisoners. They get paid between 20 and 60 cents an hour, which can be used for buying books or small personal items.
But there are not enough jobs for those who want to work, which is why the Corrections Department is at the Auckland Home show making a pitch for new business partners.
"As part of developing new business opportunities we need to make products that will add value," Win McDonald from the Department of Corrections says. "So where you've got a skills shortage or you'd like us to make components, we want to talk to you."
The department says it does not want to undercut outside businesses, so it sets its prices at market rates.
"Prisoners are people and more than 99.9 percent will be released back into our communities," Mr McDonald says. "They are our neighbours, they are the people around you, and what they need is an opportunity to turn their lives around."