Horoeka Haemata – Rolleston College has its first cohort of learners graduating this year. I have the privilege of making a set of pounamu for the 5 Head Students that make up the student leadership team from this year. The Niho is a symbol that links strongly with shark and/or whale teeth. It represents leadership,…
The niho represents strength, leadership, and resilience. Commonly associated with the whale or the shark, both powerful creatures. This set is made for two people that share the kaupapa. The pounamu for each is different and this is to reflect each wearer. The connection is through the symbol and the carving process of them being…
Gorgeous set made from the same slice of pounmau. Always cool to see some of the process from where the pounamu started to what it is now.
This is a gorgeous set of Hei Matau made from Marsden Flower Jade, or Putiputi. The yellow and orange patterning in the ‘flowers’ in the pounamu that it is named for. It come from one place in New Zealand, Marsden. This set was made for a couple. It symbolises their eternal love and connectedness. They…
This was a cool challenge, and came up great. The idea was to create a set for a man and his wife that were interconnected. He really wanted two pieces with toki and pikorua as the symbols. Having the pikorua symbol flow between them as well as having the pieces made from the same pounamu…
The connection between Matua and Tama, Father and Son is special and unique. A set of pounamu is a way to bring that intangible connection in the tangible world. A toki is a form that represents strength, courage, and mana. These are things we hope to instill in our tamariki as they grow. These toki…
To me this set is everything that whanau should be. It is connection. It is values. It is tangible representation of the loving bond that a cohesive whanau has. This is a set full of meaning and depth. It was commissioned by the Mum who has recently received a terminal cancer diagnosis! Devastating! She wanted…
This is a set that I was honored to be asked to make, to be able to contribute to this whanau journey in a small way means a lot to me. This is a set for a Mother and her two young boys. The way she put it got straight to the core of why…
This set was made for two friends of ours to celebrate and recognise their wedding day. They are both lovers of the outdoors, the forests, the mountains, the rivers and the beaches. This set is made from one piece of pounamu to symbolise a view that is special to them across a bay of a…
Pounamu is a connector, it connects us with the things in our lives that we value, often they are people or places. It can connect us with our Turangawaewae, our place that we connect most strongly with, our place to stand. This set does both. Koru represent significant people in their life, the two pendants…