This set is for a husband and wife. It is to connect them with each other and with their three children.
They are carved from the same slice of pounamu. They lay side by side, literally connected, for a very long time until they were separated for this set.
The three spiraling korus on each pendant represent their three children. It is a bit tricky to see them on the roimata as they wrap around but you get the idea.
Notches can be used to represent many things such as, people, whanau members, ideals, values, or experiences. For this toki the notches are for special whanau members for the wearer. Seeing some of the process from the rough piece of pounamu through to the finished taonga is priceless, if it is not recorded as it…
This is a cool way to represent two cultures, bringing them together with the designs on one on the pounamu from the land of the other. This toki, made from kawakawa pounamu, is for a Samoan father that now lives in NZ. This is a way to represent his mana from where he is from…
This toki is made from the rare and beautiful Marsden Flower Jade, or Putiputi. The notches in the side are for his two children. The wave is to represent the deep connection with Te Moana – The Ocean he has, particularly through waka ama. I loved carving this wave. The lines came up so clean…
Pounamu (greenstone) possesses a unique energy, a connection to the land and its history. That’s one of the reasons I love working with this precious stone, transforming it into pieces that hold meaning for those who wear them. Recently, I had the pleasure of carving a small roimata pendant – a traditional teardrop shape known…
This commissioned set is named Hono — a word that speaks to the act of joining, connecting, and bringing together. It was created for a group of lifelong friends who recently turned 60. One of the women, now living in Aotearoa, wanted to honour her enduring connection with the other two, who remain in the…
These two Hei Toki hold a special story, one that began long before they were shaped into their final forms. Their journey started when a mother went on a trip with some of her children to Hokitika and visited Arahura where she found these stones. Something about them called to her, a deep knowing that…
