behind the weave · limited edition · story

Manawatakiara - Behind the Weave

Oct 26, 2023

Our pursuit of purpose in life takes on multiple meanings and expressions throughout our lifetime. In our early years, purpose is often shaped by those around us, ideas and experiences we’re exposed to, and aspirations just out of reach that we strive towards.

Through unwavering commitment to our pursuits our path of purpose changes, evolves and grows just as we do. It’s something we cultivate through deliberate action and reflection, and naturally waxes and wanes throughout our lives. Rather than a destination, our purpose reveals and refines itself across the breadth of life’s journey, embedded in our practice of service to our communities.

For life to be meaningful, it must enrich the lives of more than just the individual.

This design is an ode to our collective purpose and reflects the value of community and the power of a unified front, whether it’s found in our immediate family, our wider collective or our tribal affiliations, we understand to be purpose driven is to be community driven. Our lives are enriched when our personal pursuit provides communal benefit and collective wellbeing, that's the nature and precedence that has been left for us by our predecessors and the design principles we've woven into this blanket design.

This design acknowledges our collective purpose and reflects the value of community and the power of a unified front. It recognises those with the innate ability to draw people together and inspire concerted action.

Design insights:

The māramatanga or understanding, together with the experience we gather in our pursuit of purpose is reflected in the many patterns and motifs across ‘te pae matua’, the main design panel. Te pātikitiki, diamond shape, reflects both a star constellation within the Milky Way and the humble flounder - this design speaks to our interdependence on the environment to inform and sustain us. The triangle formations represent ngā ia taiheke, the forever ebb and flow of the tide, and ara moana, the central design element, ngā piki me ngā ngā heke, the tips and troughs of the waves across the expansive oceans of our experience. This experiential knowledge base, its systems and networks reflected in design adorn this ornate border.

The commitment to our shared purpose, empowering our community and in turn the individual is reflected in the side panels. From one aspect they represent our pā maiorooro, with its high reaching ramparts and trenches dug deep into the earth. These trenches were strategically engineered and constructed by hand, the intensive work of the collective, rallied together in defence of our values.

Adorned with the niho taniwha design, a symbol of the prominence of many chiefs, together recognised as the formidable teeth of a single monstrous entity, giving light to the saying ‘power in numbers’. From another aspect these panels reflect the waka tauā, or war canoe, with its white tipped paddles moving in formation and unison, reflecting the progressive power of working in harmony.

The kaupapa or body of this blanket carries a double meaning, reflecting the interweaving of knowledge, perspectives, ideals and insights (warp) with our enduring core values (weft) an inclusive approach to our development. It's also an acknowledgement of the progressive nature of our purpose, which has the ability to change direction, to pivot and grow as we do.