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Mahi toi: the West Coast carver connecting through craft with Te Ao Māori

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“Kia ora, ko Haylie toku ingoa.” Haylie Fry of A Slice of Poutini is a self-taught carver living in Te Tai Poutini, the West Coast. In Māori tradition, you should not carve or buy a pounamu item for yourself – it should be gifted, in the same way the stone has been gifted to us from the land. Haylie sees her creative journey as one of both receiving and giving, connecting with Te Ao Māori through mahi toi, her craft, giving back to her community, and supporting her tamariki, who whakapapa to Ngāi Tahu.

Making a perfect impression: the patience and persistence of printmaking

Winner of the 2023 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize, Auckland illustrator and printmaker Alba Gil Celdran favours Japanese tools, techniques, and materials to create her prints. She carves her original designs on a linoleum plate and makes impressions on Awagami washi paper using a baren rather than a press. The highly skillful process takes patience and persistence to master, and results in limited edition series of each design.

Naturally nourishing: the Te Awamutu home of small-batch organic skincare

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For Liz Neale, it all began with a desire to create something truly special for her sensitive skin – something that not only brought results, but also nourished and nurtured the skin with the goodness of nature. Seeing skincare products with extravagant claims and sometimes questionable ingredients sparked a fire within her to do better, to offer something natural, genuine, and effective. The result? Bodytreats

Nature, culture and symmetry in print: art and textile design by Jill Butler

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Nature, culture and symmetry in print: art and textile design by Jill Butler
From her home studio in Auckland, Jill Butler designs and screen prints fabric, which she then makes into homewares, accessories and stationery items. Jill used to dream about having a place to sell her work where no door knocking was required, and where she could have total control over the colours, design and pricing of the screen printed products she sells…