About Hei Tiki

We do not use iwi taonga like Pounamu, Aotea or Pākohe out of respect to Ngāi Tahu (Ngāti Wae wae and Ngāti Māhaki, Tai Poutini; and Ngāti Kuia (Te Tau Ihu), who own these taonga exclusively.

They personify our brave ancestors who navigated the Pacific: riding the tides far, following the stars, with only a few seabirds for company; to carve a new future for their people. This is why we choose non-traditional stone materials.

Small batches (usually <100) of individual stones are cast in a steel mould, hand engraved, and then highly polished to get their +AAAA lustre.

We select gemstones based on their known density and metaphysical properties (vibrational energy); that are lab-made, or harvested with the least possible negative impact on the whenua.

We prefer sustainable gemstones sourced without invasive land-mining, or produced, by exploiting third world countries and humans. Just because a stone is simulated doesn’t mean it lacks uniqueness, quality or energy. In the case of some lab-made Opals, they can take over a year to get the lustre that comes from layering silica with water. They have less visible flaws, their carbon footprint is much lower and most importantly, we are not depleting precious natural reserves.

We work exclusively with one partner factory, in GuangDong, China because they can easily access sustainable stones and have superior machines, offer hand engraving and have the highest grade of jewellery polishing capability. This relationship means we can deliver both cost-effective and sustainable products. We pay a premium price that ensures all stone off-cuts are reused, to eliminate wastage.

Some of our hei tiki (link) are matched with unique woven strands which means more than 60% of their making occurs in NZ.

Our jewellery boxes are made from renewable pine. We use recyclable plant-based materials and packaging. It is slower, but we use our local postal system (over couriers) to minimise the carbon footprint of postage.