Teachers

A multi-skilled Mahi toi practitioner who specialising in textiles and fashion, Amber has incredible experience and knowledge in Mahi Raranga (weaving).

She is an award winning fashion designer and creator of the Kahuwai fashion label.

Born and raised in Dunedin and although her mother is Maori, Te Reo was not spoken in the home and Maori culture wasn’t strongly acknowledged.

When she reached high school, she began taking an interest in her whakapapa and her life-long journey to connect with her genealogy began.

The desire to weave was sparked by her aunty showing her a kete which was created by her great-great-grandmother, Granny Dawson, of Stewart Island.

”Seeing that kete sparked a spiritual call to the island and to continue my understanding of the traditional Maori crafts of my southern Maori history.”

Kai Tahu, Kati Mamaoe, Waitaha, Rabuvai, and Moriori oku

James comes to us from Carterton, in the Wairarapa region and is a knitter who believes in the merits of a high fibre diet… and he has a healthy yarn appetite to match!

Knitting is in his blood as both his parents were knitters and they encouraged him to learn from an early age. Once the knitting training wheels of plain stocking stitch were removed there was no stopping him, colour work and cables became his main focus. Forty-five years later nothing much has changed but recently James started researching his family tree and is enjoying being able to explore the knitting traditions of his ancestors from ethnicities both expected and unexpected.

When not knitting James also hand dyes yarn, designs knitting patterns and runs the online store Joy of Yarn.

Craft, Community, and Compassion-minded, Rebecca is a dedicated, fun, and creative fat knitter from the Waikato who is passionate about inclusion, ethics and breaking down stereotypes – not just the knitting realm, but in all aspects of life.

Rebecca began knitting as a ten year old, and like most of us has found the art to be a comfort and a creative outlet in her adult life. She loves to knit everywhere – out on hikes with her whanau, in the garden, waiting rooms, drives with her husband, the couch, the floor if she has to. If she sits, she knits (but also when she stands).

Doing everything she can to promote inclusivity using fibre arts, Rebecca pushes for a greater size range in knitting patterns, a better understanding of knitting as a fat person and a more thoughtful attitude towards the topic.

Wendy is a knitter, spinner, occasional crocheter, and very occasional machine knitter. She is also an internationally recognised speed knitter of socks: a five-time finalist in Sock Madness and a four-time podium finisher.

She loves fingering weight yarn, jewel tones and brights, sharing her knitting knowledge (gained from trying all manner of tools and techniques), and connecting through craft and other common threads.

Wendy is an elder millennial Chinese Tangata Tiriti from Tāmaki Makaurau, and she loves to foster supportive community and talk education, social justice, travel, food, books, dogs, and more. She can’t wait to get learning with you!

Stella loves to try different techniques and to learn about knitting histories. When she found the online knitting community in the early 2000s she felt like she had found a new set of friends.

She learned about knitting in the round, steeking and colourwork through the generosity of experienced knitters who were happy to share what they had learned – so she feels its only right that she share what she knows now.

Knitting isn’t her only craft, she spins, sews, embroiders and weaves and sometimes she gets to exhibit her textile craft.

In her ‘day-job’ Stella teach students at a design school, and sometimes gets to visit the back rooms of museums – looking at knitwear and mending (two things that fascinate her).

Jodi lives in Southland with several pets, humans, and far too many crafting tools. A lifelong maker, she has been re-examining her practice through the lenses of neurodiversity, consumption and her day job as an environmental scientist. She loves it when people tell her about their makes (especially if she’s allowed to touch).