First presentation…

Ka mate te kāinga tahi, ka ora te kāinga rua (When one house dies, a second lives) This is the essence behind tākiri, to provide people like myself with another chance…

There was an all-earring batch a while ago that I sent to my friends JR and Mandy to put in their shop up in Gulf-harbour but not withstanding their polite oohs and aahs I kinda figured that the earrings were a little mundane on their own and decided that a rethink of my product line was needed.

The takiri range is a mixture of earrings, necklaces and bookmarks. All the shiny metal pieces are either solid or plated silver or another metal (the pieces are also nickel, cadmium and lead free). The very pretty beads come from a highly reputable manufacturer in Jaipur, India. I spent some time in Jaipur 4 years ago and apart from the heat (50° Centigrade) I was struck by just how different it was as a city to other places we visited in India, in as much as there is real pride in their very distinct culture which is situated on the edge of a desert and is also the capital of the state of Rajasthan. There is a definite artistic flavour to the city and colours used in art works tended to be exaggerated to compensate for the drabness of the desert.

The style of the beads is either Kashmiri or Maruti. The base element of each bead is machine made (which makes them all appear very precisely made) and then hand-decorated. There are also a few Indonesian beads (the slightly simpler ones). I did make a few bracelets but they did not hang about long and I will eventually make a few more to add to this page.

Depending on demand, I will go ahead and produce more of the same with some refinements. I am always trying to refine what I make and suppliers do not always stock exactly the same part…also non-toxic or non-allergenic has also become something I watch out for which makes sourcing parts quite specific. The straps for the necklaces are leather-lookalike (no animal products used in the jewellery), the quality of the photos is evolving too so new pictures will be posted as this process improves!

Going forward, the original idea behind takiri is still the aim and guiding principle namely: to empower disabled people by creating an employment option. This will be realised when eventual production/marketing increases to a commercial level. The production is having other unexpected benefits already. When I started making stuff, my right hand was becoming increasingly more unusable due to ms, and I botched several trial pieces (as well as stabbed my left hand many times!) now, I am able to make finely detailed products as well as anybody else is able to. Whether it is the brain making new neural pathways or some other reason is just proof that this whole process is proving beneficial.

The range and style of products will also evolve, I have already found some other beads from another source that I want to use and an indigenous Kiwi range using wholly NZ made components, will be added to the takiri lineup later this year.