Kōrero with a Creative: MANAWA Creative
Ataria Sharman: Can you share the personal journey that led to MANAWA Creative?
Lisa Awatere: George and I have been best friends since we were 17 and met at Waikato University. We bonded over our dreams of higher education and navigating tēnei ao hou - George having just finished at Hato Pētera and Lisa having just returned from America. We remained tight as we went through university, relationships, whaanau losses, career development, and other important milestones.
In Matariki 2022, we felt the fire in our bellies and discussed starting something to provide community and inclusivity for waahine like us. It was a discussion sparked by the fantastic M9 held on 9 September 2022, where, before the event, we found ourselves searching for kaakahu and struggling to find something that represented what we wanted to wear.
At M9, Uncle Rob Ruha discussed taaera, style, and Pere Wihongi talked about being ‘disrupters’. This struck a nerve in us, and it felt like their koorero were tohu for us to whaaia a maaua whakaaro nui. We dreamed of starting something big and bold but worked out that wasn’t feasible, so we started smaller.
After many waananga at cafes in Te Kauwhata (halfway between Manurewa and Kirikiriroa, our towns) and video calls during work hours and late-night or early-morning text chats, we launched our brand on Matariki 2023 with our first product, staple crewneck jerseys.
The core values of MANAWA Creative are self-love, self-worth, self-acceptance and building a community of inclusivity. How do these manifest uniquely in your kākahu?
Lisa: The kupu MANAWA has many meanings, such as heart (of a person or seat of emotions), patience, tolerance, and breath. Our logo is boldly embroidered across the chest, a taonga for protection and pride. We dream that when anyone wears that particular garment, they instantly feel pride in not only wearing kaakahu with kupu Maaori but uplifting pakihi Maaori and, in turn, uplifting waahine Maaori.
George: With kupu Maaori becoming more popularised in our surroundings and far more familiar, this is another example of showing pride in being Maaori, indigenous, and wahine. With pride comes confidence; with confidence comes self-love, self-worth and self-acceptance. Ultimately, we want the wearer of our kaakahu to feel as beautiful as we see them, as beautiful as their most loved person sees them.
The MANAWA embroidered crewneck shirt is your iconic piece. Could you delve into its backstory and share the inspiration behind it?
Lisa: We were inspired by the thought of providing a high-end jersey for a tidy-casual or work-casual setting. We visualise our crew necks being worn by waahine across the spectrum, like our friend Gabby, living in the city, having just finished mahi for the week and taking off her corporate layer to pair her outfit with our MANAWA crew neck. She kicks her heels off in the office and puts on sneakers before heading out to meet the girls for a much-needed debrief!
Or Nanny Janis in the busy kaauta at the marae whipping up her famous fundraiser steamed puddings, dustings of flour upon her MANAWA crew neck. Nana Aorere sitting close to her heater, MANAWA emblazoned across her chest as she relishes completing a crossword. Aunty Bub doing her morning school drop-offs in tights and a messy bun with her MANAWA crew to pull the outfit together.
George: The crew neck comes in black or white embroidery on a black crew, a casual look for fashion-forward women. The white embroidery offers a bold statement, whereas the black embroidery is an understated option—one size of our most popular white embroidery sold out in the first week. The embroidery of our logo across the chest is iconic and strong, the feeling we wanted each of the wearers of our kaakahu to exude each time they wore their MANAWA crew neck.
Can you walk us through the journey of an initial design concept into a tangible kākahu? How long does this process usually take?
George: It was all go when we settled on a name for our pakihi. The name MANAWA was decided in late 2022 and is an amalgamation of our last names: MANuel and AWAtere. Lisa designed the logo, which took a few weeks to develop into one we loved and included koru details in the letters M and A.
Lisa: To stay local, we approached Studio 386 in Hamilton to help us. We were determined to have an embroidered product to provide a higher quality crew neck and as a way of setting ourselves apart from other pakihi.
The only way to get this started was by funding it all ourselves. The fire in our bellies was too great to ignore. We acknowledge this isn’t feasible for everyone, and to kick it all off, we started with a limited first order. From concept to a tangible product was a matter of 6 weeks.
What is a typical day behind the scenes at MANAWA Creative?
Lisa: A typical day for both of us includes waking at 5:45 a.m. (or earlier) and sending each other check-in texts. I’ll start the day by editing and posting our videos on our social channels before 6:30 a.m. Then comes the rush to get ready for my day job and out the door by 7:45 a.m. with two girls in tow.
During the day, it’s not unusual for us to message a million times, swap content ideas, share updates, update our website, discuss plans, organise paid advertising and check in on each other. We squeeze in video calls and get into waananga mode and koorero about the pakihi during the work day when we can.
Once home from work, it’s a flurry of snacks, tea, dishes, whaanau time, bath time, bedtime, squeezing in late-night email queries, ordering items, and planning and preparing social content for the week ahead. Packing orders are squeezed in there somehow, too.
George: I start my day with scheduled self-care such as journaling, karakia, training or having a slow morning- doing these things ensures I start my day right by centring myself.
My daily priorities include feeding my fur babies, giving the whare and those in it some love and then going about my routine and long commute for my day job. MANAWA is a constant thought in my mind as I go through my day, so typically, I’ll post and re-share MANAWA content with my audience, answer Lisa’s gazillion messages and review data dumps or answer messages in our social channels.
When MANAWA first kicked off, I was also studying a part-time business paper, guiding us about what to do or not to do. I stay on top of numbers, accounting for money spent on items for the pakihi and setting the correct and fair price for products.
Lisa: Being the mathematician queen we love and appreciate.
While starting a business can be rewarding, it also comes with challenges. What has been one of your most unexpected hurdles or learnings?
Lisa: Finding someone local to help with our biggest project (coming soon!). As much as we would love to stay local, that is slowly becoming impossible. While we will keep trying to hold onto the hope of snagging that amazing person locally, the reality is that Aotearoa does not have the capacity currently. Off-shore is one way of keeping cost margins down, too.
We tried to look after one another and started this pakihi with the whakaaro to have fun. With that said, when things get too much, and we can’t take on more tasks for the pakihi, we should be mindful of that for each other. It can be a delicate balance, but as we are the pakihi, we can’t afford to burn ourselves out for the sake of business. We’re both invested and hard workers; sometimes, knowing when to say we can’t do an additional task is tough.
Another challenge is not being able to see each other aa-tinana as much as we’d like.
George: Many people may not realise this venture is completely new to us. I’ve found everything that is new and unchartered territory challenging and exciting. Another challenge includes finding Aotearoa-specific resources and information that is readily accessible.
Where can those drawn to MANAWA Creative find your kākahu?
Lisa: Online at Manawa-creative.com, you can sign up for our newsletter. We are also active on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Whai mai koutou!
What might we anticipate from MANAWA Creative in the future?
Lisa: Creativity constantly evolves. Our Kawakawa brooch is an amazing product, ready to drop soon, just in time for Christmas. It’s a little different and can complement many of the kaakahu Maaori we already own. You can wear it to corporate events, tangihanga and even the next M9! We have an exciting project, ready to drop Matariki 2024. Watch for more on our social channels, e te whanau!