Kataraina Morrell stands next to one of her cloaks in her Hastings store. Photo / Jack Riddell
Kataraina Morrell stands next to one of her cloaks in her Hastings store. Photo / Jack Riddell
A young Hawke’s Bay business owner’s traditional and handmade Māori cloaks are flying off the shelves of her Hastings store to the four corners of the world.
When Kataraina Morrell finished at Flaxmere College, she decided to follow her childhood dream of becoming a teacher and obtained her early childhoodlicence by the time she was 18.
Three years into her teaching career, Morrell, now 22, had a sudden change of heart.
While thinking about her next career move, she saw an ad for a role in retail in Hastings on Facebook, which she applied for and got, despite being a bit shy.
“I come from Bridge Pā, so I thought Hastings was like this big scary town.
“But being in town and talking to people, it’s been nice because I never had that experience. You meet heaps of different people and cultures. It’s really cool.”
While she was learning the ropes of her new industry, Morrell started teaching herself how to make cloaks from her home.
Māori feather cloaks such as korowai or kākahu, are typically worn for special occasions and represent the mana of the person wearing them.
Coming in full, half, and quarter lengths, they are worn to mark and celebrate weddings, graduations, tangi, significant birthdays, and other special occasions.
To make the cloaks, Morrell uses a cotton fabric base which she attaches to a tankio band, a decorative border made out of wool featuring Māori patterns.
“The tankio bands have all different meanings and come from different iwi,” Morrell said.
“So Pātiki means the flounder [fish] coming from the Ngati Porou iwi. So, this represents prosperity, good luck, and favourable times.
“So that’s one of the ways we tell your story through the korowai.”
Morrell then attaches the feathers to the cotton and is finished once the fabric can no longer be seen behind the feathers, with a full-size cloak taking her anywhere from one to three weeks to complete, depending on how many other orders she has.
Morrell started sharing her creations on her personal Facebook page, which led to whānau and friends getting in touch, asking her to make one for them.
Cloaks by Kataraina Morrell at her store MKM Design in Hastings. Photo / Jack Riddell
Soon, Morrell was contacted by Work and Income to go on its Flexi-wage for self-employment, a programme designed to support individuals starting their own business by providing subsidies.
Through Flexi-wage, Morrell was able to gain access to business mentoring, which helped her complete her business plan and move into her own store, MKM Designs, in September 2024.
Still in that shop, most of Morrell’s orders are from her website, which sees customers from across Aotearoa, but from as far afield as Australia, Hawaii, India, and Ireland.
She is hoping more Hawke’s Bay locals will also pop into her store on King St South, in Hastings, to view her work.
Morrell’s next goal is to open a store in Australia, but she has one simple message for the rangatahi of Hawke’s Bay.
“Go for your dreams,” she said.
“You’ll crack it.”
This story has been updated to amend its use of the word korowai - which is a specific traditional design of Māori cloak/kākahu.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.
