“Everything I create, it’s going to last forever,” head carver and lead artist Tamaroa Walker, of Rotorua’s Mountain Jade, says.
Pounamu specialist Mountain Jade was crowned Supreme Overall winner of the Tompkins Wake Rotorua Business Chamber awards at a glitzy ceremony on Saturday night. It also won the Deloitte Retail award.
Walker said his taonga were “inspired by the korero” with people understanding their past, present and future.
Pounamu are a traditional Māori taonga, a prized object. They are often gifted on significant occasions as a symbol of honour and respect. Many pounamu meanings stem from historical accounts of Māori life and the rich mythological and spiritual beliefs Māori hold.
Walker said it was a “big responsibility” to create family heirlooms.
He said handing over a taonga to its new owner could often be “quite emotional”.
“They are going to be family heirlooms for a very long time.”
When asked about taonga etiquette and if people should be gifted their first pounamu, Walker said people could purchase their own taonga with “the intention of one day handing it on” to future generations.
“It’s never really yours because it’s going to be here long after you leave,” he said.
Mountain Jade chief executive Sam Hulton said he believed the business won because of its storytelling and reinvention of traditional retail.
“We connect the customers to the artists and the stone. We take an approach to retail where it’s not about us, it’s never about us.”
Hulton said no two taonga were the same.
When Hulton took over the business in 2019, it was operating in a “very traditional retail model”, which was “essentially putting products on shelves and customers transacting them through the till”, he said.
Reinventing the customer experience by weaving the “experimental side of retail” into their product, in Hulton’s eyes, changed public perception.
“It’s always about the artists and being able to weave that element of storytelling into our retail process.
“It’s made for a pretty successful result.”
He invited customers to touch, engage and create a connection with the product.
“We’re really proud of it.”
“Customers can come in, meet the artists [and] see them at work in their space. It’s a fully functional, authentic, genuine workshop.”
Hulton said there was “stiff” competition in the Rotorua region, but felt “pretty confident we had a good shot in the retail category”.
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said it was the 20th year of the awards.
“It is a party celebration of success and everyone in Rotorua knows how to party,” Heard said.
He said the judges commented that entrants were of “very high standards”.
Heard believed it was the biggest business award ceremony in New Zealand.
“It was a great night. Tremendous spirit, everything was positive, all of the judges, partners and sponsors.”
KING STREET — CREATIVE ARTS & AND DESIGN
SCION — INNOVATION & AND TECHNOLOGY
ROTORUA NZ — MANAAKITANGA, TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
DELOITTE — RETAIL
PUKEROA ORUAWHATA HOLDINGS — PRIMARY, MANUFACTURING & BUILDING
TE ARAWA LAKES TRUST — PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
REDWOODS TREEWALK — KAITIAKITANGA ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
NZME — PEOPLE’S CHOICE
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT — EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
BNZ — BILINGUAL BUSINESS
TIMBERLANDS — WORKPLACE SAFETY AND WELLBEING
OSBORNES FUNERAL DIRECTORS — NOT FOR PROFIT & SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
CHEAL CONSULTANTS — EMERGING BUSINESS LEADER
ROTORUA LAKES COUNCIL — OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO ROTORUA
RED STAG TIMBER — BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR
TOMPKINS WAKE — SUPREME OVERALL WINNER
Michaela Pointon is an NZME reporter based in the Bay of Plenty and was formerly a feature writer.