The dream of a truely sustainable Aho Kākahu collection has been a pipedream for many years- since before Aho really became Aho.
The appreciation of beautiful clothes, textiles, silhouette, structure and style has been one I've carried for a lifetime- but the complete lack of know-how to get the pipe-dream from dream to reality has had it on the back burner forever.
This year, we decided to give it a go- to literally jump in the deep end without much clue about either how to swim, who could direct us or where the current might take us. This is the story of our journey so far in creating fair trade, sustainable, organic, locally manufactured kākahu that both reflect our values and our aesthetic. Continue reading

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From the Fields, we followed the cotton to the next stage of the process. Cotton Ginning is the process of separating the cotton fibers from the cotton seeds that they protect.
The 'Gin' is a massive complex where the the freshly picked cotton is taken by the sack for processing. As we approached the Gin, trucks and ox carts lined the road. Bulging and overflowing with cotton. 

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In November 2019 we set out to India to document the whakapapa and the journey of our cotton from seed to product. This is the story of the seed and the farmers and whānau where the journey begins.  Continue reading

A little about us, me, and how although I'd love to leave myself out of the AHO narrative, the journey and the fabric itself is interwoven and inextricable from my journey and the whakapapa of our whānau.  Here's a little about how we came to be where we are. Continue reading

This is the first in our series about the whakapapa of our products. From whakapapa to concept. Concept to seed. Seed to fabric. Fabric to product. Product to home.

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It's Boxing day!  And we're not having a sale. But you'd probably already guessed that. So we thought we'd explain why.
See this hapu, they're the collective who provide our cotton. It's hard physical work. Growing a crop, harvesting it, fertilising it with homemade compost and depending on the seasonal rains to water it. There's no pesticide, irrigation or machinery here.

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As a whānau with young tamariki we've been discussing what we want Christmas to look like in our Kāinga.
Our kids don't yet have any expectations or exposure to what's 'normal' in our culture (aka pine trees, mountains of gifts, santa etc) , and so we're trying to be deliberate, to learn about where traditions have come from, and to decide if we want to participate in them. Continue reading