Kaitiakitanga guides how we design and make — with deep respect for the natural world. We use sustainable, renewable materials and low-impact processes that protect the mauri of our environment. To us, kaitiakitanga means taking only what we need and giving back wherever we can. Through conscious design, we seek harmony between human creativity and the health of Papatūānuku.
Rangatiratanga is the freedom to carve our own path , guided by out whakapapa, and to create from authenticity rather than conformity or trends.
We define success by integrity, not scale. Our goal is to inspire excellence underpinned by Kaupapa Maori values (not capitalism and neoliberalism) to empower our people, and to model creative self determination. Through our mahi, we embody rangatiratanga as an act of independence and service — designing a future shaped by our own values, and hopefully leaving footsteps that may guide a better way.
Manaakitanga shapes how we engage with others — from our artisans and partners to our customers and communities. It means extending care, acting with integrity, and honouring the mana of all we encounter.
We actively embody this value by working exclusively with likeminded people, by paying a living wage in Aotearoa and Fair Trade Premiums in India. Through these premiums, we invest into community enterprise, girls education and sanitation. Working with predominantly natural sustainable materials with an eye to their end of life / sustainability is also an expression of manaaki encompassed by the whakatauki 'Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri a muri ake nei'- For us and our children after us.
Our approach to design is grounded in hospitality — creating products that embody kindness, respect, and generosity. Each Aho piece is an offering that reflects the value of uplifting ourselves & others.
Whakapapa reminds us that we are part of something larger — a living continuum of tupuna, environments, and ideas. Aho- inspired by the Aho Manawa or central connecting line in kōwhaiwhai, a key visual language in our designs, remind us of our interconnectedness. Our creative process acknowledges provenance and relationship. Every design carries a story of connection: between maker and material, between land and lineage, identity and belonging.
Auahatanga sits at the centre of our values — the living spark that shapes every idea into something tangible, meaningful, and grounded in whakapapa.
Creativity for us is deeply hands-on. We are energised by making with our own hands, staying closely connected to the materials, processes, and forms that bring each product to life.
All of our products start in manual process- a sketch on paper usually. Our prototyping happens in house and occasionally, when we've limited by our technology or scale or skills, we collaborate with others who share our values.
Aho Creative is proudly Māori owned — a reflection of our whakapapa, our values, and our vision for design that uplifts. It is a reflection of our whakapapa, and the many talented Wahine from whom we descend, for whom being Māori wasn't culturally or socially accepted.
We are the convergence of the many threads of whakapapa that make us who we are. Each piece we create is more than an object; it’s a continuation of story, lineage, and responsibility.
As a Māori-owned studio, we see design as a vessel for connection - to the whenua, to our communities, and to the aspirations of future generations who will inherit the threads we lay down today.
Aho Creative is shaped and guided by wāhine — by the quiet strength, intuition, and integrity that come from generations of mana wāhine before us. Aho was conceived just as Kristy, our founder, became a māmā to a kōtiro. Stepping into motherhood — while already being a daughter, aunty, sister, and wahine Māori — brought a deep understanding that leadership can look and feel different. It can be soft and powerful, grounded and expansive, nurturing and visionary all at once.
We believe feminine energy offers a way of shaping the world that complements and rebalances dominant masculine models — one rooted in care, balance, reciprocity, and creation. Leadership for us is relational rather than hierarchical; it is about uplifting others, making space, and moving with empathy. Through Aho, we honour mana wāhine by designing, collaborating, and leading in ways that reflect our whakapapa and our commitment to collective wellbeing and empowerment.
We are whānau owned — a business that functions like a home, at home. Our studio is built on shared creativity and collaboration between family members and collaborators who bring their talents and skills to every project. All of products and projects are conceived and developed within a tuakana-teina sibling collaboration between Reuben & Kristy.
Achan, Kristy's hoatane provides the vital pragmatism with systems, accounting and marketing expertise.
Equity. Integrity. Respect.
Fair trade is a promise of fairness and dignity for every maker. We collaborate with manufacturing partners that uphold transparent, ethical labour standards and pay kaimahi what their skill deserves. Fair trade is our way of honouring manaakitanga — ensuring that beauty never comes at the cost of wellbeing.
Every product we create reflects our belief that design can uplift everyone involved in its making.
Pure. Sustainable. Regenerative.
Our textiles are made from 100% certified organic cotton — grown without chemicals, in a regenerative farming ecosystem while supporting soil health and cleaner waterways. Choosing organic is part of our kaitiakitanga — a commitment to care for the earth and the people who cultivate it. It is also an expression of upholding whakapapa- understanding the provenance and impact of our fabrics from seed and whenua, through ginning, spinning and printing.
Each fibre tells a story of sustainability while depicting designs that speak to whakapapa, ensuring comfort without compromise. Our materials honour the whenua and the integrity of those who work it.
We believe everyone deserves to live well and be compensated for their mahi and matauranga in a way that enables this.
Our commitment to paying a living wage reflects our kaupapa of manaakitanga — upholding dignity and care through fair compensation.
A living wage is not generosity; it’s responsibility, and frankly, a non negotiable. We believe in putting our money where our mouth, by voting with our dollars, for the kind of world and value systems we want our tamariki to inherit.
Through ethical pay, we weave respect into every stage of our process.
