People often ask me why I chose the name Korowai by Hiria.
It's a fair question.
Especially because the korowai has such deep cultural significance. For many people, a korowai is a treasured taonga. A symbol of honour, identity and achievement. Something worn during life's most important moments. I see that too.
But somewhere along the journey, I realised that wasn't the only reason I was drawn to the word.
Long before we had a studio. Long before we had a team. Long before we had hundreds of customers walking through our doors...I already knew how I wanted people to feel.
I wanted people to feel welcomed. Not judged for what they didn't know. Not afraid to ask questions. Not worried about whether they were "Māori enough" or whether they belonged. Just welcomed.
Growing up, I saw how powerful it was when people were given permission to be curious. To create. To reconnect. To sit together and kōrero without fear of getting it wrong. That feeling stayed with me.
When I eventually started this business, I thought I was creating contemporary korowai. Now I realise I was trying to create something much bigger. To me, a korowai has always represented more than something you wear.
It represents how you care for people. How you make them feel. How you wrap them in warmth, kindness and belonging. That's always been the heart of this business.
The korowai we create are handcrafted with care, but they're only one expression of that idea. It's there when someone walks into our studio for the first time. It's there when a customer nervously asks a question they've been too embarrassed to ask elsewhere. It's there when we celebrate a graduation, a wedding or a milestone with a whānau. It's there when someone leaves feeling a little more connected to themselves than when they arrived. That's the korowai I've always hoped to create. Not just the one that rests on someone's shoulders. The one they carry with them when they leave.
Looking back now, I think the business has been teaching me its purpose all along. I simply didn't have the words for it yet. Today, I do.
Korowai was never just the name of our products. It was always the name of the feeling we hoped people would leave with.
Ngā mihi,
Hiria
Founder, Korowai by Hiria