This is part of my new series “Inspired by New Zealand” — a small collection of stories about the moments, landscapes and living things that shape my work. Today I want to share the Tui — a bird that has quietly become one of my muses.
When we first settled in New Zealand, I loved to sit on the shaded deck beneath the trees and simply listen. The Tui would appear between branches and fences, filling the air with a dazzling, changeable song — flute-like whistles, bubbling clicks and unexpected echoes. It felt like meeting a local poet: small, brilliant and endlessly inventive.
More than the melody, it was the Tui’s colour that stayed with me. In a different light, the feathers flashed blues and greens that seemed to move as the bird turned; the effect was both subtle and startling. Those shifting tones and the bird’s lively motion became the language I wanted to translate into fibre.
So I began to paint with wool and silk — thin layers of premium merino over a silk ground, tiny highlights of raw silk to catch the light, sculpted into drape and movement. The result is a shawl that lives: it shimmers like a Tui’s wing, it breathes like its song, and it carries the memory of that shaded deck where inspiration first arrived.
🎁 Gift-ready – a perfect present with meaning and heart
👉 Ready to Make It Yours?
View and buy Tui Scarf: click here
View and try to create in my workshop: click here
View and buy on Etsy: click here
Every piece I make tells a story. This one began with a bird on a windy morning — a flash of iridescent blue-green and a curious song that wouldn’t leave my head.
🔗 Like this story?
This is part of my new series “Inspired by New Zealand” — a collection of short stories about the moments, landscapes and living things that shape my work.
Next story: Pohutukawa blossoms — fiery red and winter-warm memories.