I moved to Australia and worked in high fashion, then went to India in 2011, where I saw lots of cotton and rug weaving. When I returned to Melbourne, I realised I needed to move on from fashion. I spent some time trying to divine my future and ended up moving to Wye River, a very small town near Melbourne. I got a good job in a café; the rent was cheap, and my sister gave me a loom. I taught myself to weave using the internet. It wasn’t very sophisticated! I made small items like scarves and set up a rug site. After a year, I moved back to New Zealand in 2013.

I bought a floor loom and wove lots of scarves, shawls, and wall hangings. I worked in hospitality and for Lela, who by this time had The Keep on K Road. In 2016, I cut back my paid work hours to weave full-time at TUR, the gallery that Joseph Yen and I opened. TUR presents handmade ceramics, jewelry, metalwork, and textiles. Full-time weaving gave me the time to solve problems, 'iron out the creases,' and learn patience.

Meeting and getting to know who wore my work was rewarding. Weaving created connectivity and community. But as my work progressed, constant visitors made concentration difficult. By 2018, after four years on K Rd, I felt hemmed in by the noise. I needed peace, quiet, and time for reflection. I was offered my own place on a friend’s rural property, so I moved. It was good for a time because my weaving changed. Without interruptions, I had the headspace to go deeper into weaving. I ordered some single-ply linen yarn from India in 2017, and weaving linen helped me find my own voice. Stripping everything back to natural and black linen, I used the structure I created as my language.