Taonga of great beauty
Joe Collins from Kohatu Kohara in his backyard workshop.
Joe and Katie Collins’ backyard contains a growing pile of rocks in all shapes and sizes. To the untrained eye, they are just a pile of random stones, but to Joe, they are treasure from which he carves his jewellery masterpieces.
In 2019, Joe returned to Aotearoa after spending four years playing rugby in Europe. “It soon dawned on me how little I knew about my Māori heritage and culture,” he says, “and a few years later I began to reconnect with te ao Māori, developing a deep love for Māori art and craft – Toi Māori.”
A TikTok video demonstrating stone carving sparked his interest, and it wasn’t long before he had purchased the equipment needed to begin his own carving adventures. This was also when the rock pile began to grow.
The top of the South is an excellent source of stone, thanks to its ancient volcanic and tectonic activity, and Joe is having remarkable success turning pieces into unique taonga to wear, using a range of different varieties. “I really like the Douglas Creek Serpentine, which is light green and comes up beautifully,” he says.
“The soft pink glow of Rhodonite is completely different again, as is the Marsden Flower Jade, a type of greenstone.” His process is instinctive, with the stone directing him.
“I look at it and feel it before cutting it into slabs. I can get a number of pieces out of some stones and then begin grinding them down to see what characteristics they have.
Once I’ve shaped each piece, I grind it further with wheels of finer and finer grits and then buff it until I am happy with it.”
Another special part of the process is creating the lashing so that the stone can be worn, and this is an art in itself. He also makes earrings.
Katie has been a great support and is excited about Joe’s creative journey. Their son, Hōhepa Wiremu, is already fascinated by the rocks his dad works with and, although still a toddler, is showing signs of being a keen apprentice.
The couple’s dream is for Joe to be able to work full-time at his craft. With increasing demand for his work, their business KŌHATU KOHARA is growing.
“This is something that he’s going to be able to do for a lifetime,” says Katie.
“It is also a dream of mine to be able to teach the skills I have learnt to young people and pass the joy of using what nature has provided on,” chips in Joe.
There is no doubt that he has a remarkable affinity for his materials and a natural ability to transform them into taonga of great beauty.