AOLELE - WANDERING CLOUD
Leone in front of Ti Temanna, 2018
AOLELE looks to the power of personal adornment to elevate our spirits, make bold statements, and celebrate cultural heritage and identity.
Inspired by alofa for contemporary Pacific art and heritage, the handmade collection injects fearless colour into celebrated Pacific motifs, embracing and reworking them as wearable pieces of art. AOLELE designs are intended to be worn as triumphant declarations of love for Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa.*
Leone Samu Tui - maker
Malo lava le soifua, Tēnā koutou, Si’oto’ofa, Malo Ni. I’m an i-Moana maker-designer born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland, NZ). I whakapapa to the villages of Malie, Sapunaoa, and Eva in Samoa, and Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa in Aotearoa. Having spent much of the past decade working in a museum in the city, I’ve had incredible opportunities to witness emotional re-connections between communities and their measina. This has left a lasting creative impression.
I'm SO grateful to you if you've bought earrings, stopped by the Paeahua (Instagram) or Pukamata (Facebook), complimented anybody who was wearing these earrings, or vocally expressed your admiration for your relative's pairs so much so that they had no choice but to gift them to you. Haha! I’m excited to bring out new designs and work on new ideas now that I finally have made a place to put them on the ipurangi (internet).
Ia Manuia!
*Oceania
