The street frontage of the textile studio in the heart of Māwhera/ Greymouth is complete.
Over the past few months two local artists have been working with me to create the new logo for the West Coast Cloth Company. The logos have now been printed and installed on the windows of the studio and above the pavement. Visitors and passersby have been commenting on how good it looks and I am very happy with the end result. The decals have been made in gold to reflect the signage of the town in the Gold Rush days of the 19th Century and they suit the Regent Theatre, the Art Deco building that houses the studio.
The logo carries multiple meanings. At face value it is a weaving shuttle floating across point twill and diamond weaving patterns but all of those motifs are also symbolic. The shuttle is boat-shaped, echoing that of a waka, a Māori canoe. The twill patterns are reminders of the mountains that sequester and guard the Coast, and the diamonds are arranged as the nine stars of Matariki, the Pleiades, that play a significant part in New Zealand’s culture.
Although this was not intentional, there is a rather wonderful coincidence that has come about. In one of the beautiful stories from Aotearoa, that of Tama Rereti, the Milky Way is born of light created by the eponymous hero finding his way home in his waka, scattering luminous stones to guide him. That light remains in the sky to help light the way for people to this day. I hope the studio will live up to its logo and be an illuminator and guide for those who need it.
