Our Story
Mauri ora kia koutau katoa
I te taha o tōku Kuia
Ko Tararua pae maunga
Ko Manawatu, ko Ohau tōku awa
Ko Tainui tōku waka
Ko Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, ko Ngāti Tukorehe tōku iwi
Ko Turanga, ko Mateawa tōku hapū
Ko Paranui, ko Tukorehe tōku marae
Ko Hohepa tōku ingoa
No reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tatau katoa
Kia ora e te iwi,
My name is Joe Collins and I'm based in Whakatū, Nelson with my wee whānau, my wife Katie and our son Hōhepa Wiremu.
Welcome to my small family owned business page Kōhatu Kohara, where you will find hand crafted jewellery, predominantly beautiful New Zealand stone.
My carving journey began when I moved back to Aotearoa in 2019 after spending four years playing rugby in Europe. Coming home I realised that I spent years learning about another culture and another language, yet I didn't know much about my own.
I began to reconnect with te ao Māori in 2021 and a deeply rooted love for Toi Māori was discovered. From kapa haka to whakairo, raranga to tā moko, I find it all so amazing. There is so much to learn, and the stories are endless.
While I was watching Tiktoks (of all things), I watched a guy with a dremel carving small kōhatu and I decided I wanted to give it a go. The rest is history.