Meet Tasmyn Roach, owner of Awhi Company

Cultural identity is at the heart of Tasmyn Roach's business, Awhi Company. She shares her story with Kahu de Beer.  

Māmā and business owner Tasmyn Roach has a deep passion for tamariki to know and be grounded in their cultural identity from birth. Her business, Awhi company, provides a way for this to be realised through their baby blankets, muslin wraps, and throws designed with an element of Māori design or te reo Māori, so pēpi can know and embrace their identity from birth. "In te reo Māori, awhi means to embrace, hug and cherish. Awhi Company is about providing a safe place for our pēpi so they feel nurtured and supported" says Tasmyn.

From small beginnings six years ago, Tasmyn, 29, along with the help of her partner Lance, 32, now works on Awhi Company full time. “We’ve come a long way and have grown so much, we just opened our first store in June at the Historic Village in Tauranga. We had outgrown our house so being able to have a space dedicated to Awhi Company is so special. We’ve had so many great opportunities come our way and been fortunate to receive some funding to help grow our business too” she shares.

One of the things that drives Tasmyn is her vision to see Māori māmā and pēpi supported. “I used to work with rangatahi (youth) that had a lot of barriers and not much support. At times it felt like no matter what I did to support them I couldn’t help. So I thought, what if we flip that on its head and see if we can provide more support for our māmā and pēpi in those first 1000 days, in hopes that they grow up being strong, resilient tamariki that are more prepared to face challenges in the future” says Tasmyn.

Tasmyn was brought up in the small, rural community of Ōtorohanga. “My grandad Bill Millar had a business as a taxi driver taking tourists to Waitomo, I would often go with him and he’d get me to sing a Māori waiata, and he'd pay me two dollars. Although I didn’t know it at the time my grandad was teaching me skills I would need to run a business from a young age. I got my first job at 14 at our local fish and chip shop, and have always known the value of hard work” says Tasmyn.

Growing up, there was very little te reo Māori spoken in her home. “My uncle and aunties were brought up in a time where they were beaten for speaking te reo Māori at school. My dad being the youngest of 12 didn’t grow up speaking te reo Māori so the language was lost in our whānau” she shares. At 13 Tasmyn went to Hamilton Girls High School, and it was there that she started her journey to learn more about her culture. “They had te reo Māori classes as subjects which is something we didn’t get at primary school. This was so exciting for me and really ignited my passion to learn more” she says.

It was while Tasmyn was studying fashion design in Tauranga (where they are now based) in 2012 that she first started making baby blankets for family and friends. “I gave them as gifts and they quickly became a favourite at baby showers, so I decided to sell some on Facebook to raise money to go and visit my sister in Australia who had just had her first baby. After that I just kept going with it, doing it on the side. As the demand grew though I started to feel limited with the designs I was finding at fabric stores here so we decided to go to China to look for a manufacturer who could help create custom Awhi Company designs and bring our vision to life” she shares.

As business has grown and more and more opportunities have come their way, Tasmyn’s sister Shenaye has stepped in to help. “We started employing Shenaye in April when, as a business, we were fortunate enough to be chosen by the Princes Trust to attend the King’s Coronation in London. We couldn’t have gone if she hadn't been there to hold down the fort while we were away” says Tasmyn. Since then Shenaye has helped expand the business in other areas; helping with baby shows, expos, and in the shop. “She’s super organised which is exactly what we need, none of what we’re doing would be possible without her”, says Tasmyn. She also credits her partner, Lance for being such a solid rock and support. “He helps with stocktakes, does all the heavy lifting, helps run the shop when Shenaye and I are away at expos, but most importantly he is my sounding board and biggest encourager when things get hard”. Like Tasmyn, Lance also has a passion for creating a positive future for tamariki. He’s in his last year of studying Environmental Science at Waikato University. “Having this qualification will help him ensure our maunga, awa and whenua are healthy and well for the future generations” shares Tasmyn. 

When asked how she navigates life as a new mum with a growing business she shares that it hasn’t been easy. “Our son, Kahika [now 18 months], developed severe eczema around 2-3 months old which was really stressful.” After not being able to get to the root cause of the issue through the medical system they sought out a naturopath, healers and dietitians who supported underlying factors such as his gut health and diet. “It finally started clearing up when he was around 8 months old and thankfully he’s been fine since” she says. During that season Tasmyn also remembers how not having family support around them physically was really challenging. “We didn’t have anyone close by who could help out when things got hard or I needed a break, my partner was studying full time and I had a lot of breastfeeding issues and ended up getting mastitis eight times! I look back now and I wonder ‘how did we do that?’ I had no idea how much the sleep deprivation would affect me either, it makes you go crazy and heightens your emotions so much. I was just in survival mode” she shares. 

Now that their son is in the toddler stage, Tasmyn finds it much easier. “He’s so much cruisier now, his personality is coming out and he’s so loving and curious. I love that I get to be around for him so much and watch him grow and learn.” Kahika comes with them into their Tauranga shop most days. Shenaye also brings her kids, Makaia, 6, and Rīhari (who’s the same age as Kahika) into the shop occasionally. “It’s so cool having the babies be a part of the business, I’m excited to see what the future holds for them as they will know anything is possible if you put the mahi in" she says.

When asked about what’s ahead for their business and family, Tasmyn says, “Being able to provide for our whānau and free ourselves up to have more time together has always been a big goal for us with Awhi Company, but our broader vision is to see our tamariki standing strong in who they are and where they come from. We’re currently working on establishing te reo Māori playgroups which will be another aspect of our vision that we can’t wait to see come to life”.

Words: Kahu de Beer

Photography: Ria Rawiri

Check out awhicompany.co.nz and @awhi_company on Instagram for more.