April dawns, and as I write this I’m part of an Easter Celebration!  Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the ultimate source of love, grace, and forgiveness. A time of renewal and as a follower of Christ, this gives me hope and faith.

                          “The Lord is my shepherd……”     Psalm 23.

I reflect on The Colour Closet diary for last month and wish to share with you our story.  The Colour Closet team was kept busy almost every weekend.

In addition to Saturday, March 4^th, we had stalls on the 17^th and 24^th.  Saturday, 24^th March was the Auckland Pasifika Festival, the largest of its kind in the South Pacific.  Our stall was in the Hawai’i Village and we thank Miki, committee members and entire crew for the efficient running of the programme in the village throughout the day.  The warm Aloha spirit was evident. Mahalo nui loa.

We made friends, and sales were good on the day. The heavy rain didn’t dampen our spirit. Instead, we immersed ourselves in watching cultural performances, engaging in conversations with people from diverse cultural ethnicities, food tasting, learning craft, and so forth.  I have included a few photos taken on the day.

Back in early February, we were approached by the Government’s Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), to see if The Colour Closet could produce uniforms for all their staff.  We were thrilled for the opportunity yet ambivalent. We were a small-budget operation that had been in business for only 2 months at the time.  However, The Colour Closet is never one to miss an opportunity.  We seize opportunities as they arrive, Carpe diem, we believe! And yes, and we thank God. So after a few meetings, we were given the contract.

The Ministry staff are located throughout the country and it was agreed that The Colour Closet would manufacture the majority of the uniforms and a few would attend to their own. We were to source fabrics but final decisions on the fabric and style lay with the Ministry.

On Wed 28^th March was the 2018 Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards. The Awards, hosted by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, provide an opportunity for New Zealand’s high-achieving Pacific youth aged 17-24, to be recognised for their contributions to the country by the Rt Hon Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.  It was on this night that senior staff members wore the outfits for the first time. I’ve included two photos taken on that night (sourced from MPP gallery) in the montage above.  We were so gratified to receive the following note from Terina Cowan, MPP Acting National Policy Manager:

Kia Orana Ravai

On behalf of the Ministry I would like to thank you for your service and the excellent product you provided. 

On the night of the Prime Ministers Youth Awards we were proud to be wearing uniforms (as well as the fabric) sourced by the Colour Closet.

You took our design brief and brought it alive. The uniforms were well tailored, and a good fit for our “shapely Pacific figures”. More importantly you ensured the pattern represented symbols from all Pacific Island communities we represent.

I have and will be recommending your services in the future.

Thank you for helping us to represent our Pacific Communities with pride

It was truly a priviledge to be given this chance and we thank the decision makers at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples for their support: Noa’ia.

Happy days!

Until the next time, be kind to one another.

 

PS

For your attire choices for upcoming celebrations and events visit us on www.thecolourcloset.com . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.