Our He Whare Korowai – Home From Home facility at Hospice House now has beautiful felt kōwhai and pōhutukawa flowers as part of the Poroporoaki Final Farewell process. They’ve been carefully hand-crafted and donated by Hayley, a talented textile artist and founder of Design Create Inspire NZ, who was “so inspired by how they were to be used.”
The kōwhai and pōhutukawa are used in a way that acknowledges transition phases at He Whare Korowai:
- After someone has died, a kōwhai is placed on the door. It lets everyone know, at a glance, of someone’s passing.
- After the person has been taken from the room and the space has been blessed, a pōhutukawa is placed on the door. This shows that the room is now resting in preparation to welcome the next whānau who need support.
When Hayley first started making native flower decorations, her focus was ecological, celebrating Aotearoa’s plants through craft. More recently, through her children’s learning and conversations with our team, she’s come to appreciate the wider symbolism of pōhutukawa, especially in relation to remembrance and loved ones who have died.
“Originally I was just trying to celebrate the flowers on our Christmas trees,” she says. “Now I really love the extra symbolism I’m learning about how they can be used as well.”
Hayley’s business began slowly in 2013, when her son was young and she started making hand-knitted and crocheted gifts at home. “I’d learnt the basics from my mum,” she explains. “Then I picked up a lot of skills using YouTube and books.”
From there, she began selling at local markets, something she had always dreamed of as a child. Over time, her range of products grew, including her now well-known pocket hugs: small embroidered hearts she describes as “a little token of care and appreciation.”
As demand increased and the commitment to regular weekend markets became difficult, Hayley moved towards supplying shops around Aotearoa. She now makes thousands of items each year, fitting the work around raising her two children, casual shifts at the library, and caring for her grandmother.
Giving back is part of Hayley’s family life as she and her husband “try to teach the kids community service”. Together they grow plant cuttings to raise funds for the Wellington City Mission, and they’re involved in predator trapping near their local native bush.
Her decision to support Hospice also has a personal layer. As a teenager she lost her stepmum, and at that time she was close to a friend who worked as a Hospice chaplain in Wellington.
“I’ve always really admired and loved the work that Hospice does,” Hayley says. “My friend was really lovely with her words and caring at times that were pretty hard.”
When Hayley heard how her kōwhai and pōhutukawa flowers would be used at Hospice West Auckland’s He Whare Korowai – Home From Home facility, she felt incredibly moved and insisted on providing them free of charge.
“I just felt it was a nice way to thank them and appreciate them,” she says of Hospice. Knowing that her flowers, made slowly by hand, would help mark final farewells and the preparation of rooms for new whānau, felt like “a true privilege”.
For our team, the flowers mark the transition phases in our patient suites, and also bring warmth and familiarity, reflecting the values we hold around respect and care. We’re so grateful to Hayley for sharing her time, skills, and thoughtfulness with our Hospice community.
