These beautiful earrings featuring the 'manu tukutuku', Māori kite design in acrylic on  a half round and circular layer of clay have been hand crafted by Tia Kirk from Takutai Studio.

The Māori kite is called manu tukutuku or manu aute - manu is the Māori word for either kite or bird, and tukutuku refers to the winding out of the line as the kite ascends.
Kites were used not only for recreation but also for purposes such as divination and communication. They helped predict battle outcomes, and send messages to those who had passed on, connecting heaven and earth.
Kites have long held significance in Māori culture, especially during the winter season, when they were flown to celebrate the beginning of the Māori New Year, when Matariki (the Pleiades) appeared in the mid-winter night sky.

He uri au na Toroa, na Porourangi hoki, nō reira ko Ngāti Awa ki Rangitaiki, ko Ngāti Porou ki te Toka a Namu ngā iwi.
Ko Tia Kirk ahau.

Tia's life has been influenced by Māori art and design. She has a degree in Art History from The University of Auckland and spent a good part of her adlut life in the Māori arts sector, in galleries across New Zealand.
In December 2018, Tia left Gisborne and moved to Gold Coast, Australia. Since moving away from home she has felt  matemate-a-one (a deep, profound affection for one's land and people) and this feeling inspires her to create a collection of jewellery which pays homage to the things she misses most about home.