When Thomas Mortimer moved to his wife’s home village, Matiere, near Taumarunui, he realised a childhood dream – to have his own workshop. However, it didn’t happen overnight.
Thomas, from Sweden, met Jenny Etherington in Fremantle, Australia, where he worked for a joiner and made wooden briefcases in his spare time. When he returned to Sweden, Jenny joined him and they made Sámi jewellery from reindeer skin and antlers, selling it on the streets.
“We made a living like that for five years,” Thomas says, “going between Sweden and New Zealand. [Jenny] was faster than me, so she did the making and I did the talking.”
When the couple’s daughter, Solvej, was born, they settled back in Matiere. Solvej grew up in the village, then took off to study architecture.…
