How a Terrible Tent Started 40 Years of Craft | Tasman Canvas
A Story That Starts With a terrible Tent
I made my first tent when I was 14. It was, to put it generously, terrible. However, that terrible tent started something I didn’t expect. It planted the seed for 40 years of custom canvas work in Motueka.
I was going to get on my bike and ride around New Zealand, and I needed somewhere to sleep. So I made a tent. I was 14, so I think the terrible result is allowed.
What I didn’t know then was that the instinct behind it would shape my entire working life. Making something with your hands. Figuring out how it works. Solving a problem with fabric, a needle, and thread.
From Fashion to Fabric: The Long Way Around
Before Tasman Canvas, before Origin Tents, I went in directions you might not expect. For example, I trained as a silversmith on a QE II Arts Council grant.
After that, I completed a diploma in pattern making and tailoring in Christchurch. Then came women’s power suits, the Benson and Hedges Fashion Awards, time in the forest, and building things with my hands.
I still have the scissors from my tailoring apprenticeship. Thirty-six years I have had them, through every version of the business. Consequently, if that sounds like a detail that doesn’t matter, you haven’t spent thirty-six years making things.
The Tipi That Started Everything
The pivot back to canvas happened when I made myself a tipi. A friend saw it and asked me to make one for them. As a result, that was my first time on an industrial sewing machine. Proper canvas, a big workshop, a machine that meant business.
“I was used to bed sheets and domestic machines. The industrial machine, the big canvas, the higher table. I thought, this is a bit more like it.”
From there, one thing led to another. Specifically, tipis led to a tent called the Pentacle, a 200 square metre engineered structure. I have now made five versions of it. The fifth sits in Golden Valley, where hundreds of people use it every year for rites of passage. Young people move from adolescence into adulthood there. I count it among the things I am most proud of.
How Tasman Canvas Grew Out of Origin Tents
I wanted to make a contemporary version of the tipi. Something with the spirit of the original but easier to put up. In addition, it needed engineering for modern conditions. That became the One Pole Teepee range under Origin Tents: the Scout, the Brave, and the Chief.
For instance, I have been to festivals and put up two Scouts while the tent next door was still setting up one dome tent. Those same Scouts also stood through big storms, flooded half a metre up the wall at the Gator floods, and kept standing.
The Canvas Work That Built the Business
However, it was the broader canvas work that grew Origin Tents into Tasman Canvas. Shade sails, marine canvas, covers, and upholstery all played a role. That general canvas work gave the business stability. As a result, we grew from just me in a small workshop to a team of seven or eight people here in Motueka.
Made in Motueka. For New Zealand Conditions.
Tasman Canvas design and build everything right here in Motueka. Rather than importing off the shelf, we make every piece specifically for the conditions. The UV, the salt air, the wind that comes in off Tasman Bay.
Tasman Canvas simply makes things in New Zealand for New Zealand. We choose the materials, we specify the hardware, and we engineer each job based on 25 years of experience in this environment. We watch what works and what doesn’t.
Custom Canvas Built to Last
The terrible tent I made at 14 wouldn’t survive a Motueka summer. By contrast, the things we make now last for decades. That is the distance the craft has travelled.
Got a project in mind? Get in touch at tasmancanvas.co.nz/contact or call 03 528 4640.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of custom canvas work does Tasman Canvas do? Tasman Canvas makes shade sails, marine canvas, covers, upholstery, and custom tents. We design and build everything in Motueka for New Zealand conditions.
How long has Tasman Canvas been operating? Tasman Canvas has made custom canvas products in Motueka for over 25 years, growing from a one-person workshop into a team of seven or eight people.
Can I get a custom canvas project quoted? Yes. Get in touch at tasmancanvas.co.nz/contact or call 03 528 4640 to discuss your project.
