Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.
I saw this whakatauki and instantly knew it was a ribbon that was to tie up what I have been trying to package up for sometime.
I wanted to talk about a misconception that has seen me struggle with my answers when challenged and worried that I have not conveyed my truth.
There is an expectation that somehow what I do is all me. It's not.
I have always worked in this mix of solitude and inclusion - solitude to formulate the purpose and scope of what I want to achieve and inclusion to make my concepts become reality.
With both the tea and my jewellery the formulas and functions are mine but I work with others - experts to iron out the details for the end results. I class myself as a tinker, a designer, a maker of tools - unlike an artist who works on their mahi alone, I draw on others to assist where needed.
I use art to convey purpose - there is a message within each aspect of my offerings but art is a tool, not the end result.
I have come to know my limits and faults - and they are many.
You see I am not an island - I haven’t been able to be - being time-poor it has been necessary to lean on others for advice and assistance and to enable my dream to be more than just scribbles on notebooks and pages.
There was a time that I thought I had to do it all on my own, to be worth anything.
I, in part blame the pin-up posters of the 80’s that said “Girls can do anything” which in turn is translated to Girls can (and have to) do everything to be acknowledged and successful.
I still slip back into this mode of thinking from time to time (near-weekly) but have gotten better at pulling myself back out.
I had to change my thinking in earnest when Starship became a constant in our lives - probably before then. The time of my world becoming smaller, was when my drive for my business to become bigger took hold.
My creations and approach changed, and those who know the transition from Pacific Grace to TIMMY SMITH and PAUSE for Tea will know how extreme it was. I now needed completely different aspects of design and facilitation to make it work.
I have always wanted a good business, a successful business, one that can support and house many, one that inspires and that assists and makes a difference.
My business is my platform, my waka to which I wish to make my difference in this world. I do this for my tipuna, for my parents, for my children, and for my moko. I hold their guidance and needs as pillars within everything I do.
I strive to be the best I can and that means surrounding Timmy with the best - I do not always get the mix right and I am constantly evolving, changing, growing - always trying to find the best ways, the best tools, the best approaches to enable connection, and communication to occur.
It may be one name above the door but it is a community within.
So next time you engage with a piece of “my” work know that when I say “we” instead of “I” it is a mix of those who have gone before me and those who are touching and helping me that are the smoothness behind them..
And you are part of that picture, your support, care and custom. For which I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.
Now and always,
Timmy x