A young woman whose family is from Kiribati, Lola Rayment was part of Moana Pasifika’s Young Women’s Programme and is thriving in her business, creating unique Pasifika sewing designs on hoodies.
The 18-year-old has made hoodie designs for big names like All Black Ardie Savea and Black Fern Katelyn Vaha’akolo with some customers also ordering from around Australia and the Pacific.
The idea sparked from a gift she made for a high school teacher last year. Her teacher was leaving and Rayment decided to make her a hoodie with Niuean designs on it.
“I buy all the hoodies and then I work with the customer. It’s really important to me to get exactly what they want,” Rayment said. “I make all my own designs and everyone gets to customise their own hoodies.”
All of her hoodies usually have the dialing code for a Pacific nation, with other island patterns and symbols surrounding it.
Rayment’s Tik Tok page has blown up and she has made her Instagram account private so that she can keep up with all the orders. She makes all her designs in her bedroom.
She was one of 36 young women from schools around Auckland who were invited to be involved in Moana Pasifika’s Young Women’s Programme earlier this year.
Throughout the three-day programme, the young women participated in workshops focused on leadership development, self-confidence, and building a strong sense of cultural identity.
“It was so fun and I still keep in contact with a lot of the people that I met there. I learned a lot and liked making the dream boards which are on my wall,” Rayment said.
She made her and her friends hoodies to wear at the Young Women’s Programme. The Moana Pasifika community team were in awe of the garments and asked Rayment to make some for them.
Rayment says that inspired her and that’s when she started posting more on social media. Since then her business has taken off, so much so that she left her waitress job to focus solely on her business.
Rayment puts in a lot of effort into all of her hoodies but says her favourite ones to make are the Kiribati ones as her family is from Nikunau Island on her mum’s side.
“I just want people to be proud of who they are and feel like they’re connected to others. That’s why I like wearing mine because other people are wearing theirs and I feel connected to them,” Rayment said.
“The first thing I always sew onto the hoodies is the flag and that’s the thing I want people to take out of it, representing your country.”
She is one of three children and has a younger sister who she says is a big motivation.
“One of the main reasons I do this is to set a good example for her and show her this is what you can do if you put your mind to things.
“My sister is sometimes like my little assistant. I brought her out with me to the post office and I just have to buy Mcdonalds and she’ll come and do whatever I need her to do.
“I mainly started because I wanted to represent my family. All of this is because I love my family so much and I want them to be able to see it every day.”
Rayment dreams of becoming a creative director. She finds inspiration from many creatives including the Creative Director of YouKnow Clothing Aida Amoozegar-Montero as well as other social media creators such as Tia Sagapolutele, Hele Christopher-Ikimotu (@princeofmangere) and Geoffery Matautia (@southsides).
She is also inspired by her auntie Victoria Short who is a proud Kiribati woman in New Zealand Politics.
ENDS
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