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Michele's early interest in weaving grew while travelling the world in her twenties. "I went overseas for about 10 years, working, hitchhiking and travelling. I just loved the colourful markets that I found in places like Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bolivia and Peru. They were so interesting – these vibrant marketplaces that people would travel to, bringing the stuff which they had woven over the hills to sell at local market places.

“I found I felt more connected to small-scale artists' and farmers’ products and how they lived than I did to the processed, packaged items of full-scale Amercian style consumer societies. Third World cultures had something we lacked and these cultures gave me the inspiration to come back and create things in New Zealand.”

When Michele returned she found a raranga kaiako (Māori weaving teacher) in Otaki, and she now specialises in the Māori weaving art form raranga. “I learned and then practised and practised some more and just kept going from there. I sold my kete to an art gallery store in Wellington. I also give them away as gifts to friends and family.”

Michele says raranga is all about respecting and working with nature. "Working outside is a big part of weaving. I enjoy being outside. You learn so much about the seasons. You can tell when it's right to go out and cut and collect the harakeke, when the sap is rising in the plant, when there are birds around waiting for the nectar. When the weather is cold or wet, the blades of the leaves are brittle and you can't cut them in such conditions.

"You cut the harakeke using certain protocols. You never cut the middle three blades. You need to carry the flax back after it's collected in a particular way. You might sing a song or say a karakia [prayer] that acknowledges our ancestors.

"The Māori idea is that if you're cutting something down, you must create something out of it. As a tree may be made into a carving, so harakeke is made into kete. You're working with nature to create something beautiful for other people and you are using both your body and your mind. What could be more wholesome and satisfying."