Stories to take with you.
Our Story
For thousands of years Pacific peoples, the Kaivai (literally ‘eaters of water’), were the great mariners and navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.
They voyaged from Taiwan in the west to Rapa Nui in the east, Hawai‘i in the north and Aotearoa in the south. KAIVAI carries that voyaging spirit into the Ozean Berlin store. Every object holds a story of the ocean, the forest and the hands that made it.
Wayfinders
Early Pacific voyagers studied waves, swells, weather, clouds, seabirds and marine life.
Tōroa
Just as the sacred bird flew across the seas, Pacific peoples sailed thousands of miles.
Tohorā
Whales are the great libraries of the ocean.
Ancient knowledge. Modern stories. A brighter ocean ahead.
The Whai
Drawn with flowing koru-inspired curves, the whai glides through the deep as guardian of the collection.
The whai’s tail descends into the name itself: the ocean flowing into KAIVAI.
Navy, gold and fine wave lines carry across every product, tag, box and bag.
“The stingray is the bird of the water.”
The Journey
Visitors walk Te Ara Nui, sit in the Hale Pasifika, then carry the story home.
01 · Gallery
The great waka: wayfinding, the star compass and stories of Tangaroa.
02 · Gallery
The Pacific home and place of learning: weaving, tapa, carving and kava.
03 · Store
Visitors take the story home: books, prints and taonga linked to each gallery.
The Collection
Authentic and artist-led: made by Māori and Pacific makers, with cultural integrity from design to shelf.
Collector tier
Master carvers’ creations
Each piece is signed by the carver, with a provenance card telling the story of the design and the timber.
Treasure tier
Woven & tapa treasures
Woven by makers across the Pacific in harakeke, fala and coconut, and tapa beaten from mulberry bark. Every piece is one of a kind.
Gift tier
Books & art prints
Companion books for Te Ara Nui and Hale Pasifika, with tukutuku, kōwhaiwhai and taka-a-rangi designs, postcards and poems.
Treasure tier
Jewellery: the whai, worn close
The whai emblem in gold, inlaid or paired with pāua, pounamu, pearl and shell.
Gift & everyday tiers
Clothing & everyday treasures
Gold on navy, with wave-line details and Pacific patterns, and small keepsakes beautifully wrapped.
From the galleries, on paper
Woven arrows
Gallery designs on A4 and A3 paper with card backing.
Whale shark
Original drawings in small format, as miniprints.
Star compass
Postcards and poems: image and poem prints.
Our Makers
Pou Kapua Creations is a collective of carvers and artists, recognised as traditional knowledge holders and authorities of Māori and Pacific arts and culture.
Founder & Executive Director
Dr Tania Wolfgramm
Co-creator of Te Ara Nui and the KAIVAI collection.
Creative Director & Master Carver
Wikuki Kingi
Co-creator of Te Ara Nui and the KAIVAI collection.
Master carvers and makers across Aotearoa and the Pacific will be introduced here, in their own names.
A German Pacific Story
Pyritz → Vava‘u
In the 1800s the Wolfgramm brothers left the small Prussian market town of Pyritz for Vava‘u in the Kingdom of Tonga. Now that story comes full circle in Berlin.
Visit
Come and experience KAIVAI at Ozean Berlin, the final chapter of the gallery journey, where the story becomes something you can hold.
Visit details to be announced.
Haumi ē · Hui ē · Tāiki ē!
