01Sewing & pattern
Workshops & classes
01
At the tables
People arrive with their machines, their questions, and a little courage. We start there.
02
From the ground up
Tools, threading, cutting, fitting, finishing — the basics are given proper time.
03
Kōrero and hands
As the work begins, conversation begins too. Threads cross. Confidence gathers.
02Practice & craft
Lee Erihāpeti Williams · Costume maker · Craft tutor · Kaihoahoa Kākahu
Lee is back in the workroom.
Lee has spent more than thirty years in costume, garment, and textile work: film, theatre, opera, Wētā Workshop, wardrobe rooms, the New Zealand Opera School, and years of teaching fashion and costume to the next set of makers.
Paetuia sits upstairs at 180 Victoria Avenue — a room that has held generations of seamstresses and makers, including Lee's own mother. She works there now alongside her daughter and mokopuna, and artist Amanda Searle. For a long time she has been behind other people's productions. Paetuia is where the work, the teaching, and the stories come forward.
04Teaching & community
People gather, sit together, and learn by making.
At Paetuia, the whole craft is taught slowly enough to stay with you: the tools, the machine, the pattern, the cloth, the fitting, the finish, and the why behind every stitch.
Beginners, returning makers, community groups, and people already working in the field are welcome. Strangers arrive. Conversation begins. Threads cross. By the end, something has shifted.
05Kaupapa thread
Tō Kaupapa, Tāku Mahi, Tā Tātou Pūrākau.
Te ao Māori runs through the work as whakapapa, responsibility, material memory, and the stories carried by cloth. It is not decoration. It is part of the way the work is held.
Lee and Amanda Searle also make textile pieces drawn from local flora, fauna, identity, and belonging, including tātaki zome — fresh flowers and flora pounded into calico and worked over with hand embroidery.
06For groups & organisers
Bring people together around cloth, tools, and kōrero.
If you are gathering a group, Lee can help shape the session.
For groups
Lee can shape a session for a class, kura, creative group, or community programme.
For organisers
The conversation begins simply: who is coming, what they need, and what can be made together.
Held with care
Teaching happens in small groups, with room for questions, making, and manaaki.
For community groups, arts organisers, schools, and programmes that want practical craft teaching held with care.
Email the studio
Come upstairs, or write to Lee.
For workshops, costume, mentoring, or a community session, send a plain note. Lee will reply from the studio in Whanganui.
Studio
Upstairs, Level 1, 180 Victoria Avenue
Whanganui 4500, Aotearoa New Zealand
Tues – Sat · by appointment
Email the studio
Workshops, classes, costume, or mentoring — say what you're hoping to learn or make. Lee will reply from the studio. Include your name and any timing that matters.
Or copy the address and paste into your usual mail app.