Papamahi connects artisans from New
Zealand and the South Pacific to the US market.
The company is a life long dream come true for its
New Zealand-born founder John Cook. Papamahi is the Maori word for
“gallery” and John's vision has resulted in a product range of
contemporary housewares that are both functional and
artistic. Each component of the collection is
handcrafted by artisans from Aotearoa (New Zealand)
who draw inspiration for
the product design from local geography, history,
and/or culture.
Papamahi products have
intriguing stories associated with them and through
Papamahi artisans, this story is told via the
different materials utilized along with the symbols
and
motifs in the pieces. The story and
inspiration for the products are marketed as
a key component of the product offering via
distinctive labeling, packaging, and swing tags.
John Cook was born and raised in Te Atatu, New
Zealand. John was educated at the University of
Auckland graduating in 1988 with Bachelor of
Commerce and Science degrees. After graduation
John worked for three years in a variety of sales
and marketing roles for a global retail products and
services company.
John left New Zealand in 1990 and traveled for two years in Asia and Europe
before entering business school at the University of
Texas at Austin in 1992.
Upon completing his MBA, John
moved to San Francisco in 1994 to join Deloitte
Consulting. John spent six years with Deloitte
Consulting consulting to retail and consumer business
clients such as Nestle, Palm Computing and The Gap.
In 1999, John joined Zefer/NEC to focus on providing
Internet consulting services to clients such as Cal
Fed, Sun Microsystems, Wells Fargo, and Trend Micro.
John currently resides in San
Francisco is the President of Papamahi Trading
Company. |
