2023 Paper Theory Update

Fresh faced Tara in Trafalgar Square London (2007)

I loved living in London, there’s something freeing about the anonymity that being a foreigner in a big city affords you. I really found my own way and I created a version of myself with a life and career that I would never have been able to create without the magic of London and all the people I connected with there. But many big changes have happened in the world and in my life over the last three years. The Pandemic obviously shook us all upside down and the Tories have shredded The UK into a Country that I barely recognise as the same place I originally fell in love with. But for me the biggest personal change was becoming a mother. It changed my focus, my needs and my priorities. It was important for me that my daughter would understand her Polynesian culture and know what it was like to grow up as part of a large multi generational family - and it dawned on me that I also desperately needed the support of my family around too. Truth be told I was burnt out and had never managed to "bounce back" from postpartum depression mentally or physically. I was long over due for a change and a new lifestyle.

It's no small thing to pick up your household and move to the other side of the world, it’s taken all my time and attention for the last year which is why I have been very absent on social media and Paper Theory has really taken a back seat. My focus has been my home life and the in-person relationships I have around me. But, here I am now feeling rested, re-grounded and wildly optimistic about a new chapter in the deep South, living 2 streets away from my parents in a cute little 1940s house with a view of the harbour. Dunedin is a small but wonderful city surrounded by wildlife and beaches (it has 30 different beaches within a 30 min drive of the city centre!) so we are settling in slowly and I am intentionally trying to change my pace to match the rhythm here. After a short (long for me) 4 month wait our belongings have just arrived at our new home and I am going to be unpacking my sewing room this week and moving my focus towards creating new patterns for Paper Theory in 2023. 

The home sewing community changed a lot during the pandemic - there are so many new companies and so much growth for the established brands it feels like a fully charged industry now. But my goals for Paper Theory in 2023 are not wavering from my original stance when I created the company back in 2017. I’m still very much about slow and intentional wardrobe staples that are easy to wear and feel relaxed but have interesting shapes and cuts. I hope to get some help on the admin side of the business this year so that I can focus more on the creative side as I aim to add a few new patterns to my collection this year. There are no plans for subscriptions or clubs or anything like that - but I do have plans for some online pattern cutting classes coming later in 2023. All in all - it's exciting stuff.

Thanks for sticking around and I look forward to sharing more with you soon!

Happy 2023.