Farewell Wā Collective
Why is Wā Collective Closing?
2.5 years ago, I (Olie, Founder) suffered a bad head injury. It’s been a long and strange road to recovery. At the time, a lot of Wā Collective’s systems were still run by me. So when my brain went offline, so did a lot of our business (that’s a lesson!).
However! It was my incredible mother, Janine, who has been sailing the Wā Waka since my injury, through the many storms we’ve all been through.
She is an absolute legend of a being who I can’t begin to thank enough for the heart and integrity she operates from. She’s got Wā Collective (and me) through so much.
We sadly haven’t been able to find a values aligned buyer, so it’s the end of this period … and time for the next flow!
👉👉👉 Watch Olie's goodbye video here
Our total impact, 2017 - 2022
We close 22.12.22
🌙 22.12.22 is Mutu-whenua on Te Maramataka - a day for things to come to their natural end - the last day of the moon’s cycle.
☀️ What we love too though, is that it’s *also* astronomical Summer Solstice - the time of full growth and light … and a reminder that change is inevitable
...and then Janine can finally embrace her art career.
.. and I can sail onto my next adventure and the remainder of healing my head.
Elise, Meg, Chelsea and some epic members of the Wā Collective community holding a photo shoot in Olie's flatmate's bedroom, 2020
While it's sad Wā Collective is closing, there is also something beautiful about this
🌳 A business doesn’t need to grow indefinitely and be around forever to be ‘of value’ and 'successful' (what in nature does this anyway?).
🌳 I believe we are needing more businesses that are of purpose and fulfil that, then step away.
🌳 More businesses that value people and planet as well as profit as their bottom lines.
🌳 Mother Earth, our home and our blood, cannot support us and our non-human kin otherwise - and we all hear those whispers becoming louder.
🌳 Business growth being the only indicator of value has to (and I believe will) eventually stop.
🌳 Wā Collective has served its purpose.
🌀 Like our menstrual cycles, we've had our winter, spring, summer and now our autumn as we return our learnings to the land, ready to be composted for new growth ahead.
Olie during her 2019 TEDx Talk
Luteal Logistics
(Luteal as this is the final phase of our cycle 😉 … I’m going to miss the puns!)
🌳 We will be taking final orders until 22.12.22 EOD
🌳 Our social media pages will remain as an historical archive for the time being, but not monitored from 25th Hakihea/Dec onwards
🌳 You can access our website for info (but not as a buying platform) until International Women’s Day (8th March 2023 - our bday) .. and then it will disappear into the cyber cloud it was birthed from
🌳 Your data stored with us *will not ever* be sold onto 3rd parties (ew, some ‘businesses’ do that!)
🌳 If you missed out on a cup cleaner, we may be able to do a bespoke one for you privately in Huitanguru/Feb - drop us your email if this is you 😘
🌳 You will be able to contact us on orders@wacollective.org.nz, which will remain casually monitored until March 8th, then will also poof into the cyber cloud
🌳 On 23rd Dec, we will have a very long nap!
Meg, Olie and students of Wainui School at an Ikura Wananga, 2019
Finally, a HUGE mihi to these EPIC folks in particular
Wā Collective would not have existed as it has without you:
Meg, Jess, Suz, Suse, Luci, Elise, Chelsea, Margot, Sam, Bart, Dale, Maire, Hannah, Dan, Nikko, Matthew J, Elena & Henry Hughes, Janine, Alister, Markus, Olive, Bailey, Zoe, Katie, Emily, Adie, Shadoe & Five+Dime, Simon, Nikita,Mahina/Swooping Tui, Ignite Consultants 2019 crew, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Flatties, NopeSisters Clothing, our Retailers, Midfield farm, Aro Digital, Days for Girls NZ & International, Massey Uni Students' Association Wellington & Campus Co-lab, Seer & Wilde, Reemi, our cup cleaner potters, our manufacturing partners, Students associations’ OG teams who backed us, our health collectives and youth hubs, Zero Carbon Challange team, The Body Shop, Tedx Wellignton, East West Centre, Go Media, EHF, The Period Place, .. and Michelle Obama - for touching my 'ovaries' (cherry earrings) that one time.
👉 And many many others (you know who you are!).
Know that I am so grateful for every one of you for the energy and time you have put into making Wā Collective the incredible chapter it's been.
What incredible mahi of real integrity we have all achieved collectively.
From the bottom of our wombs,
(and in service to period puns)
❤️ Olie Body and Janine Peters x
_
(Ps - If you’d like to be in the know of what we get up to next click here 🧙)
orders@wacollective.org.nz
(monitored casually until 8th Poutūterangi/Mach 2022)
obodys.email@gmail.com
Olie's personal email
Elise's photo from our official launch in 2018, which, in full cycle fashion, has become our ending photo too
