Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Dating all the way back to the 15th century, dolls have been a staple in our toy boxes. When founder of Tiny Islands Rina Faaiuaso had her daughter Florence, she was determined to find a doll that looked like her little girl.
But to her surprise, she wasn’t able to find one.
“I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a Pacific Doll so I started researching how I could go about that… and that’s when it came to me to do Tiny Islands,” she says.
Rina’s love for her husband’s culture is something that has always been dear to her heart. A significant element for her in the process of creating her business.
“I feel like the Samoan culture has almost become a part of my identity being married to Tana and it’s always been my priority to have that for Florence.”
The unique cylinders for packaging sets them apart from anything else you would see on the shelf but it’s a design Rina says she can’t take all the credit for. “That was all Tana,” she laughs.
“I found some packaging I liked and loved the colours and the style… and he sort of made a comment like ‘why don’t you use the tubes?’ and I thought, why didn’t I think of that?”
All designed and packaged from their home studio in Nelson, Rina has four Pacific Dolls for people to choose from.
“Teuila is typically Samoan looking with sort of long wavy hair. Lupe is Fijian/Papua New Guinea with darker skin and tighter ringlets in her hair. Sina is probably more Fijian with lighter hair and then we have Neila which is a mixture of both,” says Rina.
With an ambition to bring joy to young Pacific people through her dolls, Rina hopes to inspire those who ever get to own one.
“With Tiny Islands, the vision has always been to empower young Pacific Islanders to give them a sense of belonging and a sense of identity” she says.
“It would be really cool down the track if people were having a conversation like ‘oh did you have a Tiny Islands doll when you were growing up?’
Click here to purchase a Tiny Islands doll.
