1. Treasured, precious, loved
2. Baby, babe, boo thang
ETHOS;
Baobei is about being authentic (loving who you are and how you may show that aesthetically), knowing how to play (being in touch with our inner child) and fostering a community (believing that energy is passed between all of us).
Our pieces are made-to-order and are designed to be that special item you keep forever or pass onto your baobei. Wear your Baobei as an extension of yourself - whatever it means to you, I wish that it makes you feel wonderful.
HOW IT STARTED;
My parents have been running the same retail store in Wellington for over 20 years. It's not glamorous and they're often victims of racism and violence on the shop floor - because of this, I was never proud of what my parents did for work, because neither were they. As I have learnt to appreciate and fall in love with my culture and upbringing, I wanted to reinvent my story (and theirs) by using deadstock beads from their shop and creating beautiful jewellery.
Since then, I have used up majority of the dead stock beads and have brought my designs to life with New Zealand sourced beads.
COMMUNITY & COLLABORATION;
Each collection is brought to life by a team of creatives who share our core ethos of being authentic, knowing how to play and fostering a community. From make up artists, models, photographers and videographers, we work with inspiring people who create cool things, have fun and have a flare in their work.
Baobei supports and gives back to the community through donating 10% of each month's profits to a cause.