PACIFIC Islands Art (PIA) is a subsidiary of Tahiti Art Maohi, a label created in Tahiti by Gerard Guyot in 1961. A few years later Pierre Guyot and his brother Tavi Guyot joined the family business and took over it.
In December 2009, the Guyot family decided to delocalise the business to the Fiji Islands and took benefits of its lower labour costs and better emplacement which facilitate exports.
Pacific Islands Art was created in early 2010 by Pierre and his son Tehau who joined in after graduating from a business school in Auckland.
PIA exports has always been their main source of income to over 10 countries including Tahiti, Wallis and Futuna, Hawaii, the Cook Islands, Samoa and many more.
PIA managing director Tehau Guyot said all their garments are hand block printed using ancestral techniques which make each product unique as no two pieces are the same.
“I think the fashion industry is now a global business and is accessible to everyone,” said Mr Guyot.
“Fiji has definitely a lot of potential to succeed in the sector.”
“The opening of our boutique last year in Lautoka has certainly seen a lot of interest in the country which led us to open our Nadi store in April this year. We are now proud to announce that PIA will also open its doors in the Capital City on October 31.”
Pacificislandsart.com reports in old Polynesia, before the arrival of Europeans, no woven fabrics were made, tapa clothes replaced them.
“Made of different kinds of tree barks it was decorated in several ways. Hand painting or printing of bamboo engraved designs or ferns or other leaves, immersion of the whole tapa in dye bath, burnishing of the tapa expose to smoke.
The implementation of specific techniques for block printing of motifs carved by hand always goes back to the ancient methods of tapa decorating, but requires the use of new colouring agents for their implementation.”
For more information you can email PIA for their products available online on pacificislandsart.com.
