Behind every bilum and every kite is a woman with a story. Our makers are our family. First cousins and women from our mother's village in Papua New Guinea. Their hands, their skill, and their time are woven into every piece that arrives at your door.
Elisa is the last born child, the last born daughter of Aunty Susie. Elisa works in the garden, does the cooking, the cleaning, and looks after everybody.
Eli is the first to wake in the morning will make the fire, feed the pigs, make tea, do the washing and more ,she has a small boy Ama that keeps Bubu Mary company when she is in the village.
Elisa lives in Inawabui village, Mekeo, PNG.
Maggie Kose is the fifth child of Aunty Susie and the second born daughter. Named after our Aunty Margaret a beloved sister of our mothers, she also carries the gulf name of Kose.
Maggie has always been a gifted maker of beautiful ve’a -bilums since a child. She has 2 children Rensy and Ben Ben and is living and working in Port Moresby.
Proceeds made from this project have enabled the begining of building a house in her husbands village in Aroma, Central
province.
Margaret is the wife of Whitey the 6 born child and 4 born son of Aunty Susie. She is our tambu- meaning our in-law. Margaret has 5 children and has many sisters. Her eldest daughter Suki is now starting to make bilums since this we started this project.
For this the 4th collection for susa haus Margaret has been too busy in the village to make many bilums but has previously made plenty , she has a colourful bold pop style to her bilum making.
Philo is the only daughter of Patrick, the eldest born son and child of Aunty Susie.
Philo lives in the village of Inawabui, she gardens, cooks and looks after her mother. Philo is our youngest and newest maker she has been inspired to explore make ve’a since this project started.
Her first collection of ve’a allowed her to buy a phone, connecting this young woman to a bigger world.
Isoana is the 4th child and eldest daughter of Aunty Susie, she has 6 children and her prime income comes from the sales of buai when it is in season. Isoana works in the garden, and looks after her family large ever expanding family. She has a great way with colour combinations in the mekeo style.
Isoana lives in Inawabui, on the Hiritano highway, her house is very well known and a common stopover for our cousins especially the buai (betelnut) chewers travelling down the highway to Lese Oalai in the Gulf province, our mothers village.