Pounamu gallery with star clientele to open in Hamilton

Carver Alex Sands (Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa) opened Sands Carving Studio in Hamilton. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
A new manufacturing pounamu gallery in Waikato is poised to turn heads in more ways than one.
Sands Carving Studio, led by Alex Sands (Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa) and his wife Preet, is the region’s only locally-made taonga atelier that works with 100% New Zealand pounamu, as well as materials like whale and moa bone.
While the shop in Hamilton will open its doors for the first time next weekend, Alex has been carving almost for as long as he can remember and he even picked up some celebrity clients – including Jason Momoa and Jack Black – along the way.
While born in the Tron, Alex grew up in China which is where he first got in contact with Jade carving.
“My mother wanted to share the Baháʼí faith [overseas] along with giving us greater life experience,” he said.
She chose China, as her father was in the import/export business and had a lot of Chinese customers.
“So she had an appreciation for that culture and China used to be quite a closed community… and just started to get out of it so there was some sort of excitement around that.”
Alex credits a National Geographic article and Indiana Jones with sparking his interest in all things ancient, before getting into stones.
“When I was 6 years old, I remember seeing an article about the Tutankhamun coffin and I thought, one day, I want to be the person that finds that kind of stuff.”
Apart from wanting to follow in Indiana Jones’ footsteps, Alex also had a passion for drawing which turned into creating sculptures after his father brought black soap stone pebbles back from a visit to his friend’s village.
The pebbles turned glossy when carved, so Alex was intrigued.
“I would come home from school during lunch to shape these things into little sculptures. I remember doing a T-rex skull and a cat on chair.”
Soon, 12-year-old Alex wanted to expand his knowledge.
“My dad’s friend was jade carver and Dad asked him if he would teach me.”
His interest in carving grew further when he met a man who made jade signet stamps on the side of the road. Apart from making the stamps. Alex also learned how to translate from modern to ancient Chinese.
When the family moved back to Hamilton, Alex’s father set him up with a little carving space in the family shed. In high school, Alex joined the rock and mineral club which let him use tools and materials at home.
When he accompanied his mother to the Frankton Market, Alex met local pounamu carver Eli Fehoko who became his teacher.
“I was there every day. He taught me how to engrave, cut and shape a stone.”
Making the shift from soap stones to Pounamu was easy.
“One of the biggest things that drew me to Pounamu was its beauty… [And you can] take that beautiful thing and make it into something even more beautiful.
“When you cut into a stone for the first time to reveal what’s inside is a unique experience.”
To expand his knowledge, Alex started studying at Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Huntly.
Due to his skills gained in China, from Fehoko and the mineral club, he thought the course would be easy.
“I was overly confident, I thought I would be able to teach them something. Within the first three hours, I realised, I knew nothing.”
He learned from master carvers Michael Matchitt and Rhys Shaw, and soon the first art dealer started showing his work at galleries around the country, including Te Papa and Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Throughout his professional journey he kept working in his parent’s shed, but the more knowledge he gained, the quicker he outgrew that space.
By chance, he came across a property on Seddon Road, that had a big garage – perfect for a workshop – but somebody already lived there.
The resident of the property agreed to let Alex use the garage and together with his father, he renovated it to set it up as a proper workspace that would be his studio for eight years.
Initially, it was just Alex’ creative space, but he was soon joined by other carvers, including Matchitt and Malcolm Cox.
“Realistically, we outgrew that space two years ago. At one point we had nine people working there.”
Through the Covid-19 pandemic, Alex said he was able to create “quite unique pieces”, including one of only two existing hei tiki made from moa bone.
However, his favourite piece is “the piece that never made it to sale”.
“It was kind of a period piece for me, a moment in time. It was when I discovered what I can do. It was unfinished for a while but when I did finish it, the polisher hit it against the wall by accident and it broke.”
Alex said when he isn’t doing commissions, the stone would inspire his designs.
“I really like exploring a stone, but I also like researching different techniques and tribal styles.”
His work has made it into celebrity circles, with customers including Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds, Cliff Curtis, Jack Black and Jason Momoa.
“Jason was shopping at one of the galleries that stocked my pieces. He sent me a message on Instagram saying he wanted to see more pieces. He asked if I could come up to Auckland – now – because he was flying out that day.”
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No sooner said than done. Arriving at the Hyatt Hotel with Preet to show Momoa their creations turned into a bit of a whirlwind experience.
“Jason was meeting the All Blacks and fans and looking at our pieces all at the same time.” It paid off: Momoa ended up taking home around 15 pieces and has since come back for more.
With Sands Carving Studio opening on Keddell St, maybe Momoa will soon be seen wandering the streets of Frankton.
Apart from Alex, the “manufacturing gallery” is home to three full-time carvers – Samuel Potter, Yuki Tanaka and Jeremy Walsh – and retired jeweller John Mayo, of Frankton Jewellers, who joined the team part-time.
Although it hasn’t even opened to the public yet, there are already plans for expansion.
“We want to educate people on what pounamu is, because there are actually 50 types. I’d like to put together a catalogue of all the types. And we want to set up Waikato’s first carve-your-own studio.”
But the Sands’ main focus is on the opening next weekend, where the collection and showpieces, including the only existing whale bone pare (door lintel) in the world and a Maori gramophone, will be unveiled.
The Details
What: opening of Sands Carving Studio – there is also a $2000 giveaway (everyone who visits the store goes in the draw)
When: November 2, 10am-4pm
Where: 5 Keddell Street, Frankton, Hamilton
Danielle Zollickhofer is a multimedia journalist and assistant news director at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.