Nora Swann, Creative Entrepreneur video (04:13 mins)

[Shot over Old Papatoetoe] 

[Music plays] 

I love that I can freely be me, to be honest. And, you know, when you work in the fashion industry, in the mainstream, they've kind of they’ve put you in a box. 

And I everything all the initiatives that I've created, I've made sure that they were true true to who I am a Pasifika woman and, yeah, I'm happy that I can look at the things that I've done, 10 years in fashion. and thought, yeah, I'm still proudly Pasifika and everything I've done, I feel, is still a true representation of who we are. 

[Music plays] 

[Rising Stars appears on screen] 

[Creative Industries appears on screen] 

[Nora sits in her agency] 

So my name is Nora Swann. I'm New Zealand born, Samoan Niuean. Ōtara born and bred, a proud Pacific person, always waving the flag for Otara. 

[Shots around her agency of wall hangings, a t-shirt of her agency, Nora typing at a laptop on her desk] 

[Nora speaking in her agency next to a mannequin] 

So I was brought up traditionally Pasifika, so I went to Pasifika church. I think for us, my parents just wanted us to get a good job. And I think good job to them was, like, rugby player, air hostess, good office job. And so I kind of had that mindset as well. 

So I definitely don't think a lot of people knew that I would be where I am now because I grew up a introvert. 

And as a creative if you're wanting to start your business, you've got to put yourself out there. So a lot of people I went to school with even high school, they see me and they’re like: oh my gosh. Is that Nora? You know, she was so shy and timid back then. 

So a lot of people think that working in fashion is all about glitz and glamour. There's a lot of work that has to be done behind the scenes. There's a lot of hustling. 

[Nora sits in front of a whiteboard taking notes in a meeting] 

You need to be true to yourself. So make sure that you really wanna work in fashion. 

[Nora sits at her desk] 

And then, you know, when you have those real crap days, when you're like, crap, I don’t wanna go to work it's passion that's what's gonna drive you through and make you feel like you're not actually working. 

[Shot of a clothes rack] 

I think one of our benefits is the fact that we can see things through different lens, you know.  

[Nora by a mannequin] 

So, we're brought up the Pasifika way and we now live in the Western society. And so we can grab what we think works for us and what helps us stay true to who we are to create what we do create. 

So, I think that's a big advantage, the fact that we also still keep our cultural values and beliefs close to our hearts, and we can push that in the work that we do. 

[Shot of an industrial overlocker] [Nora dresses a mannequin] 

So it's fashion and textile arts. But I didn't come through the traditional pathway to work in, to get into fashion. Long story short, I entered a competition for who wants to be a fashion stylist. 

Out of 4 thousand entries, I won that competition. And so you basically had to explain why you thought you'd be a great stylist. 

I described my wardrobe, which was really or it's still now really flamboyant, and I won that competition. And so from there, I went on a fashion styling course with Angela Stone, who's one of New Zealand's top stylists, and that's how I started my journey.

But it wasn't, I didn't feel like it was handed to me on a on a platter. Like, I got that opportunity and then from then onwards, I had to pretty much break down, you know, walls to get to where I am now. 

So nothing was given to me through networks because I didn't really have networks in fashion. I had to create things.  

I've always loved fashion. When I used to go with my friends, I would make an effort and I I feel it was all about freedom of expression because I was really shy. So this kind of helped people understand who I was as an individual. 

But then, you know, things happen, children, you get married, and I prioritised those until that competition happened, and I kind of felt like that that was my sign to follow my passion. 

[Nora stands in front of a floral wall] 

Talofa lava, fakalofa lahi atu. Yeah. My name is Nora Swann, and I come from the villages of Saleilua Falealili and Vaipuna, Apia, in Samoa and Avatele in Nuie. 

[Nora is taking notes and laughing in a meeting] 

I live in East Tamaki in South Auckland. 

[Nora stands in front of a floral wall] 

I went to Penrose High School, which is now called One Tree Hill. 

I'm a mum, I'm a sister, I'm an aunt, and I'm a proud South Aucklander and this is how I became a creative entrepreneur. 

[Rising Stars appears on the screen]