About
Taplin Tiny Treasures

Kia Ora, Ko Amber toku ingoa (my name is Amber) the Owner and beside me is my mama Leisha the founder of Taplin Tiny Treasures 

 

As a passionate baby's hands and feet casting artist, I pour my heart soul into every piece, making sure that every aspect is captured with precision. I love helping families preserve the precious moments of their baby's early years.

 

Before 2018, when Taplin Tiny Treasures was created, Leisha had her first 2 children casted in Auckland where she was living and loved everything about it, then in 2012 her 3rd child arrived where she was living in Levin and was looking all around for someone to do her baby girl but had to travel to New Plymouth to get it done. She then had the idea of starting her own casting business for parents to enjoy all around the lower north island, she found a franchise that could help her achieve what she wanted in a business, making her a stay at home mum with 5 children. That started her casting journey creating beautiful casts for over 100 parents.  Promoting her business became easy for her. She was someone who everyone wanted to stop and chat with, it didn't matter where she was, if she knew anyone or not. She believed in her creations and what they meant to each family. 

 

In 2015 Mama thought this would be a perfect business for her and her whanau. She started brainstorming everything she needed to do on her own, when she was able to have everything she wanted she created Taplin Tiny Treasures in 2018.

 

2018 is the year Taplin Tiny Treasures was born. Throughout this year Leisha spent time teaching her oldest Daughter, Amber (Me) her craft, understanding her vigilance to detail getting everything right no matter what it takes. 

 

Early 2019, we discovered she was very sick. She spent (2 weeks) in Arohanui Hospice, during those weeks she knew she needed to finish 2 frames so she made her husband, sister in law and anyone else who came to visit her, bring all the supplies she needed to finish them. So they did, she was teaching everyone in her whanau what to do and how to do it, she even made us create a book with everything she was telling us. Because of that we have everything Mama knew and she finished her last 2 frames with the help of her whanau. 

 

It took me a year to get back into doing castings again, with a lot of help from my papa (Leisha’s husband,) Nathan. I felt very anxious during every process that I did, having doubts that it wasn’t as good as what Mama did, then I remembered was Mama never let doubts stop her from what she loved and what she knew made whanau feel when they received their precious casts. We finished our 1st frame, February 2nd 2020 for a whanau that had their older daughter done by Mama. 

 

From then till 2021 I was only doing repeat customers, I didn't advertise, or have the time to do them as I was working full time at a Early Childhood Centre and just wasn’t very confident in myself to do them. I had a lot of struggles with the alginate, setting too fast or not setting fast enough and the babies would just wriggle and there created holes. Demoulding was one of the parts I didn’t like, it was always a worry when I peeled the alginate apart from the stone to find… a missing finger or a missing toe, it made me feel disheartened when I saw that. Everything else in the process I loved! I was really good at it from the start. I had a lot of practice with my whanau’s tamariki that I am so thankful for, so I could master the Alginate and pouring stone into the moulds. 

 

2021 to now, I began advertising and the interest was amazing! I meet whanau from all over the Horowhenua and Manawatu, creating all beautiful treasures. I fell in love with demoulding casts, not having missing fingers or toes, the process of making these frames and the joy it gave to whanau when they received it. Really fills my heart. 

 

Continuing what Mum did, and helping her creation to live on, helps me remember where we started, how far we have come and where we are heading. I can not wait to continue, grow and share Mama and my story for everyone to hear