Whare Āio is a multidisciplinary practice spanning strategy, communications, design, writing, voice, sound and healing. Each area has its own purpose, with Mahara forming the foundation. It reflects the understanding that our wellbeing shapes how we grow, create and bring the different parts of ourselves into expression.
_
Maria has decades of experience across iwi, community and national kaupapa. Her work ranges from building communication strategies, brands and creative systems to writing, design, voice work, energetic facilitation and audio resources. She takes ideas from their earliest form and develops them into work with clarity, purpose and substance.
Āio is the full expression of Maria’s practice, shaped by lived experience, professional knowledge, creativity and spirituality.
An Overview
Te Tuanui
Whakarei
Creative Direction and Expression Design
Te Tuanui is the creative arm of Āio Studio.
It brings kaupapa to life through design, story, and communication.
This is where the message is shaped into clear, aligned expression. Maria works across brand language, narrative development, visual storytelling, publication design, and campaign content.
With experience across iwi, community, and national kaupapa, Maria brings clarity and creative direction to complex work. She holds the thread between vision and delivery to ensure consistency and impact across every output.
Te Tuanui gives the kaupapa its voice, its look, and its story — expressed in a way that reflects its depth and intention.
Te Tūāpapa
Mahara - Ngā Ringa (In person)
Healing and Alignment for Mind, Spirit, and Emotions
Mahara supports breakthrough.
It is in-person work designed to shift the patterns, beliefs, and blocks that sit beneath the surface. The focus is on healing the baseline — the mindset, energy, and lived imprint that shapes how life is experienced.
Mahara offers one-on-one healing, wānanga, group sessions, and tailored support. It includes body-based therapy, deep listening, and practical coaching for those navigating growth and change.
The approach is direct. It meets people where they are and supports real movement. Mahara is for those ready to stop repeating the old story and build something stronger beneath the surface.
_
Mahara - Ngā Rawa (Digital Healing Resources)
Multi-Format Healing Suites for Reflection and Realignment
Supporting the inner work with accessible, intentional resources
It is the digital strand of Maria’s healing practice, offering clear, intentional tools to support breakthrough, reflection, and spiritual return.
Each resource is shaped by lived experience and grounded in purpose. The focus is on helping people reconnect with their centre, shift patterns, and build awareness beyond identity.
Mahara: Ngā Rawa includes sound-based tools for emotional release and energetic movement, healing journals to surface and integrate core patterns, and frequency-based resources designed for real spiritual challenge. It also offers cards for reflection, clarity, and grounded affirmation.
The tools are designed to be used in your own time, in your own way with accessible supports for those navigating grief, identity shifts, awakening, or the return to self.
Te Pou Tāhuhu
Tūhono
Strategic Architecture and Communications Systems Design
Tūhono is the foundation layer.
It is where the build begins.
This is the work of strategy, structure, and system design. Tūhono establishes the core framework that carries the kaupapa, idea, or business forward.
Maria works with kaupapa-led teams, founders, and organisations to map the architecture. This includes strategic planning, messaging structure, naming, values alignment, audience definition, and identifying the pou that hold the kaupapa in place.
Tūhono provides the clarity, order, and direction that supports everything to follow. It ensures the work is structurally sound and strategically aligned from the start.
Te Ātea
Te Reo Rere
Voice Work and Audio Storytelling
Maria works with voice as a tool for connection. Her background spans iwi radio, bilingual narration, campaign voiceovers, kaupapa-led storytelling, and longform audio.
She has voiced content for Moana FM, Āti Awa Toa FM, Arawa FM, Bridge FM, The Heat FM, and Maniapoto FM. Her voice supports kaupapa at iwi, community, and national level, including projects like Our Place (Whakatāne District), Ngā Puaroa Horonuku (Ngāti Awa), Karanga (Waka Hourua), and Mataatua: The House That Came Home (BBC).
She is the voice of Mātauranga Māori, the latest publication by Sir Hirini Moko Mead.
Maria is also the soundscape designer for Tangihanga, a theatrical work by Kristyl Neho. The sound design weaves karanga, original vocals, and atmospheric composition to support both the live show and future film version.
She brings clarity, timing, and intent to every voice project. Each piece is purposeful and delivered to carry the kaupapa with intention.