Bringing our values to life with Marino Magee
We’ve really enjoyed working with local Māori artist Marino Magee to create a set of icons for Acorn’s five values: Curious, Integrity, Respectful, Dedicated and Prudent. Marino works across weaving, painting and Māori design. For this collaboration, she drew on te ao Māori to give each value its own visual story, connecting the way we work with ideas found in the natural world.
We love the thought she has put into each design. There’s meaning in every form, from an unfurling fern to a wave gathering momentum. We wanted to share those stories, in Marino’s words and ideas, so you can get to know the icons too.
An unfurling fern is a lovely starting point for curiosity: something new opening up, with room to grow. Marino chose the koru to represent our willingness to welcome new ideas and try different approaches. In her explanation, curiosity is about continuing to learn, wanting to understand something unfamiliar and looking for ways to improve.
That feels very true to how we want to work at Acorn. We don’t have every answer, and there is always something to learn from the people around us. The koru reminds us to keep asking questions and stay open to what comes next.
Marino used the poutama pattern for Respectful. She explained that poutama can hold many meanings; here, she chose to focus on learning from different perspectives. What we appreciate about her explanation is how widely that respect reaches. It includes everyone who works with, for and around Acorn, and all the different people we meet through our work.
For us, it starts with listening. Every person brings experiences and knowledge that we may not share. The poutama reminds us to make room for those perspectives, take time to understand and treat people with dignity and care.
For Integrity, Marino created an abstract fish hook koru, representing honesty, responsibility and commitment. She connected this design with Acorn’s responsibility to be transparent with all the people we work alongside. It’s about being open, doing what we say we will do and taking responsibility for our actions.
Trust matters so much in our work. People share their hopes, their stories and their generosity with us. This icon is a reminder of the care we need to take with that trust, in our everyday conversations as well as our decisions.
The puhoro in our Dedicated icon represents a wave as it builds momentum, forms, breaks and flows onwards. Marino spoke about the energy in that movement and its connection to perseverance. The wave continues its work, carrying that energy forward.
It’s an image that fits the commitment we want to bring to Acorn. Some things take time, and progress isn’t always straightforward. Dedication means following through, staying involved and continuing to work towards the things that matter to our community.
There are two connected stories within our Prudent icon: the shark fin and the kape inside it. Marino described the shark as a kaitiaki of the ocean. Her explanation focused on the responsibility that comes with strength, and the shark’s role in caring for the life around it.
The kape tells the story of kūmara and abundance. As Marino explained, more kūmara meant more kai to sustain people. For Acorn, that connects with the pūtea and resources people entrust to us, and our responsibility to care for them thoughtfully.
Together, these forms express kaitiakitanga. They remind us that we are looking after something precious on behalf of others.
Marino also brought our coastal home into the design. The shark connects us with the moana, while the kūmara brings us back to the whenua, a connection to both the water and the land around us.
Thank you, Marino Magee
It’s a pleasure to share these designs and the thinking behind them. Working with Marino has given us a new way to see and talk about the values that guide Acorn.
Thank you, Marino, for the creativity and care you’ve brought to this collaboration.
You can explore more of Marino’s work on Instagram at @marino_toi.