Rakau Shofars · Aotearoa New Zealand
One-of-one ceremonial sound sculptures, carved from new and reclaimed New Zealand hardwoods — for worship, collectors, and legacy.
01 — The Maker
"Each piece begins long before I touch it. Sometimes a hundred years before."
For over two decades, Steve has worked with reclaimed New Zealand hardwoods — swamp kauri pulled from northern wetlands, rimu salvaged from century-old homes, rosewood and tōtara given a second voice.
Each shofar takes between six weeks and nine months. There is no machine spiral, no production line. A single piece may pass through his hands a thousand times before it is voiced.
The result is an instrument, yes — but also a sculpture, a memory, a declaration. A piece carved with the same patience as the trees that gave their wood.
Heritage
For thousands of years, horns and ceremonial calls carried across valleys, coastlines and places of gathering — declaration before battle, worship at firelight, signals between distant people. Breath through horn, older than language itself.
Each piece in this collection continues that quiet lineage.
02 — The Collection
One-of-one ceremonial pieces. Carved by hand from reclaimed New Zealand hardwoods. None are duplicated. None will ever be again.
The Ancient Series
A voice held silent in the earth for forty thousand years, now released.
Carved from a single piece of reclaimed swamp kauri unearthed from the wetlands of Northland. The grain carries the memory of a forest that stood before language. Each spiral was hand-cut over eleven weeks.
The Fire Series
Twin timbers married at the mouthpiece — ember meeting honey.
A rosewood bell carved with deep helical facets is joined to a body of golden reclaimed rimu. The transition is seamless: warmth meets fire. Tuned to a low, resonant call.
Legacy Commissions
Named for the lord of the forest. A piece meant to outlive its maker.
The longest piece in the studio's history. Commissioned for a private collector in Jerusalem. Carved across nine months from a single heart tōtara recovered from a riverbed in the Bay of Plenty.
Memory in Timber
Ancient wood. Inherited hands.Stories held within the grain.
Swamp kauri buried for a hundred centuries. Rimu salvaged from century-old homes. Each piece begins long before the first cut — shaped first by silence, weather, and time.
03 — Sound
No two shofars sound the same. Each timber, curve and carved facet shapes a different call — a breath carried through distance.
04 — Commissions
Custom timber. Symbolic carvings. Pieces for worship, for collectors, for legacy. Commissions take 3–9 months and begin with a single conversation.
The Process
01
We begin with a call. No obligation. Tell me what you are envisioning — the timber, the purpose, the meaning.
02
Together we choose the wood, the form, and any symbolic carvings. I sketch and source.
03
Three to nine months of patient hand-work. Progress photographs are shared throughout.
04
Each piece is tuned by ear, finished in oil, then crated and sent worldwide.
05 — The Practice
Sound
Tuned by ear. Voiced for declaration.
Story
Every grain carries a memory.
Spirit
Sacred craft, ancient calling.
Craft
One pair of hands. No shortcuts.
06 — In Their Words
"When I first sounded it, I wept. It does not feel like an instrument — it feels like something that has always existed, finally given form."
Rabbi D. Cohen — Jerusalem
"Steve's pieces are not products. They are reverent acts of patience."
M. Whittaker, Collector — London
"Receiving the commission was a sacred moment for our congregation."
Pastor J. Lee, Auckland
07 — Enquire
Every piece begins with a letter. Tell us what drew you here. Steve responds personally — usually within 48 hours.
