Tanya Harris | Founder. Mother. Human.

Founder · Mother · Human

Always finding
my way
home.

New Zealand born. Shaped by wellness, psychology, movement, marriage, motherhood and nearly two decades of living far from where I started. Looking back, I can see that each chapter has pointed in the same direction.

Right now, I am building pause.

Maker · Mother · New Zealand · pause. Ceramics · Amsterdam · Bali · Kintsugi · The Morning Ritual · Designed in Amsterdam · Maker · Mother · New Zealand · pause. Ceramics · Amsterdam · Bali · Kintsugi · The Morning Ritual · Designed in Amsterdam ·

Life, So Far

A life lived
in many
directions.

I danced competitively from the age of five until fifteen — long weekends, competitions, the commitment that kind of dedication requires. That work ethic stayed with me. It just found different things to work on.

None of it was planned. Health science, psychology and nutrigenomics. A camera. Yoga mats across many countries. Seven years of wellness work with people I genuinely cared about. A villa in Bali reshaped into a beautiful family home. Each one left me with something useful.

I left New Zealand in my early twenties and spent nearly two decades living across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, back to New Zealand, then Bali and now Amsterdam. Each place was different. Some moves were harder than others. I learned something from all of them.

The personal work — looking honestly at my own beliefs, the patterns I had inherited, the ones I wanted to change — was one of the most useful things I have ever done. It changed how I see myself, how I see the world, and it hugely influenced how I wanted to mother.

It is something I am still learning from. I think most people have a version of this story — the unexpected turns, the plans that changed, the feeling that it was all part of something. At 41, I feel settled in a way I did not always expect to. It has taken a while, and I am glad for all of it.

One thing kept coming back to me, no matter where I was: the importance of a quiet moment before the day begins. That small window of time that is just yours. I spent years helping people protect it. Now I am making something for it.

The chapters

i.

The Foundation Health science and psychology degree. Ten years of competitive dance, from five to fifteen.

ii.

The Eye Photographer. Learning to slow down and look carefully at the world around me.

iii.

The Teaching Yoga teacher, nutrigenomics practitioner and mindfulness coach for seven years — designing and delivering wellness programmes across New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and Europe.

iv.

The Pacific Years Australia. Papua New Guinea. Vanuatu. Fiji. Back to New Zealand. Nearly two decades of living across the Pacific.

v.

Tranquil House Bali Renovated and run as an Airbnb, achieving Superhost and 5-star status. Still ours. Still welcoming guests.

vi.

The Inner Work Yoga teacher training and personal development work — looking honestly at inherited beliefs and patterns. Something I am still learning from.

vii.

The Roles That Stayed Mother. Wife. Sister. Daughter. Friend. The identities that never changed, no matter how many times everything else did.

viii.

Now Project Specialist at Firemane B.V. Founder of pause. Ceramics. Amsterdam. Clay under my fingernails and a full life around me.

That first quiet moment of the day — before the noise starts, before anyone needs anything — is worth protecting. It belongs to you.

pause. · The morning ritual · Amsterdam

Life, Now

How I Live

Grounded in
what matters.

Most of my days revolve around my family. I am a mother and wife first — as present as possible, hands-on, and genuinely glad to be so. I do not see it as a sacrifice. It is a choice I make every day, and it shapes everything else.

On a project basis I bring two decades of varied experience to the work in front of me — currently with Firemane B.V. in Amsterdam. Alongside that, I am founding pause. Ceramics — developing the concept, the product and the brand, bringing the first collection to life.

Making

pause.
Ceramics.

Handleless ceramic mugs for the morning ritual — each one designed for the quiet before the day starts, stamped with a single word before firing, and sold in sets of two and four. Rooted in Kintsugi — the philosophy that what is imperfect is more beautiful for it, not less. Designed in Amsterdam. The first collection is in development.

For the quiet before everything else starts.

Visit pause. Ceramics →