Choose Sarcasm

Sarcasm is a sharp form of humour which relies on biting, ironic language, delivered dryly for comedic impact. This style of humour comes naturally to the young, entrepreneurial mind of Taylor Spittle, a self-identified “Professional Problem Solver” and part-owner of the thriving Ngāi Tahu clothing pakihi Choose Sarcasm.

Choose Sarcasm is an entity under the whānau-owned and operated company Just Thinking Out Loud. Based in Ōtautahi, the company is made up of six members: Taylor, her partner Te Manihera, her father Luke, her māmā Alice, her sister Ruby, and their kurī Lunar.

While the entire whānau contributes to the wider business, Taylor and her father Luke handle most of the day-to-day operations. “Dad and I mostly do it all, and the others just come in when they do,” Taylor says.

You might recognize their witty bilingual slogans, such as ‘More doey, less hui’ and ‘Fresh out of whakaaro’, which have become popular at mākete stalls across the takiwā — including last year’s Hui-a-Iwi in Kaikōura.

Driven by their wry kiwi humour, a passion for creating more room in the sleeves of women’s sweatshirts and a ‘how hard can it be?’ attitude, Taylor and Luke approached the Ngāi Tahu Puna Pakihi tīma to support their dream of creating apparel that speaks to equally sarcastic wearers.

In January 2022, Puna Pakihi encouraged the whānau to apply for their Kickstart Grant. After a successful application, the funding provided the boost they needed to get started. Their initial concept launched in April 2022 under a different name but still championed Māori whakataukī on clothing.

In August 2023, they applied for and were awarded the Stay Up Grant, which enabled them to officially relaunch and rebrand as Choose Sarcasm in January 2024 — a fresh, bold take on their original kaupapa.

Embracing both sides of her whakapapa — with a Ngāi Tahu Māori māmā and a Pākehā father — Taylor views herself as a bridge between two worlds. “That’s why I wanted to create something both groups could associate with,” she says, which is why the slogans are bilingual.

On a mission to deliver ethical, sustainable, and humorous apparel, Taylor and Luke are committed to ensuring high-quality products, with most items sourced from and printed in Aotearoa.

To align further with their values, they switched to a pre-order model, using a “made-to-order” system that reduces textile waste. This decision reflects their commitment to minimizing their environmental impact while maintaining production standards.

Puna Pakihi recognized Taylor’s entrepreneurial skills and appointed her as a business mentor for startup Ngāi Tahu pakihi. “Amy [from Puna Pakihi] said, ‘You guys have done so much...let’s put you as a mentor,’ and I was stoked to be asked,” Taylor says.

Reflecting on her business journey, she notes: “We’ve realized we’ve done a lot of learning. Business courses usually focus on finding suppliers, but it’s about more than just that. It’s our strength to keep pushing forward. That’s why we say we’re professional problem solvers — we focus on solving problems, not just doing the physical work.”

Taylor’s expertise is now available to like-minded entrepreneurs through their mentorship program.

In addition to their core apparel line, Choose Sarcasm now offers custom apparel. Taylor explains: “We’ve found that there’s a big gap for small to medium-sized businesses that want custom apparel. Screen printing places here often have a 25-item minimum, which isn’t sustainable for someone who just wants three t-shirts.”

They’ve made it a priority to offer no minimum order quantity for custom designs, pushing for a more flexible and accessible service: “We’ll use the default for our Choose Sarcasm range, but if someone wants something we don’t have, we’ll cover it.”

Looking ahead, Taylor shares her whānau vision for the future of their business: “As a whānau, we use Matariki as a time for goal-setting, and up until now, our goals have been really clear. We wanted to build a brand that was authentically us and find a way to make it sustainable — which we’ve achieved. This year, I just want to focus on getting into more markets and watching the business evolve organically.”

Visit Choose Sarcasm here 
Visit Puna Pakihi here