[1] Pahewa began weaving as a child when she was taught by her Nanny Bub, the younger sister of Rangitīaria Dennan.

[3] Pahewa was the head of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute's weaving school, Te Rito, located in Rotorua that her mother Emily Schuster set-up in 1967.

Both her mother and her sister Dawn have also held the head role of Te Tumu Raranga at the institute.

[4][5][6] She is a member of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the national collective of weavers, and has previously served as the organisation's chairperson.

[3] In 2005 while serving as chairperson, Pahewa helped establish the Kāhui Whiritoi group, membership of which formally acknowledges master weavers of New Zealand.