[3][5] Lawless is a master weaver who also spends time passing on her skills and encouraging the preservation of raranga and traditional weaving in New Zealand.

[6][7] She collaborated with her daughter Christina Wirihana in 1996 to help create the interior of Ihenga, the meeting house at the Tangatarua marae on the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology campus.

[5] Lawless is part of the Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa (National Collective of Māori Weavers in New Zealand).

[12] The catalogue of this exhibit was reviewed by Leanne Amaki in 2019 and she expressed the opinion that "Matekino Lawless (Tainui) is an artistic genius".

[17] In the 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours, Lawless was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori art.