Apr 21 
in honor of earth day, i thought i would give a little shout out to muumuu heaven which recycles aloha wear and refashions them into skirts, tees and pillows. every design is one of a kind and when they can't bear to deconstruct a vintage piece they add it to their untouchables section. muumuu heaven continues their good for the earth mantra by participating in 1% for the planet as well as this weekend's kokua festival.
Apr 18 
indie designers from hawaii have been getting a lot of buzz lately and ginger13 definitely deserves all the recent accolades. designer cindy yokoyama's fresh take on designs influenced by nature are bold and fun and just the right thing when you want to add a little flair to your outfit.
a few of my favorites from her spring 2006 collection include dawn patrol and she sold seashells. cindy's jewelry is handmade and many of the objects in her designs feel like they have been discovered while beachcombing. ginger13's online shop recently launched and the line is also stocked at a few boutiques in the islands as well as on the mainland.
Apr 4 
if you lived on oahu in the 80's i guarantee either you or someone you know has a story about a chance encounter with the production of magnum p.i. when i was a kid i remember seeing magnum's ferrari at the corner store in hawaii kai and meeting one of magnum's enemies (who was also an acquaintence of my mom) while shopping at the ala moana liberty house.
not only does shirts & ladders' tom selleck tee bring back all those oh-so-fond memories from the 80's but it's also the perfect thing to wear during your magnum marathon
Mar 24 
i have a feeling that the fella's favorite shop when we hit the islands this summer will be kicks/hi. this is the place to go if you love sneakers. and i'm not talking about your kids' keds but super cool kicks for sneaker aficionados looking to score limited edition, old school style sneakers.
they have even collaborated on limited edition sneaker designs like the aloha dunk with nike. the masterminds behind kicks hawaii are pchs grad ian ginoza & his friend eddy haus who opened up their first shop a few years ago and recently opened another location at the new ward gateway in town. online shopping isn't available yet so if you're not lucky enough to live in (or visit) hawaii hopefully you're near saint alfred, their sister shop in chicago.
Mar 23 
while public school kids were making paper trays in woodworking & key chains in metal shop, the students over at punahou were dabbling in silversmithing. this is one of the more interesting nuggets i picked up at janet jewelry's website. island girl/jewelry designer janet masamitsu is based in nyc now where she creates a nice mix of affordable pieces like these lady luck earrings (perfect for that next trip to vegas).
in addition to sterling silver styles, janet also designs limited edition pieces like the triple drop smokey quartz necklace and many of her pieces can be customized. she also designs stuff for guys like these danger boy cufflinks that captain jack sparrow might fancy (arrr!). shop online or visit her boutique when you're in nyc.
