kokua japan - take two

while the world delights in the royal wedding today, a smaller celebration is taking place at greenroom hawaii which is marking the first anniversary of their surf art gallery-slash-boutique with a love for japan silent auction this weekend (more details in today's scoop). some of our favorite island artists have donated artwork including oahu illustrator kat reeder who created an especially lovely poster which embodies our islands' aloha for japan with quiet sweetness.

if venturing to waikiki on saturday night is not in the stars, kat's online shop just stocked up on her aloha for japan print ($25) which benefits the red cross's relief efforts in japan.

since the first kokua japan roundup, kinohi designs has released more love for japan plus our friends at owens & co., so'mace, and the wedding café have made cute new tote bags to help the cause. peek all the new designs after the jump!

love & hope by kinohi designs

if you have been waiting for the next round of help heal japan goodness by kinohi designs, two new offerings have joined designer jennifer tanabe's heal button. the hope design will benefit unicef while proceeds from the love tee will also help the red cross. an etsy shop will be launching soon, but in the meantime send jen a note to place an order.

{$20 online}

help heal japan tote

occasionally, there is a silver lining to being cursed with procrastinating ways. first the wedding café 'ohana sent over a peek the other day of their new help heal japan tote bag mixing sister shop eden in love's birdie motif with japan's rising sun. understated in the most delightful way with 100% of tote proceeds donated to the american red cross.

{$20 eden in love + the wedding café}

then a note from isla at so'mace arrived yesterday with news of a design fundraiser with missy at owens & co. (chinatown's lovely new design & home goods shop). the graphic collaboration is printed on recycled cotton and available in two cheery hues with proceeds benefiting direct relief international. add $5 for shipping if you wish to rock an aqua or bright pink tote on the neighbor islands or mainland.

{$30 owens & co. + so'mace}

have you happened across any new local prettiness to help our friends in japan?

kokua japan

hope heal love * aloha for japan

forgive me for my absence. i have been wrestling with writing about style and design finds which seem a little frivolous right now. half my family tree is japanese and even though my great-grandparents left for hawaii's shores over 100 years ago, the coverage of the devastation following the earthquake and tsunami continue to be heartbreaking.

then yesterday i received a note from jennifer of kinohi designs about a small project to send kokua to japan. the first offering from her hope love heal: a love letter to japan series is a sweet button debuting at eden in love this weekend. online ordering is in the works and i will be sharing the next two releases as soon as they say hello. {$2 a button with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the red cross and unicef}.

inspired by jen's generosity, i remembered how many local designers also share a connection to japan, and how the interweb bands together when the world is touched by tragedy. my evening and morning have been spent scouring all my sources for more goodness from hawaii and beyond to help japan. one of my favorites is the aloha for japan tee which is already on backorder. find yours at aloha army, barefoot league, butigroove, fitted hawaii & in4mation. {$20 with all the profits supporting relief efforts in japan}

more kama'aina offerings + a sampling of designs from around the world after the jump.

maui raised, la-based artist edwin ushiro will be contributing original artwork to this weekend's giant robot show to help unicef's efforts with keiki survivors of the earthquake.

share the love

lisa from modern philosophy created a capsule collection of handmade adornment just for japan. {$12 to $41 with 100% of the proceeds going to the red cross}

help japan scout books

portland's scout books has printed up a special edition help japan notebook with 100% of the profits benefitting mercy corps work in japan. {$15 for a set of three + free shipping on u.s. orders}

thinking of home

brooklyn artist & tokyo native naoko stoop will be donating $10 to the red cross from each sale of her sweet thinking of home print. {via books, paper, scissors}

help japan

weiden+kennedy's help japan offering is spare and to the point. {$25 with all net profits going to the red cross; via pinterest}

lotus * waves

i love the hopefulness and simple beauty found in designer linda yuki nakanishi's japan earthquake series. {various sizes; 100% of profits will benefit the canadian red cross's relief efforts in japan}

cherry blossom heart

along with the delicate design of the cherry blossom heart from this paper ship in north carolina who also whipped up a thousand paper cranes print. {$20 with 90% of proceeds benefitting the salvation army}

alas, this is not for sale but illustrator natascha rosenberg's sweet pair quietly expresses how so many of us feel. {via pinterest}

and, h|h will be participating in for japan with love's day of silence tomorrow which means an early edition of the aloha friday scoop will be posted later tonight.

have you happened across more design kokua to help our friends in japan? if so, please do share!

p.s. good magazine has also posted a helpful roundup of charity organizations deserving of your donation.

morning crush: road to hana

road to hana

a happy discovery from san francisco illustrator nidhi chanani. love how her road to hana sweetly captures the wonderment of wandering through the rainforest.

$25 online.

a peek inside general store

it's back to the west coast for today's mainland week discovery. i first happened across a mention of san francisco's general store in sunset magazine last fall which briefly noted shop proprietor & artist serena mitnik-miller's childhood ties to kaua'i. the carefully curated shop, which serena and hubby mason st. peter opened in early 2010, sounded like a little haven for design geeks so the mister and i made our way to its outer sunset neighborhood during our holiday getaway to the bay area.

the spare design of the shop interior combined with the handmade mix of merchandise was a pleasant antidote for my lingering winter cold. within minutes of our arrival, i was delighted that we agreed on the perfect clock (made in japan!) while i happily scooped up the elusive travel size bottle of jasmine scented hair powder along with a pair of pastel washi tape. somehow my wish list had magically manifested on the shelves within the tiny storefront . . . a very rare occurance for me.

with a few crushworthy objects left behind for another trip, i was most impressed with serena and mason's cultivated eye for thoughtfully designed goods. since we are slowly dispensing of no longer loved things in our small space, general store's wares reinforced our notion to live with less and fill our surroundings with well crafted designs that bring happiness to our day.

curious to see more?

wood stamp

malibu

i have also become quite taken with serena's artwork composed of minimalist wood stamp prints and quiet photographs of the sea. low-key and graceful reminders of keiki years spent exploring the islands and her adopted hometown of san francisco. (fyi: a current inventory list is available on request.)

for those not able to pop in and say hello, an edited selection of pieces from the general store inventory can be ordered in the online shop. and, bay area friends are advised to sign-up for the mailing list to stay posted on pop-up events and art openings hosted by the shop.

• where: 4035 judah street, sf
• shop hours: mon to fri, 11a to 6p & sat/sun, 10a to 6p

morning crush: heather brown x matsumoto

happy anniversary!

i'll take one rainbow with ice cream, please! for all the matsumoto shave ice fans, the iconic haleiwa landmark recently enlisted artist heather brown to design their super cute 60th anniversary tees.

m's and w's styles offered in a handful of colors.

$17 online + in-store.