la dolce vita

despite being two weeks tardy, i hope your 2009 is off to a good start and that the new(ish) year brings many happy moments your way!

my fella and i snuck away for a last minute trip back to the islands to visit 'ohana and friends and one of my favorite finds were these fabulous prints from oahu artist pegge hopper (better known for her contemplative portraits of island women). tucked away in the upstairs loft of her chinatown gallery, the la rinescente series is a delightfully retro look at the artist's mid-century stint in the ad department of an italian department store.

being the girl behind this blog, my favorite is scuola's bespectacled brunette, but i love the bright pops of color and vibrant simplicity of all the graphics found throughout the series.

covet one to call your own? open edition prints ($250 to $500) can be purchased at the gallery or online.

• where: 1164 nu'uanu avenue
• hours: tue to fri, 11a to 4p
• fyi: gallery is open late on first friday

deal alert: 25% off at fighting eel!

hello, hello . . . decided to play hooky with my fella and escaped to san diego for a few days. during my time away, fighting eel announced a pre-thanksgiving sale in both their chinatown showroom and, happy news for off-island fans, the fe online shop.

skip the black friday crowds and shop now to save 25% off styles from the summer 08 collection, accessories, and sale items from past seasons!

• when: now to thu, nov 27th
• where: 47 north hotel street
• holiday hours: mon - sat, 10a to 5p
• fyi - all sales final on sale items

p.s. fighting eel now offers a wish list service in-store and will email holiday hints of designs you covet to your peeps.

this used to be . . .

mix it up during tonight's edition of first friday and stop by tadpole studio which will be opening the doors of its chinatown studio for an interactive art event.

simply bring in un/loved clothing to be transformed by some cheeky in-house screen printing which will mark offerings with a bold "this used to be" proclamation. the inky commentary challenges the world-at-large's disposable p.o.v. to rethink castoffs and breathe new life into something old that can be reworn and appreciated in a fresh way.

• when: tonight, nov 7th - 6p to 10p
• where: 1160 smith street
• fee: $9 (covers screenprinting materials)

fighting eel showroom sale

lc

fighting eel just announced a 40% off sale of their spring & pre-summer 08 collections kicking off at their showroom today. alas, the online shop is excluded so hele over to the chinatown hq asap for the best selection!

• where: 47 north hotel street
• shop hours: thu to sat, 10a to 5p

ahoy soozou!

nothing makes me happier than stylish and sustainable design. add a little homegrown production to help lift local women out of poverty and you have the makings of one of my favorite new companies to hit the pages of h|h for quite sometime.

the idea for soozou, a line of handcrafted bags made from recycled sails, came to honolulu designer pia kuhlemann while she was playing around with making a surfboard bag as a birthday gift for her sweetie. she hatched the idea for using sails, which are both durable and water-resistant, at the end of its life cycle after recalling the repurposed bags made from old sailcloth that had become popular in her hometown back in hamburg.

the surfboard bag never got made but prototypes for what would become soozou proved to be the opening pia was looking for to start her own business. the former art director now spends her days cutting bag patterns by hand to best reveal the unique graphics of each recycled sailcloth and bring hints of past voyages to life. the sturdy totes are then customized with silkscreened designs, decorative stitching, grommets, and rope straps befitting its nautical past.

but it's the next chapter of soozou's story that really sets it apart since pia, with the help of a friend, helped launch an economic development program at the kokua kalihi valley health center to keep sewing production of the bags in the islands. it's a win-win situation with participants in the program receiving job training while keeping it local reduces soozou's environmental footprint and adds a little economic stimulus to the community.

alas, the online shop is currently low on stock (price point ranges from $98 to $225), however you have a chance to scoop up some soozou of your own during the official launch party friday night:

• when: fri, aug 22nd - 6p to 9:30p
• where: thirtyninehotel, 39 north hotel street

or, stop by soozou hq (inside tadpole studios) to take a peek:

• where: 1160 smith street
• shop hours: wed to fri, 12p to 6p

p.s. pia is always on the lookout for used sails. divert yours from the landfill and onto the shoulders of the islands' style set and, in exchange for your donation, you will receive a soozou bag made from your very own sail.

{via green fashion hawaii}

{update | feb 2010: soozoo can now be found in its new studio space, etown, located at 1164 smith street in chinatown}