mu'umu'u heaven update

aloha onesie + l/s tee

the other day i happened across sweet little onesies perked up with recycled fabric appliqués made by mu'umu'u heaven and realized that it had been far too long since the last update. alas, the wee togs are sold out at the kailua boutique but if you simply must have one for your keiki click over to online stockist equita.

for grownups, mu'umu'u heaven continues to translate the little black dress in bamboo jersey with their signature island style which will certainly delight those with a more minimal aesthetic.

honey * bamboo sunrise * luana

heavenly home

pretty flower pens

and, you may recall that earlier this year designer deb mascia launched her heavenly home collection as a way for customers, who swooned over the shop's beach chic meets reclaimed design upon its opening, to decorate their own space with the one of a kind look found inside the boutique.

eric of mu'umu'u heaven (deb's husband, business partner & right hand man) kindly sent along a peek of a few pieces from the collection which closes the green loop by transforming thrift shop bound furniture with a few fixes along with a fresh coat of paint and updated upholstery.

accent pillows made from vintage aloha shirt fabric are also available to brighten up your space and can be found at the shop and pacific home.

finally, one of my favorite things about mh is that every thursday they welcome w.i.n.g.s., a group that works with windward teens and young adults who have autism, into the shop for an afternoon of project making. members have created these cheerful flower pens made with scraps of fabric saved from mu'umu'u heaven's sewing room and are available at the shop for $6 (proceeds help support w.i.n.g.s. activities and additional craft supplies).

• where: 767 kailua road
• shop hours: mon - sat, 10a to 6p & sun, 11a to 4p

hello momo!

whenever kama'ainas go off island, be it on holiday or a move to the mainland for one of the oft-discussed trifecta of better opportunities (college/job/housing), the locales that make the destination list are predictable: las vegas, southern california, the bay area, and the pacific northwest. (the latter three choices are understandable but the first one, to be honest, has always perplexed me.)

if you happen to call seattle your home away from home or plan on hitting the emerald city on your next trip, be sure to add a side trip to japantown to your shopping list. the revitalized neighborhood, filled with noodle shops and tea houses, happens to be the home of momo, the east meets west boutique of oahu girl and seattle resident lei ann shiramizu.

the freelance writer, who grew up in moanalua, and her husband opened the doors of momo late last year to much acclaim for its mix of style and design finds from around the world. the stock list is long and intriguing including french fashion (cop.copine), finnish decor (iittalia), reclaimed leather handbags (bronsino), and vintage asian accessories gathered up at local estate sales.

visits home double as buying trips which mean you can scoop up select finds from the islands from a tin of timana tea to an aloha shirt from iolani sport. and, with father's day just around the corner, momo will be throwing a hawaiian shirt show tomorrow evening featuring styles flown in from IO sport just for the occasion plus handmade aloha shirts for your little one.

• when: thu, jun 12th - 5p to 7p
• where: 600 south jackson street, seattle
• fyi: pupus & light beverages will be served

take a peek inside momo here and here.

cuckoo for coconuts

a peek inside . . .

a little monday morning design eye candy for you compliments of one of my favorite island blogs - cuckoo for coconuts. i originally spotted designers conn brattain & john giordani on design*sponge a few months ago when they shared a diy tutorial with d*s readers. intrigued, i immediately clicked over to their blog which chronicles their move from nyc to maui along with the year long rehab of their property and the day to day goings on of life on the valley isle.

hints that conn & john's diy aesthetic extended beyond the remaking of over the counter shelves with grasscloth (genius!) only piqued my curiosity more, and when they shared the news that their maui home would be showcased in readymade this summer, well, i became even more enamored of this designer duo. (the story of tending to a lost baby bird, now known as kekoa, only made them more endearing.)

conn & john's cozy 800 square foot home is a showcase of how a small home can be both livable and stylish and is filled with mid-century elements and subdued tropical touches. personally, it's refreshing and way more inspiring to get a glimpse inside a real island home lived in 24/7 and transformed with a little of the owners' elbow grease instead of the ubiquitous millionaire honolulu penthouses and ocean front hawaii estates that typically dot the pages of national & island design glossies.

gorgeous grasscloth shelves!

conn & john

what i didn't discover until the issue hit the newsstand was the extent to which conn & john committed to making their haiku home as sustainable as possible. not only do they tend to their very own farmers market in their backyard (tempting readers with yummy photos of homemade jam) but their home is totally off the grid powered completely by solar panels. and they have gone a step further since freshwater flows from the taps compliments of water catchment tanks which capture rain falling from the skies.

snap up your very own copy of the jun/jul 08 issue of readymade now or click over to the digital edition to take a peek (more photos here).

{many mahalos to conn & john for all their kokua!}

{photo credit: readymade magazine (1/3) & cuckoo for coconuts (2)}

kat uno designs

geisha on moped

at times blogging can feel like you're in a self made bubble but occasionally a note of encouragement lands in my inbox which confirms there are others out in the world who love the same modern island designs as me. recently, i received happy news from freelance designer kat uno who made a design connection of her own while shopping at alliway (after discovering the ward boutique on h|h - yay!).

originally from maui, kat landed on oahu to study art at uh manoa and earned her graphic design chops while working for a local company after graduation. she has since hit the freelance scene balancing work, school (studying web design), and the launch of her paper goods line.

when i first started h|h a few years ago, girl about town illustrations were everywhere online but no one quite captured life of an island girl as fabulously as kat who blends her lifelong love of design with the culture surrounding her. kat's illustrations are fun, flirty and filled with all the sweet details that make life in hawaii oh so internationale.

tropical sunset

i love sushi

you can scoop up kat's note cards at alliway as well as in her newly minted etsy shop which will soon stock a menagerie of handmade amigurumi designs (custom work is also welcome - convo kat for details).

keeping up with kinohi designs

quilted floral

the other day i dipped into my stationery stash happy to find a few remaining thank you cards left over from my wedding from way back when. while a graphic designer friend pitched in to create our invites, the thank you notes came from kinohi designs who was first on the scene with modern island wedding invites that i swooned over and coveted very much but, alas, were beyond my budget.

when i clicked over to see what's new with kinohi, i discovered that designer jennifer tanabe has quietly shuttered the custom paper goods side of her business to focus on other projects. luckily, she continues to offer her charming designs in a fresh mix of island motifs via wedding paper divas and tiny prints, an online print house that helps you craft semi-custom invites and announcements to celebrate life's big moments.

beach stones

baby fern * under the sea

all of the designs are digitally printed to keep the cards at an appealing price point for personalized stationery. and, if you find the perfect card but the sample text doesn't quite do it for you, just remember that a few clicks will allow you to tweak the wording to better reflect your event.