hour of nine letterpress

hello, hello! mainland week is traveling across the country to nyc today where honolulu designer lehua chong recently established a small letterpresserie called hour of nine. the lovely jeweler misa hamamoto can be credited for introducing me to the eco-friendly paper goods printed on lehua's antique letterpress machine, and i found myself completely charmed by the sweet whimsy of her lovable supermonsters trio.

before hour of nine made its first impression, the former fashion publicist was sending handmade postcards to friends as an old fashioned hello. the lucky recipients were so delighted to find the unexpected notes in their mailbox that lehua became encouraged to start her own stationery line. the debut collection is filled with eclectically inked designs drawing on the twinkle of furry friends and reimagined architectural elements to the ethnic flourish of hindu weddings and makahiki celebrations.

despite being only a few months old, hour of nine has already received coverage in the ny times and made the cut at the standard hotel's gift shop.

intrigued?

brint

taliesin

makahiki

radhika

as hinted above, lehua opted for tree-free cardstock selecting 100% bamboo paper which also happens to be chlorine-free. and, custom orders are always welcome whether you require a full wedding invitation suite to social stationery and business cards.

if you call nyc home, you can find a selection of hour of nine notes at the standard, or click over to the online shop where card sets start at $17.

{mahalo misa!}

morning crush: luxe letterpress sale

owl love * gwendolyn

if you, or someone you adore, are planning to exchange i do's in 2011, hele over to luxe letterpress, the charming wedding collection by joie studio. until february 18th, the very first order of all new designs (including the delightful owl love collaboration with shop toast) will receive a generous discount in exchange for agreeing to have your invites be the official design sample.

$250 to $400 online.

photo.phile: one love photo

i must apologize to one and all who have been waiting for and wondering about the return of photo.phile. while peeking at all the amazing photographs shared on the interweb is a favorite diversion, time just seemed to slip away over the past few months leaving little time for clicking through the online galleries.

happily, through the instant connection of twitter, i discovered the dreamy work of one love photo just before the holidays and immediately began trading notes with heather who snaps photos side-by-side with her hubby jon (a local boy from oahu). the duo are currently based in seattle and travel back to hawaii often to visit jon's 'ohana, and caught my eye with a lovely roundup of images captured during andy irons' memorial in hanalei.

the vintage vignettes are absolutely swoon-worthy and have become a sweet reminder to shoot more with my diana camera and savor its lo-fi possibilities. although weddings and portraits are heather and jon's bread and butter (and quite gorgeous, may i say), it's easy to get lost in their snapshots of the islands.

in fact, i insist.

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up a camera and start clicking?
heather has always been into photography, it took me about 10 years until i decided to give it a whirl. mainly i missed heather on the weekends while she was off shooting weddings and thought she could use the help. i planned to go along to the weddings as her "assistant" but i got bored in a hurry. i had to pick up one of her cameras and start shooting. i don't have any formal training so i have learned everything by experimenting. i am never afraid to try something, even when i am told it won't work. i am most inspired to shoot when i am using my homemade lenses with our digital SLR camera.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
keith carter and sally mann. recently, we've been enjoying the beautiful set of images by john wehrheim in the book titled taylor camp. we came across the book while over on kauai, the b&w photographs of the hippie camp on the north shore in the 60's makes me wish i could time travel and be a hippie with a treehouse.

favorite island moment captured on "film"?
the andy irons' memorial on kauai was moving beyond words. it was an honor to capture the spirit of community on the beach in hanalei that day. we also love capturing friends and family at weddings! at one of our most recent weddings on oahu, we were so excited to photograph the couple's little dog named bear, who was also their ring bearer. there was so much love all around that day.

any simple tricks to share on how to best capture a lovely in-the-moment shot?
learn your camera's settings well, really well. shoot in manual mode ALWAYS.

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
our canon 5dmkII with a homemade tilt shift lens, it's not pretty but it makes beautiful landscape shots and portraits. for the beach, i love throwing our bright orange blackbird plastic toy camera in our bag.

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
you have to learn the rules before you can break them, then bend them often.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
1st off we love using the reusable grocery bags from foodland as our picnic basket, preferably the one with the musubi illustration on the front. add some real musubi and sunblock inside and we are ready to go.

*(if shave ice didn't melt, it would be in there as well, with a snow cap). 

mahalo heather and jon!

more lovely moments are shared on the one love photo blog with peeks from the portfolio mingling with day-to-day snapshots. and, if you will be exchanging i do's this year, just know that h+j are waiving their travel fee to hawaii through all of 2011!

party saver: event essentials

bubble club sofa * wood stump cake stand * sake cups

one of the benefits of hawaii being a destination wedding hot spot are the decorating possibilities courtesy of the rental services catering to the most swoon-worthy i do's. when the future mister and i peeked into a traditional party rental supply on island way back when, the pickings were quite depressing - think standard issue china, glitzy 80's centerpieces, and a surprising lack of anything stylish to compliment our modern un-wedding. and, this was a few years in to the 21st century.

when tara from pacific bride guide mentioned the lovely goods available at event essentials, my daydreams of one day hosting a fabulous soirée became ever more delightful as i imagined mixing in whimsical bubble club sofas (compliments of tara), dreamy french beverage dispensers, and the oh-so-toasty fire pit.

if your budget allows, it's a briliant way to add a little more loveliness to the occasional celebration when more seating is required, you simply cannot justify ownership of an oversized confectionary jar in your small space, or if, like me, your borrowing circle does not share your crush for moroccan lanterns and tree stump cake stands.

more peeks of pretty party possibilities after the jump!

wooden cake stand * rattan charger * glass cookie jar

teak lounge * moroccan lantern * frenchie dispenser

rustic buri lanterns

party bonfire!

event essentials owner christina farrow (who also creates pacific aisles' lovely weddings) was kind enough to share a little cheat sheet to save you some extra clicks over the hectic holiday season:

• inventory is limited so it's best to reserve asap. especially if your event date falls on a saturday.
• no minimum quantities required so mix and match to your heart's content.
• posted rental fees are for 24 hours but extended rentals may be accommodated upon request.
• delivery is available on oahu for a fee (starting at $75; required for furniture rentals), however you can arrange to pick up smaller items at ee's aiea storage space.

a sampling of rental price tags include $2 for a ceramic sake cup, $20 for the large french beverage dispenser, and $150 for the fun bubble club sofa.

is hosting a festive fête on your holiday must do list this year?

{photo credit: 1/pacific bride guide (sofa) : punam bean (stump) : visionari (sake); 2/visionari (stand & jar) chrissy lambert (charger); 3/chrissy lambert (lounge) : visionari (lantern) : nineteen owls (dispenser); 4/frank amodo + alex rapada (buri)}

introducing vakker blomst

considering my styling skills are woeful at best, the throwback hair pieces created by vakker blomst are wooing me with the possibility of adorning my strands with an old world, romantic reminder of the age of innocence. curious about the origins of hair fascinators, a quick google revealed that they began as an alternative to the fancy and pricey offerings of milliners with variations of feathered ornamentation decorating the hair of ladies through the centuries from royal courtesans to flirty flappers before falling out of favor with the arrival of the beat generation.

lucky for the modern island coquette, april, the maui stylist who launched vakker blomst on a whim, began making tropical confections for herself and friends after finding herself underwhelmed by the selection of available accoutrements. before long strangers were approaching her in hopes of purchasing the plumage straight off her head. with ladylike fashion making a comeback of late, the addition of a few strategically placed feathers, seashells, and petals seem like the most delightful way to dress up an artfully askew, thoughtfully mussed side 'do.

or perhaps it's the influence of the one new show deemed worthy enough to be added to my watch list this fall.

each design is handmade from pieces to pin in your hair to extravagant feathered headbands to slip on when you find yourself in a style pinch. pieces are priced from $20-$50 for ready-to-wear looks while custom styles embellished with fancy jewels can go up to $350.

the latest offerings can be found in the online shop while maui readers can find vakker blomst stocked at karina in lahaina and sophia grace at the grand wailea (and opening soon in paia).

p.s. click over to vb's facebook to see fascinators styled on devoted fans.

{via sophia grace maui}