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

denise tjarks trunk show

if you missed indie handbag designer denise tjarks at the made in hawaii festival last weekend, you have one last chance to say hello and scoop up the remaining bags from her vintage meets tropical collection before she flies back to kaua'i.

head down to chinatown later today for a pau hana trunk show with denise compliments of hifi & hawaii red magazine:

• when: thu, aug 21st - 4p to 8p
• where: bar 35, 35 north hotel street

p.s. click over to the star-bulletin for a look behind-the-scenes with denise.

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}

cast away

shima disc ring

monday morning eye candy courtesy of the gorgeous designs of misa jewelry. i happened to come across misa hamamoto's work while reading stacia designer stacy johnson's fashion flock blog and became instantly smitten with the organic sculptural feel of misa's collection.

the los angeles-based designer, who spent her childhood in oahu and micronesia, first dabbled in jewelry making at punahou and became reacquainted with her love of design after college. misa eventually tired of the demanding schedule required by her career in the investment world (aptly described as "living for the weekend") and decided to make a lifestyle switch and take her hobby full-time.

the result is a collection of thoughtfully composed pieces created via the ancient art of lost wax casting which requires misa to carve a mold out of wax that, after a time consuming process, eventually becomes the vessel for her design. the islands continue to inspire misa from afar and her lovely shima collection recreates coral's porous surface with warm matte metals that seem to play with positive and negative space.

nami earrings

shima teardrop necklace

shima cuff

and, i am happy to report that the earth gets a little more love since misa also donates a portion of her sales to environmental protection and awareness non-profits.

alas, online shopping is not yet available and currently stockists are limited to los angeles. let's hope that will change after this post so island admirers can scoop up misa jewelry in hawaii.

{mahalo stacy!}

weekly sales sheet

bring your reusable shopping bags and some stamina to this weekend's made in hawaii festival.

• when: fri, aug 15th & sat, aug 16th - 10a to 9p & sun, aug 17th - 10a to 5p
• where: neal blaisdell center
• tix: $3 ($1 off admission with first hawaiian bank coupon)

pretty up your lanai and save 10% off all outdoor furniture (including new arrival smith & hawken) during pacific home's mai tai summer sale.

• when: fri, aug 15th to sun, aug 24th
• where: 420 ward avenue

on saturday, make your way to the wedding café's manoa outpost to take a peek at the la & ny styles flown in by jessica's traveling boutique. remember to scoop up the very smart green is the new black tote (shown above) which made its debut during this week's inaugural divas doing good fundraiser.

• when: sat, aug 16th - 10a to 2p
• where: manoa marketplace

opting to avoid the madness that will be the blaisdell this weekend? online orders of $50 score a complimentary volcano tub bomb from bubble shack (free s/h over $100).

• expires: sun, aug 31st

have a happy weekend!