The Lanikuuwaa, featured here, is the wind of Kalalau. – Photo: Courtesy of kealopiko.com

A Hawaiian Christmas

With 9 days left till Christmas, here are some
gift ideas inspired by a Hawaiian sensibility

By Lisa Asato / Ka Wai Ola Loa

Inspiration comes from various sources, and the creations featured here are no different. From the traditional Hawaiian seasons to Native Hawaiian plants, legends, 'aumakua and heartfelt sentiment, but they all have one thing in common – none are solo ventures, but rather collaborations.

Fishhook, left, the most popular design. Nāmaka'opueoikahā'oku, which incorporates the eye an owl, the family 'aumakua of Gally Carreira. – Photos: Courtesy of kahaoku.com

Kahā'okū

Certified athletic trainer and former St. Louis football player Gally Carreira departs from his more physical side to get creative with the Hawaiian-legend and aumakua-inspired clothing line he co-owns with his wife, Trisha.

And it all started with wanting to create men's wear for that famously frustrating game known as golf. That, combined with his being away for college on the West Coast and wanting to return to his cultural roots, was the start of Kahā'oku, a men's line of $25 polos and $18 long-sleeved tees designed to tell traditional stories of Hawai'i.

“I try to be careful about stepping on people's toes,” says Gally, about not wanting his designs to upset kūpuna or unknowingly tread on copyrights. “I use my designs to perpetuate a legend instead of saying, 'This is an 'aumakua design.' Hawaiian tattooing is so loose – everyone has their own vision of Hawaiian tattooing and their own style.”

Designs, which Gally first researches, are a family affair. “I draw something up, my wife refines it, and my mom is the one that adds the definition to it and cleans up the image if it needs to be.” And placement of his designs has meaning, too. Designs that appear on the right chest are reserved for “more traditional tattooing styles,” he says, reflecting the traditional placement of the Hawaiian tattoo on the right side of the body.

His most popular design is the fishhook, and his most recent is Kukailimoku, representing the warrior of the same name, which made its debut at a December craft fair, where he sold 120 shirts of various designs.

Still in the conceptual stage is a fertility design, which, by his mother's suggestion, will tell the story of the first Hawaiian. “I'm going to incorporate what I believe represents the first Hawaiian man and the first Hawaiian woman,” Gally says. As with his other designs, customers will receive cards describing the stories behind them, he adds. “That will be my tribute.”

Kahā'oku, which means “the breath of Kū,” is available online at www.kahaoku.com or at craft fairs. Shipping costs apply to online orders, but Gally says he tries to meet up with his customers so they won't be charged for delivery. Discounts may be offered at craft fairs. Kahā'oku will be among the 200 vendors at this weekend's craft fair at the Blaisdell.

He'e Nalu

The He'e Nalu line of sterling silver bracelets and necklaces started with a desire to create Hawaiian jewelry for today's men, women and children. “My girls wanted something a little more contemporary,” as an alternative to Hawaiian bracelets, says Lo Kaimuloa, co-owner of Riches Kāhala, making sure to say she's not downplaying the beauty of the bangles and other pieces that are widely associated with Hawaiian jewelry.

“It's a family project that we started,” she says of the venture that's now several years in the making. “Basically my kumu hula Keoni Martin chose all the words when we started this.” The words that Martin chose comprise the line's original piece – a $135 Hawaiian Virtues bracelet featuring various Hawaiian words, with their English translation on the opposite side.

“My daughters, they all got to pick a word they felt was important to them, and that's how we've expanded,” Kaimuloa says. The line's expansion into necklaces feature pendants expressing words like “ 'Ohana” (the top seller) “Family”; and “Ola,” “Life”; and “Mana'olana,” “Hope.” Staff have also had input, offering their favorite words. Manager Kelli Coffin, whom Kaimuloa likens to a hānai daughter, provides a designer's eye. Kaimuloa's son Kamakana uses his Hawaiian fluency to help with language, and her husband, Clyde, and mo'opuna Noe, serve as models for their online shop, richeshawaii.com. “Everybody wears it – men, women, children,” she says, adding that the $65 black-cord necklaces are “more for the athletic types.” Necklaces with sterling silver chains are $45.

The line so impressed kumu hula Maelia Loebenstein Carter, a close friend, that she ordered custom bracelets for her dancers as they prepared for the Merrie Monarch competition, Kaimuloa recalls. “She chose her words … that they were specifically working on for her hālau,” she says. “I promised her I wouldn't sell it till after she presented it to her hālau. We did a special charm for her girls.” The limited edition bracelets have sold out.

While the past year has been spent on expanding the store's web site, Kaimuloa says 2009 will bring more designs for the He'e Nalu line, which was named for the family's dog, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever who was ill and has since died. “I cried every time I sold something for the first two years,” says Kaimuloa. A tribute to He'e Nalu is apparent on the corded necklaces – the toggles are doggie bones.

The line is available at Riches Kāhala in Kāhala Mall and online at www.richeshawaii.com.

A v-neck T-shirt featuring the manauea, a variety of kalo. – Photo: Courtesy of kealopiko.com

Kealopiko

Kealopiko, the clothing line by three self-described “hapa wāhine,” puts out two lines a year. Inspired by the Hawaiian seasons of Kū and Makahiki and the plants and animals and traditions that belong to them, the current Makahiki line features four new designs: kalo manauea (a taro variety), 'aholehole (a fish), lanikuuwaa (the wind of Kalalau) and kōnane (an ancient Hawaiian board game).

And for the first time, patrons can find the clothing line at Nā Mea Hawai'i. “They just started carrying our clothing in the last month. They have everything there,” says Ane Bakutis, a co-founder with Hina Kneubuhl and Jamie Makasobe. The three use their diverse backgrounds in botany, Hawaiian Studies and language to speak of the past in terms of the present. The line offers clothing for men, women and keiki.

“We want to see ourselves and our brothers and sisters walking proudly in images of the things that we treasure as Hawaiians,” says their web site, kealopiko.com. “We want to bring honor to our kūpuna. The designs we have created seek to inform and inspire. They are things from the natural, cultural and historical traditions of Hawai'i: our native plants and animals, 'ōlelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian language), our ali'i (royalty) and the long and amazing mo'olelo (story) of our existence in these Islands. When designing our clothing, we search out elements of the past and the present that help us to connect to this place and ground us in a sense of things Hawaiian.”

Part of the company's mission is to give back. To do this, it donates a portion of profits to organizations that support cultural education and environmental conservation in Hawai'i.

The Kū line is planned for release in March. See: www.kealopiko.com.

Alu Like designs feature Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III. – Photo: Courtesy of alulike.org

Alu Like honoring ali'i

This season, Alu Like Inc.'s Native Hawaiian Library is selling T-shirts and calendars honoring Hawai'i's ali'i. The Kauikeaolui – Lā Kū'oko'a T-shirt, which features King Kamehameha III, celebrates literacy and a literate citizenry.

The 2009 calendar, Ho'olina Ali'i, or Royal Legacies, honors the lasting impact of the mana'o and contributions of Hawai'i's kings and queens.

T-shirts are $16. Calendars are $5. Shipping and handling fees may apply. For more information or to place an order, visit www.alulike.org and click on “download an order form” at the bottom right.