Delys Recca wears the Lauhala Fans print on Lauhala Weave done in a Sun Dress Swirl reflecting over pahu. – Courtesy photo by Keane Akao.

New store at the Royal Hawaiian offers museum-quality Hawaiian art

Weekly classes, monthly workshops are part of the mix

By Lisa Asato / Ka Wai Ola Loa

Step into the tiny, 200-square-foot retail space that is Mea Makamae at the soon-to-be officially reopened Royal Hawaiian Hotel and you'll get a glimpse of why one partner calls it a "portal to a Hawaiian experience."

Past the feather kāhili standing chest-high at the entryway await many forms of high-end, museum-quality Hawaiian art – but only a smattering of each: Ni'ihau shell lei, a men's anklet made of dozens of dog teeth, koa bowls, stone work, pahu, lei hulu and a pair of water gourds whose coffee-dyed designs were etched into them while they were still green, among other treasures.

Mea Makamae opened its doors in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in January, offering multitudes of museum-quality Hawaiian art within 200 square feet of space. – Photo: Lisa Asato

Here, a little goes a long way, and intentionally so. "We needed the area to be small and focused and give you the impression of when you buy this bowl, there's not going to be another bowl that looks like this," said Ke Kai Kealoha, a co-owner of the store along with Maile Meyer, Rob Iopa and Peter Apo.

The "portal" description above is Kealoha's, who explains that the store aims to do more than sell rare Hawaiian products. It also offers cultural education in the form of weekly classes and monthly workshops and educates visitors to the store about what they're seeing. "We pride ourselves in knowing the product, knowing some history about the product, knowing about our practitioner – and if we don't, we'll go find out," she said.

Delys Recca wearing a Summer Shift dress with Taro Poi Pounder print lavender on blue weaver's cloth. – Courtesy photo by Keane Akao

Recently, she recalls, the store sold a pahu drum made from niu planted during the time of Kamehameha the Great on what is now the hotel grounds. The drum, she said, found a "happy home" with a California couple who appreciated aboriginal cultures and were curious to learn more about the drum. "I'm completely attached to the treasures we have in the store and part of me is selfish that way," Kealoha said. "I don't want to let it go unless I know it's going to a good home. It's like sending your kids off and making sure they're going to be well received. It feels good to know that it's going to a good place, that it will be treated and respected in the manner in which it should."

The pahu, which sold in the $1,000 range, was made by Buddy Makiau from coconut trees at Helumoa. The trees had been cut down for safety reasons because of dry rot. "The hotel to their credit came to us (saying), 'We're going to be cutting these trees, do you think they still have a purpose?' " The dry rot wasn't complete, and the wood was salvageable, so a call was put out to pahu makers, who came and shared in the bounty. Makiau was commissioned to make drums for the store, and he "gifted two pahu to the hotel as a sign of respect and thank you," Kealoha said.

Kumu Hula Shirley Recca moves into hela step wearing a One Shoulder Dress featuring Nā Ho'opa'a print over clouds. – Courtesy photo by Keane Akao

Plans call for Mea Makamae to change themes every six weeks or so, meaning the current display that is dedicated to symbols of royalty – namely, feathers, will be replaced at month's end with products focusing on shell and adornments. Monthly workshops will be dedicated to the store's theme. February's workshop included a feather demonstration by Kuahiwi Lorenzo and a talk story on Hawaiian royalty.

The store also plans to offer tours that will take hotel guests through Honolulu to teach them about Hawaiian heritage and ali'i. Cultural historian Joe Recca will lead the tours, which calls for visits to Kawaiaha'o Church, 'Iolani Palace, the royal mausoleum Mauna'ala and Queen Emma Summer Palace.

Saleswoman Patea White highlights the different colorations between koa bowls by Georges Vento of Honoka'a, Hawai'i. The smaller 8-by-6-inch bowl retails for $400. But White prefers the larger 11-by-six-inch bowl for its red hue. It sells for $600. – Photo: Lisa Asato

Maile Meyer, a partner in Mea Makamae, said the new store is working to increase sales of Hawaiian art and products in conjunction with Na Mea Hawai'i at Ward Warehouse and Mana Hawai'i at Waikīkī Beach Walk. "It's working in the collaborative model that everyone talks about," said Meyer, who also owns Nā Mea Hawai'i. "It's a survival tool right now for us. … And who better to collaborate? It's in our nature to work with each other. We just think it's the way people should be."

Until the Royal Hawaiian Hotel has its grand opening March 7, store hours at Mea Makamae are Monday through Wednesday, by appointment, and Thursday through Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. After the grand opening, store hours will be 8 a.m to 9 p.m. daily. The next class will be held March 2, 10 a.m., and will cover either hula or 'ōlelo. For information, call 921-PAHU (7248) or toll-free at 888.921.PAHU (7248).

Designer Nake'u Awai. All of the garments shown will be featured as part of collection by designer Nake'u Awai as part of a March 6 fashion show that will also highlight jewelry made from Ni'ihau shell. The shows, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., are happening in conjunction with Mea Makamae and will be on the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. – Courtesy photo by Keane Akao

A man of the Sandwich Islands, with his Helmet is an original copper plate engraving from the John Webber painting arising from Capt. James Cook's travels. There are 'literally about 2,000 engravings he did with his travels with Cook,' said store co-owner Ke Kai Kealoha. 'Fourteen or 16 of them are of Hawai'i – we have two of them in the store.' Each engraving retails for $8,400. Also pictured are a white kāhili with a koa shaft of various colors, $600, by Kai Kompany, and a lua weapon made from koa wood, double-eyed, by Manny Mattos of Kea'au, Hawai'i, which sells for $325. – Photo: Lisa Asato

Mea Makamae exudes a feeling of 'E komo mai,' inviting customers to 'try on our beautiful feather leis.' – Photo: Lisa Asato

A Young Woman of the Sandwich Islands original copper plate engraving from the John Webber painting arising from Capt. James Cook's travels. – Photo: Lisa Asato

A shelf is dedicated to Ni'ihau shell jewelry by Pamela Ka'ilikini Dow of Kekaha, Kaua'i. The three-piece set on right, comprising a 19-inch lei momi, bracelet and earrings, sells for $1,194. – Photo: Lisa Asato

Ipu pāwehe, a pair of water gourds, by Elroy Juan of Pa'auilo, Hawai'i, were dyed from within with coffee. The designs were etched in the gourds while they were still green. – Photo: Lisa Asato

EVENT Pam Ka'ilikini Dow of Forever Kaua'i will perform authentication and repair Ni'ihau shell lei along with a group of panelists as part of a March 6 event at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Dow will provide a retail value and paperwork authenticating genuine Ni'ihau shell lei. The Keaukaha resident, who has shared her expertise at the Smithsonian, is shown wearing Ni'ihau shell lei dating back to ones gifted to her mother a half century ago. – Photo: Courtesy of Pam Ka'ilikini Dow Ni'ihau authentication After almost five years since her last authentication visit to O'ahu, Pam Ka'ilikini Dow of Forever Kaua'i will return to do authentication and repair of Ni'ihau shell lei, or lei pūpū 'o Ni'ihau. She and a panel of Ni'ihau shell lei makers will offer their services at Mea Makamae on March 6, from 10 am. to 2 p.m. The event will be in conjunction with a half-hour fashion show featuring Ni'ihau shell lei. Fashion designs will be provided by Nake'u Awai. Show times are 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dow and her group of panelists will also be on hand at Nā Mea Hawai'i/Native Books at Ward Warehouse. "Keeping in step with my mission of 'perpetuation through education,' I will continue to offer these authentication events as a community service, free of charge," Dow said. Fees for repairing shell lei are based on individual assessment of each piece. Appearances at Nā Mea Hawai'i are as follows: March 4, 5 and 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.