The camera’s light flashes. White gloved hands shift King Kalakaua’s pipe ever so slightly. Beside us is a room filled with relics, not often seen on display. Having belonged to Hawaii’s kings, queens and noble people, these are no ordinary antiques. Every delicate piece comes with a story, bringing history to life. Take a look […]
A welder by trade, John Reyno funneled his skills and enthusiasm for midcentury furniture into a new venture, Hawaii Modern. He buys mid-20th century furniture and objects, lovingly refurbishes and restores them and then sells them online. And this year, he opened a cozy shop in Kakaako in Honolulu, sharing his love of vintage furnishings
Did you know, the Haleiwa signs you see when driving to the town aren’t the originals? Actually, far from it. In 1996, Californian artist Carole Beller was paid $15,000 to erect three signs that would draw attention to the North Shore’s iconic surf town, Haleiwa. These signs ended up featuring red boardshort-clad surfers in the
If you don’t already know surfer-photographer-model Haa Keaulana, you will soon enough. With more than 140,000 Instagram followers, the 25-year-old Keaulana has been sharing colorful lifestyle surf photography of her hometown of Makaha with the world. It’s led to partnerships with several companies, including the Four Seasons Resort Ko Olina, OluKai and Hawaiian Airlines. Our
1. Thinking it was acceptable to tuck a Gecko Hawaiʻi T-shirt into acid-washed jeans. Photo: The Tasty Island When Hawaiʻi schools banned them, adults said it was because playing POGs was a form of gambling. We were like, Whatever… \/\/. 3. Making chatter ring noise while dad was trying to watch TV. Photo: Lucille Chun The entire state
With its origins shrouded in mystery, the shaka has become one of Hawaiʻi’s hallmark gestures. The base concept is simple: extend your pinkie and thumb while curling your pointer, middle and ring fingers. Boom! You’ve got yourself a shaka. Over time, however, the shaka has evolved and formed variants, each with different intricacies in both
Driving down a one-lane road with no cell signal, I worry that I may have rented the wrong car for this adventure. I’ve already taken two wrong turns (thanks to Siri) and am now on Upolu Airport Road, cutting through farms on my left and windmills on my right. The airport at the end of
Your back has to carry it all. The slouch of the 2 p.m. work slump. That high tightness from a day spent juggling babies, bags and heavy purses. Those knots need to be unwound, and lomilomi (massage) practitioner Kamakanuiahailono Jingao has just the remedy. Named after one of Hawaii’s legendary first healers, Jingao honed his
Considered the pinnacle of long-distance Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing, the Kaiwi Channel is a grueling 41-mile stretch of open ocean separating the Hawaiian Islands of Molokai and Oahu. In Hawaiian, ka iwi suitably means “the bone”—it takes every muscle and fiber of the human body to complete, a reminder that, when one’s physicality is stripped
Nestled along the slopes of the dormant Hualalai volcano on Hawaii Island, a traditional stone forno (Portuguese for “oven”) burns with sweet anticipation. Master baker Laurie Westrich, her hair wrapped up in a palaka (checkered) bandana and wearing a matching apron dusted with white flour, rakes the hot kiawe coals heating up the forno’s domed
“This is the fish of the future,” David Lukela, chef de cuisine of Beachhouse at the Moana, tells me on a sunny Waikiki afternoon. The fish in question is the Hawaiian Kanpachi, a premium member of the amberjack family that has caught the attention of the culinary world. Dubbed by some as “the wonder fish”
Lauhala weaving is an esteemed tradition in the Hawaiian Islands that dates back long before contact. In Hawaiian, lau means “leaf” and hala refers to the “pandanus” tree. The weaving of the tree’s leaves produces beautiful works of art—mats, baskets, clothing, accessories and bed coverings. To weave lauhala, an artisan needs deft fingers, a creative mind and a great deal
