Hbuzz

When a Rose Is Not Just a Rose

The floral industry has been telling us for years to "say it with roses." That sales pitch took on new meaning earlier this year when Watanabe Floral began selling Speaking Roses, long-stem roses with messages printed on the flowers' petals.

Photo: Wesley Funai Watanabe partnered with Speaking Roses International, a Salt Lake City-based company, which developed the top-secret and patented technology that can not only print messages but logos and images as well. The Island flower wholesaler and retailer will be the exclusive distributor for Speaking Roses in Hawaii. Watanabe started selling Speaking Roses on a small scale on Valentine's Day and on Mother's Day, sold more than 1,000 roses to mainly walk-up customers. The roses cost $4.99 for locally grown flowers and $6.99 for South American roses.

"We truly believe that this will be a staple in the floral industry for the next 10 years," says Monty Pereira, Watanabe Floral Inc.'s sales and marketing manager. "This will be like the Mylar balloon that came along 20 years ago. Every florist will have to offer them."

According to Pereira, the flowers have been featured at such glitzy media events as the Kentucky Derby, the Academy Awards, the Grammys and even President Bush's inauguration. However, the most popular printed message nationally is "Will You Marry Me?"

Pereira expects that, within two years, Watanabe will be selling between $750,000 to $1 million worth of Speaking Roses.

Watanabe sells most of its Speaking Roses singly or as single printed roses in a larger arrangement. On occasion, they do sell arrangements made up entirely of Speaking Roses. Those creations retail for $99.99 to $129.99. This talk doesn't come cheap.
- David K. Choo

Eye, eye, doctor You could say Dr. John Olkowski has an eye for new business. Having performed eye surgeries in Hawaii for the past 15 years, he is the only doctor credentialed for the Crystalens surgery and the only doctor in the state to ever perform a Deep Lamellar Endothelial Keratoplasty (DLEK) corneal transplant. "I enjoy new technology - I consider it a challenge," says Olkowski. A year ago, Olkowski's newest procedure was Crystalens, the only implant lens that focuses like the eye's natural lens. Designed for cataract patients, the lens gives clear vision at near and far distances. At the time of this writing, Olkowski was the only Crystalens-credentialed doctor in Hawaii, having performed more than 20 operations under observation by the manufacturer. The procedure takes about 20 to 30 minutes and costs about $5,000 per eye. The DLEK corneal transplant - what some claim is the biggest advancement in eye surgery in 50 years - is Olkowski's latest "first" for Hawaii. A smaller portion of the cornea is removed, yielding a better result and reducing healing time from two years to two months. With the cost of surgery, the procedure can run up to $6,000 per eye, according to Harvard Eye Associates. Olkowski says all of his DLEK operations so far have been covered by insurance. - Lori Anne Tomonari

The Other U.H.

Lately, former HotU President Laurie Foster has been hunting for pukas. No, not puka shells. She's looking for holes in Hawaii's workforce - fields in which jobs aren't being filled fast enough, because of the lack of skilled workers. The hope is that she can help fill the gaps with courses and programs offered by a new, fully accredited college she helped bring to Hawaii.

National University Hawaii (NUH), which opened its doors this spring, is part of the National University System, a unique college that offers programs based on the employment needs of the local communities it serves. In Hawaii, NUH Vice President Foster has determined the areas with greatest demands for workers to be nursing, teaching, allied health (all positions in a hospital other than doctors and nurses) and oceaneering. These are the areas in which NUH will initially focus its classroom-based offerings (the school also offers a broad range of online programs). However, as Hawaii's needs evolve, so will NUH's programs.

"We chose our initial offerings based on what the community said it needed," says Foster. "We're just going to keep our eyes and ears to the ground and keep bringing in programs to keep filling those needs."
- Jacy L. Youn