Trees As Living Art
Don’t tell his wife, but Wayne Hu is in love with trees. “For me, to be able to trim trees is like Michael Jordan being able to play basketball. I just looove tree trimming. “Trees are supposed to be three…
Small Business
LocalKineBiz: Healthier Meat for Molokai and Beyond
With consumers seeking healthier options, small producers like Molokai Livestock Cooperative are enjoying a spike in popularity. “We have seen an increase in consumer demand over the years,” says GM Jack Spruance, 62. “But marketing is not our biggest challenge, …
Ornate Gift Wrapping Is Part of the Present
Those who view gift wrapping as a superficial formality are missing a key message that creative packaging can project. “The attention spent on putting together a beautifully wrapped present means someone really cares about you,” says Shiho Masuda of Shiho…
Carving is in his Bones
Like his father and grandfather, Inoke "Male" Pomale is a master carver. He works with local cow bones, bison bones from Montana, and fossilized mammoth and whale bones from Alaska and Siberia. Inoke “Male” Pomale says he comes from at…
What's It Worth: Haunted Attractions
REAL BUSINESS NIGHTMARES are truly scary, but a Halloween nightmare can be a fun way for a business to reward customers and employees. That’s one reason companies hire Kevin Okada to stage private parties, events and attractions. “Everybody likes to…
The Art of Creating Tofu
Mao-Chi Tzeng approaches tofu-making as an art. “It’s like chefs preparing dishes,” explains the 66-year-old co-owner of Mrs. Cheng’s Soybean Products in Kalihi. “Same materials, same ingredients, but different chefs come out with different dishes. “I like fine art and…
Gecko's: Serving Comics Fans for 28 Years
“It's sensory overload. Eye candy for the geek,” enthuses Rusty Baily, 42, as he describes Gecko Books & Comics for newcomers to the local world of fantasy and fandom. “It’s very well-organized, but it’s got things everywhere. And it’s just disorganized…
What's it Worth: Commissioning a Portrait
IF YOU'RE LOOKING to record a moment in time, a photograph will do. But there’s nothing like a painting to capture a person uncharacterized by age or current fashion, says Kauai artist Isa Maria. “It’s a romantic, timeless version of yourself,”…
LocalKineBiz: Pae Thai
“I WANT TO make people feel at home here,” says Supreecha Sangthong, nicknamed “Dang,” co-owner of Pae Thai Restaurant in Makiki. “I’m happy to cook for them, and I want to personally make sure they’re satisfied. I’m not so concerned about…
LocalKineBiz: Keawe Adventures
Ex-Marine captain’s company, Keawe Adventures, struggled for four years until a concierge at the Halekulani gave him a chance. Now his business employs 12 people and focuses on small tours with six or seven visitors at a time. Makani Christensen…
Join Uncle Sam's Club
Over the past 17 years, more than 2,000 local products have found their way into military commissaries and exchanges, giving Hawaii companies new customers for items such as coffee, macadamia nuts, aloha wear, kim chee and perfume. Decades ago, commissaries…
What's it Worth? Building Elaborate Sand Sculptures
LEFT TO THE ELEMENTS AND CHILDREN, outdoor sand sculptures won’t survive more than a day or so, but professional sand sculptor Riki Inzano says part of their beauty is their fleeting existence. “It’s meant to be a temporary art form…
Signs of The Times
When Billy Ng told his former boss at Island Sign Service Inc. that he and his brother, Min, wanted to eventually buy the business, his boss didn’t think the two would succeed. “Imagine, we were two immigrant boys from Cambodia…
Parting Shot: Final Look
Final look Friday, 12:52 p.m. Hawaii Camera, Kaimuki Photo by Aaron Yoshino Josh Strickland, founder and CEO of Hawaii Camera, inspects one before renting it out. Since opening its doors in 2009, the…
This Company Is All Sewn Up
If you coach a local sports team that needs uniforms or run a business that uses logo wear, you probably know about Kenjo Inc. in Kalihi. For 28 years, Sidney Lynch has been the quiet, steady force behind Hawaii’s second-oldest…
Private Chef Makes At-Home Meals Special
A luxurious meal at home prepared by a professional chef is not just a privilege of the rich and famous, but available to anyone willing to spend a few hundred dollars on…
Helping Plan Hawaii Opera Future
“If you find the right organization – someone whose work you admire – (volunteering) does not feel like a lot of work,” says Leighton Yuen. For attorney Yuen and banker Cori Weston, that organization is the Hawaii Opera Theatre, and…
Parting Shot: Eyeing the Needle
Wednesday, 10:35 A.m. Working Class Tattoo, Kaimuki Photo by Olivier Koning Owner Steven Lam meticulously inspects a sterilized needle through a magnifying loupe to ensure it is straight and sharp before it punctures flesh. Lam says that during the manufacturing…
Teas That Make You Want to Hula
Malia Haumschild – like the teas she creates – is steeped in hula and Hawaiian culture. “From the age of 11, I danced hula at the then-Maui Prince Hotel in Makena three nights a week, for about 11 years,” remembers…
LocalKineBiz: Primo Gelato
Once you’ve had gelato, you may never go back to plain ol’ ice cream. Gelato is Italian-style ice cream, made with less butterfat and less air, which make it denser and more flavorful, usually with less fat and fewer calories…
Chocoholic’s Paradise
Ricard Muszynski loves to create chocolate treats by hand and wants to show you how to do it, too. At his Waikiki shop, Kokoa Bar by Ricard Chocolat, you have many choices: You can ogle and taste artisanal confections such…
Express Yourself
If it’s been a long time since you colored outside the lines, visit Clay Cafe Hawaii, where children and adults paint on premade pottery and flex their creative muscles. “To think outside the norm, we encourage that here,” says manager…
Lighting it up
Fireworks create such a magical experience that you might not realize all the work that goes beyond just igniting the rockets. Wayne Hikiji is the entertainment and production expert for Envisions Entertainment & Productions,…
Alive and Doing Well
Reports of the death of books have been greatly exaggerated, as the local publishing industry keeps evolving to meet demand Despite the closing of bookstores around the Islands, local publishers say they are thriving. Books about Hawaii still sell –…