small and cool on the big island

just a quick note to nudge you over to apartment therapy's ongoing small cool contest which has a fantastic entry from the big island. the cozy pahoa bungalow (480 square feet, natch), euphemistically titled where poverty takes a holiday (hoot!), is a lesson in how to maximize a small space despite the limited resources on the big island.

if you think your space has got what it takes to represent the islands, click over to at's small cool 2008 page for contest details.

{mahalo to the at/la editors for letting me share the photos!}

goody bottle

custom soda snacks

the toast team recently rolled out a monogram option for their custom soda snack line which is such a cute idea for a wedding favor. fillings range from sweet to savory and include local favorites like iso peanuts, arare and li hing gummies for a more modern take on the small kid time treats that were scooped out of those gigantic apothecary jars at island sweet shops.

and, if you are determined to work the official wedding color into every little detail, you can opt for m&m's and jelly bellys to further coordinate your wedding decor.

minimum order is 15 bottles. get the skinny on custom orders here.

click rewind to learn more about toast.

obama 'ohana

while the campaign goes on and on (and on), more good stuff from the land of obama.

1 - butigroove recently released what has to be the best tee bar none for hawaii supporters. snap up one and join the obama 'ohana (w's shown above; m's tee can be found here). a portion of sales goes to the obama campaign.

2 - you may have heard how the first run of shepard fairey's super limited edition obama poster sold out like that and then skyrocketed in price. now you can get your hands on his latest incarnation made for the artists for obama series (and at a much more reasonable $70). it's limited to 5000 prints and 100% is earmarked for the campaign.

sticker versions of shepard's hope design can be had over at sticker robot.

3 - the economy may be tanking but a small spot of hope can be yours each time you break out the obama holliday wallet. (20% of sales are donated to the obama campaign)

and, if you loved the i want to barack your world valentine card featured in the super tuesday spectacular, get ready to do the happy dance since it is now available in a year round design.

p.s. only caught snippets and the cable news spin on obama's more perfect union speech? watch it uncut online and judge for yourself.

pacific home spring furniture sale

janus et cie orbit lounge * angela adams nasturtium rug

the spring furniture sale kicks off today at pacific home. the more big ticket items ($1000+) you buy, the more you save - $100 off item no.1, $200 off item no.2, $300 off item no.3.

my pick: janus et cie's orbit lounge which i can't resist climbing into every time i visit the store. only 92 benjamins plus change separate us from living together happily ever after. well, that and a backyard but a girl can dream.

• dates: today to sun, mar 30th
• fyi: 3 pieces max; in-stock items only

north shore sweetie

oceanside

the music of jack johnson often plays in the background while north shore artist heather brown paints in her studio surrounded by the cascading blooms and balmy trees of the countryside. it was hawaii's waves that initially lured heather to the islands from california in 2001, but, after a series of jobs in and about the ocean, she eventually decided the time had come to follow her passion for making art. with a fine arts degree from uh, heather now spends her days with paintbrush in hand to reveal the surface of the sea in a whole new light.

heather's work has always reminded me of the mesmerizing translucence of stained glass so it was a bit of a surprise to learn that was one of the few mediums she has yet to explore. the defined lines that are a signature of her artwork seem to be an homage to heather's background in printmaking and her style effortlessly captures the movement of glassy waves and laid back days at the beach with happy pops of color.

white plumerias

surf girl

in a full circle moment, last year heather met kim johnson (jack's wife & co-founder of the kokua hawaii foundation) who recently tapped her to create the official concert poster for the 2008 kokua festival as well as the artwork seen on plastic free haleiwa's re-usable totebags.

original paintings and silkscreened prints & tees can be ordered online, and heather's artwork can be found hanging in wyland gallery (haleiwa), chinatown boardroom, wet feet (aina haina), and wave riders gallery (san diego).