inauguration day roundup

it's inauguration day! let's savor this moment in history with a presidential roundup of obama goodness with nary a commemorative plate to be found! i only hope everyone gives the man some time to tackle all the issues facing our country and that me, you and everyone else does his/her part to help fix it so that we all live in a better world four years from now.

1 - the obamas get the superhero treatment with this fabulous celebrate change greeting card.

2 - crazy shirts jumps aboard the obama love fest with new tee designs.

3 - kona joe coffee introduces their barack o blend made with beans grown in hawaii, kenya, and indonesia.

4 - secret service won't give you clearance to drop in to the oval office and talk story with uncle barry? invite the president into your home with a custom wall decal.

5 - oahu artist mark chai (who designed these lovely plywood lamps) is making 10 limited edition "light of hope" table lamps from recycled plastic and koa (a portion of sales will go to feed hawaii's homeless). [update: mark just wrote in with news that one of the lamps is currently being auctioned off on ebay]

and, as expected, the official hawaii tourism website has a page devoted to president obama's hawaii.

p.s. to celebrate this happy, happy day, i scooped up 44 of shepard fairey's yes we did stickers just for h|h readers. email your name & mailing address to aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by fri, jan 23rd and you just may find a presidential surprise waiting in your mailbox.

p.p.s. watch president obama's inaugural address here.

beauty & the beach

since my remaining weeks of 2008 and opening weeks of january were a bit of a holiday/traveling whirlwind, the next few weeks will be spent playing catch up on the sidelined features that have patiently waited until my return. also making an appearance: all the fab finds from my trip home plus peeks of the latest looks from hi's favorite designers . . . and a few surprises!

katie wilson and tami snodgrass, the maui-based roomies/creators behind beauty & the beach,
launched their new swimwear collection late last year to add a retro meets romantic point of view to the growing number of ocean style offerings from the islands.

if anthropologie sold swimsuits year round, i imagine they would stock styles reminiscent of beauty & the beach which dishes up sweet bohemian looks ranging from a revival of vintage crochet designs to embracing a more modern turn complete with flirty flourishes in the dfly line.

two tone bikini + crochet one piece

plum bow + fru fru

malea crochet beanie * jules' jewels seaglass & opi'i necklace

and, while not all of us can rock the more revealing beach looks, the online storefront offers one stop shopping of an edited selection of maui goodness from the likes of ginger 13, malea, jules' jewels (shown above), pompei beach & wings hawaii. welcome news for off-island fans searching for ways to reduce shipping charges while stocking up on their favorite valley island designers.

p.s. katie and tami are on the lookout for up & coming island talent so drop them a note to learn how to get your label stocked in the b&b online shop.

'ohana night at 'oiwi ocean gear

a quick fix for checking off the remaining peeps on your gift list can be found tomorrow night in kailua when 'oiwi ocean gear welcomes one and all to its 'ohana night sale. deals include 50% off all w's swimwear, 25% off m's tees, 15% off keiki surf shirts & more!

• when: thu, dec 18th - 5p to 9p
• where: 130 kailua road, suite 130, kailua

happy hale*days 08: nalu edition

1 - towel off with raymond pettibon's whimsical design (part of the art basel 09 series at target) then hang this oversized delight out to dry for all to see.

2 - surfer girls get the letterpress treatment via byvik ink's cheery holiday greetings. (m's design here; p.s. wed, dec 17th is the last day to order for holiday delivery).

3 - coola's sport sunscreen sports a high spf, an endorsement from the american lifeguard association, and organic extracts (hold the parabens and paba) to pamper parched skin while it protects. (fyi - everyday spf can be had in mango and plumeria scents)

4 - local artist john c elliott's handpainted tubetops put a wearable twist on original surf art.

5 - paddlers will heart the graphic pop of 'oiwi ocean gear's stand tee.

6 - heather brown's delightful birdies make a happy appearance on her very merry chocolate trees surfboard (available at chinatown boardroom).

7 - hit the surf in old school style with sig zane's kai palaoa waiuli board shorts.

8 - a groovy rainbow of sorbet waves channel a retro polynesian pop vibe in phoenix artist jason hill's limited edition screen print.

shop letarte opening

the once sleepy beach town of paia has been abuzz with the opening of letarte's flagship boutique earlier this week. the letarte 'ohana (lisa designs the luxe swimwear line while sister michele handles all the behind-the-scenes business) designed the shop with an eye on sustainability including eco-friendly paint and lighting while offering packaging made from post-consumer recycled materials to tote your purchases home.

ana from letarte was kind enough to send along peeks from the 2009 collection which is already on the rack in the new shop. does anyone else think letarte's modern take of gorgeous island inspired patterns would be equally lovely at home?

peacock bikini

kenneth jay lane for letarte

handblock fish print one-piece

maya tunic

letarte surfboard

lisa & michele

the paia shop also stocks keiki line petite letarte, alora ambiance home fragrance, claus porto soaps, golden child jewelry, in2 design lariats, t-luxury & more.

• where: 24 baldwin avenue, paia
• fyi: 10% of purchases during opening week will be donated to surfrider's maui chapter.

p.s. off-island fans can scoop up select styles from the 09 collection in the newly relaunched online shop.