boutique week: super citizen

happy tuesday! my regrets for missing photo.phile yesterday (a bit of a scheduling mix-up - whoops!), but i hope to have more photography goodness for you next monday.

as promised, boutique week hops over to my home island for this week's oahu edition! first up, super citizen (fyi: website is still under construction) which adds yet another good reason to hele down to chinatown's art district. the shop is stocked with everything you need to be a good sustainable soul, and its eco-friendly mission began from the ground up with the shop interior outfitted with craigslist finds and display tables and counters built locally from reclaimed wood.

after working her way up the retail ladder (including stops at american apparel hq and buying duties at tori richard), super citizen proprietor sandra fowler found herself drawn to earth-friendly goods and decided to focus on a merchandise mix which would help kama'aina take little steps to tread lighter on our island. step inside super citizen and you can scoop up sustainable style by local designers, organic keiki togs and toys, and recycled and reusable home goods to help reduce your carbon footprint.

local labels stocked at super citizen include ecolicious totes, malie organics, o'mao mao, vers hawaii tees & jewelry by beachcomber designs, ezer kenzo, oceana and paula nurse.

also in-store: american apparel, green babies keiki wear, klean kanteen, reuse denim, skoy cleaning cloths and to-go ware.

new arrivals: upcycled kimono pillows and purses made in hawaii!

• where: 22 south pauahi street, chinatown (by marks garage)
• shop hours: mon & sat, 11a to 4p | tue, 11a to 5p | wed to fri, 11a to 6:30p

p.s. until the website launches, click over to super citizen's facebook for shop updates.

new peeks: bliss lau jewelry

killjoy vest

it's been quite some time since bliss lau was featured so, with the new season of project runway debuting tomorrow night, it seems most appropriate to revisit one of h|h's favorite parsons alums from hawaii. when i last checked in with bliss two years ago, she had just introduced the debut pieces from her provocative jewelry collection, and the handbag line that first launched her eponymous label went on hiatus while she focused on expanding her lineup of edgy links.

while my everyday rarely, if ever, presents moments to rock such fabulous style moxie, i continue to be besotted with the collection's glamorous versatility (many pieces can be styled in various ways) and love how each piece elevates jewelry from a lovely afterthought to artfully elegant armor adding a little mystery to the most humble of outfits.

behind-the-scenes, bliss approaches every design (many unisex) intent on balancing gravity, weight and proportion into a piece made to draw the eye and decorate oft-forgotten body parts like the nape of your neck, shoulders or waistline. nappa leather, vintage swarovski crystals, or black diamonds accent carefully constructed chains to become a fetching take on modern adornment referencing muses as diverse as african tribal design, the medieval chainwork of the knights templar, and the art deco razzle dazzle of jazz age beauties.

art deco cage dress

art deco ziegfield

templar

wright * hugmetight

{design notes}

how has growing up in hawaii influenced your designs?
i think that being from hawaii in general will forever influence my perspective on the world and life, sharing and living. natural materials, when i was young, my mom cathryn lau who is an art teacher at punahou, used to soak the husks of our palm trees and we would make baskets with them. my aunties taught me to make haku leis and feather hat bands. some of these skills come out in my daily work when i make jewelry.

what is your definition of good design?
good design solves a design problem simply, easily and with sophistication. a very hard thing to do.

little moments of bliss that recharge your soul?
i ride my bike everyday. i braid my hair everyday and buy fresh flowers from the market to pin in my hair (okay so maybe the hawaii never left me!) . . . all of those things recharge my soul.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
oh wow.... the beach in new york? i'd like you to show me anyone from the islands who would even bother!

pay it forward with a few words of wisdom that were passed on to you:
always be true to yourself!

mahalo bliss!

alas, no hawaii stockists yet so hele over to the online shop to peek and purchase bliss's latest collection. the price tag ranges from $132 to over $600 depending on the complexity of the design, and all jewelry is made-to-order in bliss's nyc atelier with a six week turnaround.

and, happy news for handbag fans! bliss reports that she has a few upcoming collaborations including a limited edition jewelry line debuting in france this fall and a new leather goods collection with dakota collective launching later this year.

p.s. click back tomorrow for a peek of the two designers representing hawaii on project runway!

introducing jo.jah.jae

spanish love cross & infinity

if you have been part of the h|h 'ohana for awhile, you have probably spotted mentions of jo.jah.jae starting back in the days of the weekly sales sheet. it took me this long to finally hunt down kailua jewelry designer jojo ponciano and i was immediately charmed by my discovery of delicate wire wrapped shapes and seashells carefully crafted into minimalist beach girl adornment.

jojo began dabbling in jewelry making while assisting customers at bead it! (where she continues to bounce ideas for new designs with the talented staff) and eventually made her way to australia to study fashion design. upon returning home to hawaii, she launched jo.jah.jae designing simple yet stunning sparkle to the delight of her growing fan club who share jojo's "small town/big world chic" style.

if you lean towards a less is more aesthetic, you will definitely appreciate the careful attention jojo gives to selecting just the right findings and the elegant construction techniques behind even the most uncomplicated designs. and, no matter how effortless or intricate the design may be, every piece shines with a warm soulfulness that is sure to reflect ever so becomingly on its wearer.

pendant * slip knot * tourmaline stack rings

caged cones * rings * pyrene wrap

the price tag ranges from $12 for the hippie glam slip knot (which reminds me of a modern girl's friendship bracelet) to up to $200 for a pair of earrings from the spanish love series.

with the exception of a handful of new releases, many of the featured designs can be purchased in the online shop, or, if you call oahu or maui home, pop into olive in kailua and sand people for a peek.

sunny delight

so many of you follow h|h via the daily-ish email and your favorite feed reader that you may not have chanced upon the newest offering from maui's nina kuna designs which i learned about when nina sent along her latest ad (hooray for sponsors!). since website readers already seem to be taken with the hawaii nameplate necklace . . . well, it seemed only fair to let you in on nina's latest sparkle.

i am guessing most of us were introduced to the concept when sarah jessica parker rocked the now iconic carrie nameplate on the early days of sex & the city. there have been so many variations on the design since then, but hardly any island bling trickled down hawaii's way until now. the girly script is certainly a cheeky way for kama'aina to represent the 808 or is simply a playful souvenir to remember your hawaii holiday.

if you covet one to call your own, the nameplate can be ordered in either 14k gold or sterling silver for $52.

and, happy news, nina is also offering 15% off her online shop during the month of july and she will pick up the shipping tab!

• secret code: givealoha
• expires: sun, aug 1st

introducing val loh designs

ulu swing * mele momi

this is for all the pierce-less ladies out there whose earlobes would rather go bare than submit to the pain of the piercing gun. my one failed attempt happened the summer before intermediate which was immediately followed by an icky infection banishing any rite of passage notion of adorning my lobes.

while clip earrings typically conjure up images of golden girl-era fashion or weighty vintage gems, i happened upon the elusive lovely, modern *and* clip-on while visiting the blog of honolulu designer val loh. it seems a local shopkeeper stocking val's jewelry noticed a lack of clip-on style so val got to tinkering and recently began offering delicate danglers incorporating pretty clips for the modern day girl who has been wistfully sitting on the sidelines rather than troubling with retrofitting earrings.

finally!

pierced ears also have many styles to choose from and i am particularly besotted with val's dreamcatcher necklace which replaces feathers and beads with seashells and luminous freshwater pearls (a wonderful lesson in the power of suggestion, no?).

moana marquis

dreamcatcher * om

price point for the collection ranges from $42 for the sterling silver om earrings to $120 for the gold-filled dreamcatcher.

alas, there is no online shop yet, however val sent word that there are many style variations not featured on her website and available for purchase offline. custom commissions are also welcome if you require extra special sparkle.

your best bet to order is to send a note (vallohfoto [at] yahoo [dot] com) or leave a comment on the blog. val's jewelry can also be found at a handful of island boutiques and at the occasional holiday craft fair on oahu.