Fun, Fashion, Food & Life in Hawaii
It may still be summer but Christmas weekend is just 5 short months away!
When it comes to saving money, any time is a good time to do it. And for you
early birds,…make that you super early birds,…now is your chance to save a
little green when you give the gift of Aloha.
Coupon Code: earlybird0709
This coupon is good for 20% off your order until July 31, 2009.
Photoshoots look like a lot of fun. And they are! One thing we noticed over
the years is that our photoshoots generally start off pretty slow, especially if
the models don’t know each other very well. The photographer plays a big role in
helping the models relax and have fun. As the shoot progresses and everyone gets
used to each other, the models’ personalities come out, smiles turn into laughs,
and everyone starts to have a great time. We’ll go into more behind-the-scenes
details about our photoshoots in an
upcoming e-newsletter.
Most Hawaiian apparel manufacturers sell more men’s shirts than any other
type of clothing. To keep up with the demand from their retail customers, they
must constantly produce shirts by the hundreds. One manufacturer told me that
when they prepare layers of fabric for shirt production, it can take up to 2
days. The video below shows 340 layers of fabric being sliced with ease with the
fabric knife. If the person makes a mistake by cutting inside the lines, not
only would that shirt component be ruined, but the entire production run would
have to be scrapped. It would be an enormous waste of fabric and money. A few
years ago there was a shortage of cutters in the local industry. A couple
manufacturers told me that they looked for months to find a skilled cutter who
was good enough to hire. It was better for them to lose sales through lost
production than it was to risk hiring someone who lacked years of proven
experience. One manufacturer finally found somebody while another one ended up
having to outsource this task to another company.
Cutting through 340 layers of fabric for shirt
production
Coupon Code: july0915p
Save 15% off your next order by entering the coupon code. Discount is
good through Sunday, July 19, 2009.
HAPPY ALOHA FRIDAY!
Here’s the video of the sunset at Sunset Beach. I was able to look at the sun
more directly and for longer periods as the sun got closer to the horizon. I
hope I didn’t damage my eyeballs by doing so. Seeing the surfers sit on their
board while watching the sun go down (and looking for the next wave to catch)
reminded me of my childhood when I would do the same thing with my body board.
Too bad life couldn’t always be so relaxing!
It had been a while since I last went hiking so I decided to go to the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail. The cool thing about this trail is that since it is located at the southern tip of Oahu, you can see up both coasts of the island. The best place to see this is at abandoned military bunkers and helicopter landing pads above the main trail that most people stay on. It’s a great place to relax, enjoy a private picnic, and for the romantically inclined, even get engaged!
See miles up the west facing side of Oahu
View up the windward side of Oahu
Lighthouse and viewing platforms seen from above the main trail
Last night I ventured off to the North Shore again to film a sunset. When the sun was still up, people were playing around on the sand and in the water. As the sun approached the horizon, everyone mellowed out as if under a magic spell and just stared at the sun. Even people driving by snapped pictures as they passed the beach.
woman taking pictures of sunset
filming a sunset in HD
I will post two versions of the sunset video over the next few days. There is something about a peaceful sunset at the beach that I never grow tired of, no matter how many times I’ve seen one.
The people of Fukuoka, Japan are really into Hawaii stuff. Maybe it is
because of the cultural ties between that city and Hawaii that began over 100
years ago when boatloads of Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii to work in the
sugar plantations. Whatever the reason, the people really responded with
enthusiasm when a bunch of Hawaii companies and officials put on a Hawaii fair
to promote commerce and travel. The Japanese were fascinated by our Hawaiian
music, food and clothing. We Americans were equally fascinated by their culture
and food, especially sushi (my favorite food in the universe). Anyways, after a
full day and night of cross cultural fun and entertainment, we found that we had
a lot more in common than expected and could easily relate to one another
despite the language barrier. International relations sure is fun and easy when
their is good food, drink, and entertainment going on!
When a manufacturer cuts layers of fabric for production, the number of layers can vary greatly. If the manufacturer only needs a small production run to meet demand, they may only cut a couple dozen layers at a time. If demand is high, they may cut well over 100 layers at a time. This is often the case for men’s Hawaiian shirts and women’s long tank dresses.
Dress components are bundled according to part and dress size
This bundle has the parts for at least 120 dresses
Just imagine, one slip of the hand by the cutting technician and this entire production run would be ruined. Talk about pressure! In the video we shot of the fabric being cut with the electric knife, there were probably only 2-3 dozen layers. The manufacturer promised us that they will be cutting more 120+ layer jobs in the next two weeks so we will definitely be there with our HD camera ready for action.
Just like humans, humpback whales seem to enjoy coming to Hawaii. Usually it is easiest to spot them from high lookout points along the coast or on a whale watching boat cruise. If you are lucky, you might even see them from the beach, although they’re difficult to spot unless they are close or if their spout catches your eye. One day while I was relaxing in Kona with some friends, I saw a humpback whale mother and calf happily cruising about 100 yards from shore. Shortly after being spotted, they dove under the water. I don’t know if it was because they saw us or sensed that they were being watched, but it was pretty cool to see them so close to shore.
Coupon Code: july40920p
Receive 20% off your order when you use this coupon, good through
Sunday July 5, 2009.
I am not very efficient at ironing my dress shirts. It must take me at least 2
minutes to do each shirt, and even then, I am left with rogue wrinkles and
creases. That’s probably why I don’t iron my shirts very often. I save it for
only the most important dress shirts. Anyway, the people at one factory iron
hundreds of Hawaiian shirts and dresses every day. To keep their contract
production costs down, the finished shirts are delivered to their warehouse in
bundles that need to be ironed. Here’s a video of one of the guys ironing a
shirt in 22 seconds. He’s not even one of the professional ironers.
HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE
4TH OF JULY
WEEKEND!