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.
Aloha Wear Photoshoot
July 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Cutting 340 Layers of Fabric at one Time
July 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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!
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Sunset on the North Shore Video
July 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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!
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Sharing the Aloha Spirit in Fukuoka, Japan
July 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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!
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Humback Whales 100 Yards from Shore
July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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.
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Speed Ironing a Hawaiian Shirt
July 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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!
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Popularity of Hula in Japan
July 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
On a recent trip to Japan, I was struck by how popular hula is with Japanese
women. Some of the people there told me that hula is growing in popularity among
young women. Some graduate students who recently returned home to Japan after 1
year in Hawaii have taken up hula as their hobby because it reminds them of
their time in the islands. One day at a shopping mall in western Japan, some
Hawaii hula dancers gave free lessons to a crowd who had gathered to watch. The
entire floor area by the stage was packed. People even crowded on the second and
third floor balconies to watch and learn basic hula steps. I guess since we are
so used to seeing hula here in Hawaii, it usually doesn’t draw the kind of
reaction that it does in Japan. Still, the enthusiasm for hula in Japan was
quite an eye opener.
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Relaxing Morning at Makapuu Beach
June 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Makapuu Beach is nestled along the cliffs of Oahu’s south shore. The stretch of coastline from Hawaii Kai to Waimanalo has many scenic lookout points from which to view the waves, whales, and on some clear days, other islands of the Hawaiian chain. On weekday mornings (and weekends if you go early enough) the beach is pretty deserted. There were times in this video when I was the only person on the entire beach. At its most crowded that morning, there were only 3 other people swimming in the water.
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Morning at the Beach on the North Shore
June 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
early morning at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu
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Morning Coffee at Sunset Beach
May 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
One of our favorite early morning hangouts is Sunset Beach on the famous North Shore of Oahu. It’s a far drive (by Hawaii standards, anyway) of about 40 miles from Honolulu but the reward is having the beach mostly to oneself. It’s hard to beat sipping good coffee on a beautiful morning on the beach. Even better (or worse, depending on how you look at it), I still get 3 bars on my mobile phone so I don’t miss any important emails from the office.