When it comes to capturing the blissed out fun of endless summers, nothing does it better than a Hawaiian shirt. But surprisingly, they were introduced to the islands by the Japanese. In the 1800s, plantation owners were seeking cheap labor and Japanese immigrants came in droves. With them, they bought bright kimono fabrics, while Filipino and Chinese immigrants introduced Hawaii to barong talongs, a type of untucked shirt. These were coupled with native Hawaiian fashions and the earliest version of the Hawaiian shirt was born! Fashion remained unchanged until the 1920s when a University of Hawaii student designed a ‘pre aloha’ Hawaiian shirt, using Japanese yukata cloth featuring Japanese patterns. Over time the Japanese designs were substituted for Hawaiian imagery. ...
The ancient art form of carved, wooden tikis is central to Hawaiian culture. Tikis are a form of religious art, originating from an ancient Polynesian religion brought over to the Islands by settlers and migrants. Adherents to this ancient religion believed that their gods had once walked the earth in either human or animal form, and could therefore be conceptualized and depicted. Many of these images feature stern or angered faces, meant to communicate the ferocity of their powers. According to this religion, tikis bring fortunes of various kinds—such as monetary wealth, healthy crops, or love - based on the specific mana, or powers, held by the god depicted. Tikis not only served as art, but also allowed Polynesians and...
Hawaii only begun growing tea in the last thirty years, with just a few tiny farms dotted around the islands. The tea plant was imported into Hawaii during the 1800s but turns out it wasn’t as profitable as growing sugarcane or pineapple. Fast forward to the 1980s and a new generation of farmers had the vision to experiment with specialist tea farming. Now, thirty years later there are are a small number of tea farms in Hawaii, dedicated to consistently producing quality tea. The fertile volcanic soil of Hawaii makes the state a tea producing paradise. As a result of the tea being grown in this soil, the leaves take on a remarkably distinct flavor. Each tea has its own...
Hawaiian hula dashboard dolls have been around since the early 70′s have shown no sign of slowing down. These dolls are always a cute addition to any car and can add a level of comfort to any car that most other decorations could not.These Hawaiian hula dolls are some of the most popular souvenir gifts for anyone visiting Hawaii, these can be not only a great gift for you own car but for a friend or family members. These dolls are high quality and often last for years with a high quality car, even when placed in the sun, these dolls retain their color, their beauty and their fantastic hula skills. For anyone looking for a good souvenir or...
Genuine Hawaiian Kona coffee is grown in only one place in the world, in the Kona districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. The mostly small, family farms are situated on the slopes of the active volcanoes Hualalai and Mauna Kea. The unique climatic and soil conditions present in the Kona district allow the coffee plants to mature slowly and produce a denser, more flavorful bean. The volcanic slopes that make the Kona region ideal for growing coffee also make it extremely difficult to harvest with machines. For this reason, real Kona coffees are hand-picked, which allows harvesters to select only perfectly ripe coffee cherries. Without the need to harvest mechanically, Kona coffee cherries are individually selected for ripeness, leading...
