MauiThing Blog tagged "shop local"

Catching up with Lil Coconut Hawaii

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Ashley Takitani | 0 Comments

In excitement for our upcoming trunk show this weekend, we did a fun Q&A sesh with the company's founder, who happens to be a fabulous Maui girl, Amanda Dela Cruz :)

Hi Amanda! Please share the story of Lil Coconut Hawaii.

Designs by Lil Coconut Hawaii was a blessing in disguised, it all started when I need to get a gift for a friend who's birthday was a day apart from mines. She was going through a tough time and I wanted to give her something inspirational but personal and that's when I decided to create a cute little clutch with my photo of Diamond Head's waves with the saying "Salt Water Heals Everything" I made two one for me and one for my friend. One day I was at a coffee shop and posted a pic on Instagram of the beautiful latte art not really realizing my clutch was right next to it. No one really cared about the latte art, they all started commenting where I got my clutch?! Everyone around me kept encouraging to make more designs to sell, so since I was in the midst of moving from Hawai'i to Long Beach California, I figured this could be like a fun, side thing while I'm in transition of moving and finding new job so within a month, I made about 10 more designs and made a cute lil website thinking, "It'll be fun to sell like 10-20 of them." However the Universe always has a plan, when I launched the website I ended up getting over 40 website orders and stores from Hawai'i and Japan were just flooding my email about wholesaling. After that the rest was history :)

- Whats your inspiration?

My inspiration is my surrounding where ever I go, especially our home Hawai'i, we live in such a beautiful place filled with most friendliest people. Sometimes I could just be at the beach with my friends and I'll get a spark of inspiration for a design.

- What have you found is your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge I had to face was trying to keep up with my crazy ideas and thoughts for new products. There are times I'll get a "ah-ha" moment and my mind goes 100mph where I have so much ideas that I want to do all at once, then I get scattered and unorganized. So I've been good where I have a note book at all times to write down each time I get that "ah-ha" moment.

- Shout outs to other female Maui entrepreneurs?

Shout outs would be to Ash and the peeps at Maui Thing!! We love how Maui Thing is more than just a store/boutique, it's inspirational. Also to my really good friend Brittany Yap who's also from Maui, she's a Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, and Reiki Practitioner who is so passionate giving back, that she inspires me to always give back when we can.

- What’s your “maui thing”?

I live in Honolulu now and I'm always so busy traveling throughout the mainland that I barely get o come home to Maui more than once a year. I'm a total foodie, so when I do come home, my Maui Thing is to, go to all the fun places to eat from hunna buttah days (haha) like Tasaka Guri-Guri, Sam Sato's, Komoda's Bakery, and (when it was open) Kaohu store for hotdogs haha the list goes on.

Posted in Femfessionals, Hawaii, Lil Coconut Hawaii, Maui, Maui Entrepreneur, Maui Girl, Shop Local

A Holiday Poem

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Ashley Takitani | 0 Comments

In the heart of Wailuku, there once was a little store,
Where each person was greeted with a smile at the door.
They were local and small, creative and bright!
Their apparel was thoughtful and fit just right.
During the holidays they worked like little elves at the North Pole,
Hoping to bring smiles and joy to every bright little soul.
They're able to flourish and grow because of people like you,
Who support Maui businesses through and through.
They’re more thankful year after year,

That they’re able to be a part of this community they hold so dear.

So Mahalo to you for all that you’ve done,

Cheers to a Merry Christmas and a week full of holiday fun!

Posted in Maui, Maui Christmas, Maui Thing, Shop Local, Shop Maui, Stuck on Good

Wise Cracks!

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Ashley Takitani | 0 Comments

Wise Cracks

Introducing our newest product just in time for Christmas!!! Maui Thing Wise Cracks - local fortune cookies!

This rainbow flavor mix includes fun colors and onolicious flavors!

Rainbow Flavor Mix

"Fortunes" range from sayings like:

"Baseball wrong, man with four balls cannot walk."

to inspirational quotes such as:

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

and then there's golden tickets...

"It's your lucky day! 1 free manju from Sam Sato's!"

Our Sae Design & Maui Thing team gathered together our favorite quotes, created new jokes and puns and included our favorite local sayings. A super fun project, we even packed all the boxes ourselves! (so if you have less than 9 cookies, I apologize that I can't count and would be happy to give you an extra if you come back:)

Wise Cracks packing

Mahalo to Lucky Break - Maui Fortune Cookie Co. for partnering with us to make our fun dream a reality! Also, huge thanks to Sam Sato's and Tasaka Guri Guri for agreeing to be our "golden tickets!"

The perfect, unique Maui gift for your loved ones that's sure to "crack" a smile once they open it. 9 out of 10 agree lucky cookies taste better than lucky frogs ;)

Christmas Gift

Price is a lucky $7.77 per box. Each box contains 9 pieces. While supplies last.

*Disclaimer: some fortunes may be rated PG-13! So be careful when giving them to keiki ;)

Posted in Fortune Cookies, Lucky Break, Maui, Maui Fortune Cookies, Maui Gifts, Maui Thing, Sam Sato's, Shop Local, Shop Maui, Shop Small, Tasaka Guri Guri, Wailuku

A 2014 Kalikimaka Reminder

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Ashley Takitani | 0 Comments

I’m a Maui girl. This gorgeous island has given me the most beautiful childhood I could imagine and has provided a wonderful place for me as an adult. It holds everything that is dear to me on one small rock in the middle of the Pacific. Award winning and exquisite, Maui is much more than a great vacation spot. It is an endless book of lessons from our ancestors and an incubator for modern technology. It’s the perfect location to remotely run a global business yet the perfect place for a breezy nap in a hammock. It is full of happiness and opportunity, exploding with potential in every aspect. I love this. And for creating all this, I love Maui’s people. Warm, kind-hearted, and overly generous. I mean, we surely all have those Auntie’s and Grandma’s that live to stuff your belly with yummy, homemade goodies every time you’re over. Or that Uncle that makes the most perfectly salty smoked meat you’ve ever tasted. This love of food, value of family and abundance of friends that become family is what makes Maui Maui. Simply said, it’s the people - the sweet moms, comedic dads, kolohe brothers, loud aunties, crazy uncles, best friends who turn out to be lifelong sisters and local surfer boy heartbreaks that make you stronger…a lifetime of love, lessons and laughs that I’m overly thankful for.

So this is just a quick reminder to really take the time to enjoy the holiday season. Before we know it, we’re exhausted from holiday parties and 2015 is knocking at the door. Being in the retail industry especially, we can easily overlook the real meaning of Christmas as we plan for the biggest sales and try to take advantage of all the Black Friday steals for ourselves. Trust me, I know this all too well. Every time a cute bag or pair of new boots pop up in my email inbox, it takes an immense amount of restraint not to click on it! So no, reading this blog post isn’t going to make your Christmas list any shorter nor will it make the season any longer…but it may inspire you to reflect. It may give you a sentimental gift idea or motivate you to buy a gift for a child in need. It might dare you to shop 100% local this season. Or it might just spark a smile. Whatever it is, all I ask is that you take a moment to enjoy this holiday season, be happy and spend time with the people that make life worth living.

xoxo,

Ashley

Posted in Ashley Leahey, Ashley Takitani Leahey, Christmas, Holiday Reminder, Maui, Mele Kalikimaka, Shop Local

Maui Thing and Maui Children's Bookstore Collab

Posted on November 04, 2014 by Ashley Takitani | 0 Comments

Amanda and Ash

Local girl, Saedene Ota had always dreamed of creating a modern brand, inspired by all things “good” on Maui. Along with Sae Design, her award-winning design team, they opened Maui Thing in Wailuku in 2008 and provided the island with “clothing with a conscience.” They adopted the slogan “stuck on good,” and have been running with it ever since.

Another kama‘aina returned home from the big city with her husband and 3-year old son. Being a young mom, Amanda Robson decided to pursue her passion of providing Maui families with a place to gather and have access to a handpicked selection of books and toys for keiki aimed to spark their imagination and feed their young minds. So she brilliantly developed Maui Children’s Bookstore and have been seen doing pop-up events all across the island.

Amanda and Ashley Takitani Leahey, co-owner of Maui Thing and great friends with Amanda, worked closely in developing the business and finding ways for their companies to continually collaborate. A blessing in disguise, the Makawao location for Maui Children’s Bookstore fell through. So they turned to Ashley and Maui Thing, and did a pop-up bookstore. What seemed to be a hurdle in their journey, turned out to be a great blessing. By opening their doors to this start-up company, Maui Thing benefitted by having this nurturing, wonderful company within their walls for a day attracting new customers and families.

Maui Thing has been a business mentor to the start-up bookstore. Loving their delightful methods, handpicked inventory and thoughtful business plan, Saedene and Ashley saw a great opportunity for collaboration. After 6 years in Wailuku, the businesswomen see the potential in Wailuku and have been advocates to the town’s bright future. To be able to keep their business in their hometown that they love so much, Maui Thing recently decided to focus on women and children’s apparel. “Our bread and butter has always been women and children apparel and we finally decided it was time to make a change if we wanted to sustain our small business,” remarks Ashley who oversees inventory and finances. In an effort to revamp their store with minimal cost, they chose to develop their children’s focus and invited Amanda into the Maui Thing ohana. She excitedly accepted this win-win offer and in mid-September Maui Thing will host a permanent fixture of Maui Children’s Bookstore within their walls, complete with their vibrant children’s books, educational toys and interactive art and parent/child classes.

So next time you’re in Wailuku, come check out the new space. You can’t help but smile when you see the perfect, positive partnership of Maui family businesses, books and fashion.

All together now from Wade Robson on Vimeo.

Posted in Amanda Robson, Maui, Maui Books, Maui Children's Bookstore, Maui Thing, Shop Local, Shop Maui, Shop Small, Wade Robson, Wailuku

‘ili scrub

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Ashley Takitani | 0 Comments

‘ili scrub. It's our newest product that we're selling in the store and we are so so so excited to share it! It feels good, it smells good and it does wonders to your skin...all of it. It isn't a face scrub or a body scrub or a feed scrub...use it on all of the above! It tightens, brightens and softens. Best of all, its all natural and all Hawaii sourced.

You can find all the directions on how to use the scrub and a little background on why you should use it on the ‘ili scrub website by clicking here. We wanted to go a little deeper and meet the gal behind the product. Meet Aimee...

1. Talk about yourself a bit. Who you are, where you’re from, what you love...

I am a yogini on the island of kauai. i own a yoga studio here in kapaa and adore the opportunity to be in service and provide the space for others to discover more of who they truly are, shed and let go of what tends to hold us back and support the process of health and self discovery.

2. Why did you start ‘ili scrub? And why coffee?

there are lots of scrubs out there and while doing some research i unraveled some ugly information on whats inside the mainstream market scrubs. tiny microbeads made of plastic that seep into our water ways and make their way into the bellies of harmless marine life. plastic is forever, once it washes down the drain is goes on to live a very long life of over 1,000 years .we use 100% organic essential oils, no perfumes and artificial fragrances found here.
and we at 'ili wanted to provide a scrub that used only biodegradable ingredients. being so close to our waters here in hawaii and honoring all that they provide us as conscious entrepreneurs its up to us to develop sustainable, mindful, resourceful products.

3. Where is the coffee from?

all of our coffee is local and is a hawaiian blend.

4. What’s your hopes and dreams for the future of ‘ili scrub?

with the many distractions of today - being buried in our iphones and addicted to the social media updates we wanted to send and share a message of self care. taking a little extra time for ones self. self love and appreciation doesnt have to be an overt action, its in the little things. from a yogic background its customary to come to the mat clean. i saw a correlation between shedding old ideas and concepts, rigid places in our body to shedding old, dead skin.

MauiThing Blog

Catching up with Lil Coconut Hawaii

A Holiday Poem

Wise Cracks!

A 2014 Kalikimaka Reminder

Maui Thing and Maui Children's Bookstore Collab

‘ili scrub

shop local this black friday!

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