Riding A Wave With Girls Who Surf

When Girls Who Surf’s Cherry Fu works overtime, she just may be riding a rolling wave.

“The first thing I share with my students is the standup position,” says Fu with a hearty laugh. “We get to the goal first! We know that’s what they want to accomplish. We get right to it. We give them tips and techniques, and safety situations.”

She keeps the classes small, with two to four students to one teacher. A basic lesson runs about 90 minutes. Sessions are arranged by reservation, and taught with the help of her staff of 10 surf instructors, both men and women.

“It’s a lot like lifeguarding and firefighting in that it has a huge physical component to it,” Fu says. “The staff is hardworking.”

She gets the word out about Girls Who Surf by attending professional networking events, as well as connecting with travel and tourism activity agents.

Using her past athletic coaching and academic teaching experience, the Honolulu resident pours her energy into training her staff and teaching the students.

And she is determined to make a splash.

“I want us to be one of the leading surfing operations in the world,” explains Fu, a Harvard graduate who moved to Oahu from Boston in 2002.

She started the company in 2005 because she loves surfing and wanted to have an impact on the surfing world. She acknowledges the support of her family, friends and staff.

One of the challenges of running the business, she says, are state regulations.

“They are licensing operations, so there is a mandate that we need to have instructors who are licensed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources,” she says. “However, they test once a month, and they test some people at one time and there is a waiting list. This slows our growth, and it slows our profession from advancing. When people come to Hawaii, the surf instructor is one of the people they look for. So the customers don’t have as much access as they can to instructors because of that.”

Fu admits that this is not an easy job.

“Michael Jordan makes basketball look easy. Tiger Woods makes golf looks easy. It is because they are skilled at it. Surfing is a challenging sport. If you think it’s easy, it’s not that easy.”

And that’s where Girls Who Surf comes in.

For more information, call 772-4583, or log onto girlswhosurf.com.

Maximizing Fundraising Dollars

Fundraising isn’t easy. It’s lot of work, and often requires cash up front or a minimum order, which can affect the nonprofit’s bottom line. So a group of fundraising friends started Kala Kokua to address some of these concerns and make life a bit easier for fundraisers.

“We created something to help parents and organizations,” says Rod Suzumoto, a partner in Kala Kokua. “These days we have to fundraise for trips and registration fees for our children. Our program that we created is no-deposit and nominimums. We want to make sure the organization can maximize its fundraising.”

Kala Kokua sells a pack of two turkey drumsticks fully cooked, smoked, frozen and vacuum packed. A 16-ounce frozen kalua pork package also is available, and a 20-ounce kalua pork option debuts this summer.

Here’s how it works: Kala Kokua prints tickets with the organization’s name on them as well as the date, time and location of the product pickup. Kala Kokua then asks for the number of tickets the organization thinks it can sell, and three days before pickup, they put in the order for how many tickets were presold. The fundraising organization pays for what they’ve presold when Kala Kokua delivers the meat to the pickup location, about 45 minutes before the start of the sale. Many organizations have a cooler and a shady area reserved for about three hours. Kala Kokua suggests selling what you have if there are any walk-up orders, and then request additional products to be sent to you that day.

Suzumoto and his partners Yukio Yukawa and Alton Uehara have been friends since seventh grade at Kaimuki Intermediate School. Jason Tani also was involved when the company started in 2005, although he’s stepped out for a while.

Their friendship has pulled the partners through many experiences before, and this business is no different.

“Our bunch has been together for a long time,” says Yukawa. “We’ve done volunteer work together. We worked Summer Fun together at the Y. We played sports together on teams. Even playing together on teams is like working together like a job.”

Yukawa and Suzumoto, who both work in the hotel industry, talk to the organizations about the products. Uehara, who works in retail, handles ordering products.

“Being fully cooked and a frozen product, it is easy to handle,” explains Uehara. “When we do this we meet good people, we make new friends, and we like doing this year after year.”

The business partners acknowledge the hard work their friends and family put into supporting their efforts as well as the collaboration of other fundraising opportunities.

Kala Kokua sells on the Neighbor Islands, as well. For more information, call 721-3432, or log onto kalakokua.com.

Getting Into The Rhythm Of Salsa

Judah Oschner is quick on his feet when he’s teaching people to dance to the pulsating rhythms of salsa, and that energetic spirit reflects in his company, Aloha Rhumberos, where he teaches and performs salsa and does mobile DJ work.

“Salsa keeps me sane,” he says. “This is happy music, and we need to get that across. It’s wholesome. Anyone can do it, whether you are starting to walk or can barely walk. Just last month, at the West Coast Salsa Congress in Los Angeles, there was one guy dancing with one leg and a crutch. Then he dropped his crutch and the place went wild.”

With the help of his sister Sunshine, Judah wants to return to the roots of salsa with Aloha Rhumberos, which was established in 2002. He has taught private and group lessons in venues such as Mid-Pac Country Club and the Kailua Movement Center and also has coordinated a performing troupe which uses hip-hop, capoeira and other dance styles.

“Don’t think you’re going to be on Dancing With The Stars,” he says. “Come with an open mind and you will learn about the music, the history and about the entire culture.”

In addition to running Aloha Rhumberos, Judah works as a DJ at PlayBar in Waikiki (formerly Scruples).

The Oschner siblings appreciate all the many friends, family and supporters who have helped them over the years, especially their mom, Debra, for teaching them to dance salsa, and their dad, Ron, for teaching them sports. With the guidance of their mentor Edie the Salsa Freak and many others, including Sabor Tropical Productions, Alma Latina Productions, Hawaii Hispanic News, Hispanic Center of Hawaii, Albert Torres Productions and DanceSport California - the brother and sister team look forward to giving back to the community.

Judah says one challenge they face running the business is the economy.

“We are going to give more for what little they are going to pay,” he promises.

He has represented Hawaii at the annual World Salsa Championship, in which nearly 30 countries are involved - dancing with Sunshine in 2006 in Las Vegas, and with Nathalie Ho in 2007 in Florida.

The Kailua resident says it is important to perpetuate Latin music and culture.

“I want everyone to support all Latin events - restaurants, businesses and classes,” says Judah. “We are all in the same boat.”

One of those boats he’s in is the ninth annual Hawaii Summer Salsa Festival, which he says was the result of a conversation over dinner late one night.

“Latin Lady DJ Margarita was talking about having a backyard barbecue,” he recalls. That thought developed into the celebration of El Dia de San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2001 as the yearly fundraiser for the Hispanic Center of Hawaii. A portion of the proceeds goes to Latin Lady DJ Margarita this year to help in her battle with cervical cancer. The three-day salsa event June 18-20 has food, music and includes dancing from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 20 at McCoy Pavilion. Details are at summersalsainparadise.com.

“Anything I can do to help with salsa, I’ll do if I can,” he says.

He also assisted with the third annual Hawaii Salsa Festival back in February.

Salsa classes start in July at the Manoa Dance Studio at Manoa Marketplace. For more information, e-mail , or log onto myspace.com/dalionofjudahandsunshine.

Learning Fun For Kids And Parents

Children crawl through the center tube of a play caterpillar, climb into a house constructed of cushioned mats and trek over a soft bridge at WeePlay and Learn.

Nothing makes Mary Melzack, president of WeePlay and Learn, happier than seeing tiny tots singing songs, playing and learning their ABCs and 123s. That’s one reason she started the company.

“As a parent, you want the best for your child,” says Melzack, the mother of four. “I did this as a mom and as something I wanted for myself.”

Located at Ward Warehouse, WeePlay and Learn has sessions for infants to 5-year-olds. Parents can participate in programs with their children, or drop off their children for other programs. They can come anytime once a week, or sign up for unlimited sessions led by a staff of three full-time and two part-time employees. There also are workouts for parents three times a week, presently yoga, Pilates, cardio burn and turbo kick-boxing.

“Parents love the social aspect,” says Melzack. “It becomes like a family.”

She even offers monthly haircuts for the children.

What spurred Melzack to start her company was her son David, who is now 8.

“I tried watching some of the TV shows with him and doing the activities, but that wasn’t enough,” she recalls. “I joined all kinds of play huis and museum activities, and I still wanted more.”

WeePlay and Learn opened in 2004 in Koko Marina and operated there for five years. She took a year off, then reopened in September 2008 in a 10,000-square-foot space on the second floor at Ward Warehouse. Before Melzack opened WeePlay and Learn, she worked as a shopping center developer for 20 years. Melzack acknowledges the support of her friends and family, especially husband Brian, a busy man himself who owns four Bestsellers Books and Music stores here on Oahu, and their four children: David; Arianna, 7; Georgina, 2, and Constadina, 1.

“I feel I’ve made a difference,” she says about those who have come through the programs.

Melzack is also getting set to launch a parent/child pre-school in January.

WeePlay and Learn is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For more information, call 396-2100, or log onto weeplayandlearn.com.

With Pamalu, Your Auto Is Covered

No matter how much time you spend in, or working on your car, Diane Crisologo, operations manager of Pamalu, wants to help customers make their cars look good and protect them as well with bed lining, window tinting and detailing.

Pamalu carries seat covers, dash covers, tonneau covers for truck beds, sidestep bars, window visors and more.

“I save people money on a lot of accessories,” Crisologo explains. “We try to get the best prices we can and get the discount for the customer. We also have detailing products for the doit-yourselfers and the smaller detailing places on the island.”

Another service the firm offers is vinyl graphics.

“I would take an idea a customer has and expound on it,” she says. “We do unique graphics for an individual car.”

Fulfilling client needs also becomes a matter of being green.

“Our manufacturers don’t have a lot of brochures for us to hand out anymore, so everything is online,” says Crisologo. “We can e-mail our customers photos and prices.”

She quickly points out that the 3,500-square-foot shop can do so much more.

“We are able to do creative work; it’s not just spraying lining,” Crisologo adds. “I can spray other items. I am doing canoe paddles and canoes. I have the ability to take my applications and do more than just a car.”

Crisologo has been working in the car lining business since 1989. Audrey Kamai, Crisologo’s sister, is owner of Pamalu, which opened in March 2004.

Vee Ignacio rounds out the staff as sales manager.

Along with appreciation for their additional, as-needed staff, they acknowledge their friends, family and customers for their support.

In the future, Crisologo hopes to have an auto mall where several shops can work together to service cars.

She says her first priority is helping customers.

“We can do it a little bit at a time so people can get what they want for their vehicles,” she says.

Pamalu is located at 1308 Hart St. in Honolulu. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. For more information, call 554-8344, e-mail , or log onto pamalu.com.

Reshaping The Surfboard Business

What happens when you go on vacation to surf in Australia and some folks ask if you can help create something that’s better than what’s already out there? If you are Jimmy Freese, you end up combining your computer programming skills with your passion for surfing to create a full-fledged business of your own.

That fateful day during a surf vacation was in 2001, and three years later Aku Shaper machines were born. The Aku Shaper is a machine that shapes surf-boards in an efficient manner so there’s more time spent out on the ocean in the waves than in shaping the board.

“Or you could use the time to shape more boards and make more money,” explains Freese.

His Aku Shaper machines have been selling since 2004, and they are in places such as Japan, England, Peru, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, California, North Carolina and Hawaii.

“Everyone likes the cutter concept, and they get really excited,” says Freese, noting that almost all of his surfboards were made with the cutter. “It uses a circle cutter the size of a dinner plate and about 12 millimeters thick. And the machine spins in both directions.”

Once the machine is done with the board, putting on the finishing touches is all that is left. The company’s YouTube video shows that a board can be cut in about 18 minutes.

Freese says one of the challenges is getting the word out about what the machine can do. Some ways have included word of mouth, attending trade shows and getting publicity, such as the Aku Shaper’s recent feature in the February 2009 edition of Surfer Magazine.

“Surfing is a small industry, so you kind of know everyone,” says Freese, a Kailua resident and Punahou graduate who has been surfing since he was a child.

“Once shapers understand that you can make more boards in a shorter amount of time, they’re interested.”

The Aku Shaper business is a three-way partnership that uses the computer programming skills of Freese’s father, Ralph, a math professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and engineer Mike Richard, who specializes in manufacturing machines for the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. The company’s future includes other related products they are developing with the software.

For more information, log onto aps3000.com.

Inspiring Future Fashion Designers

Yvonne Chun Izumi has her students in stitches - literally - at Izumi Arts.

“There are Project Runway patterns now, and a lot of girls get inspired by that (TV show),” says Izumi. “They sew because they want to be creative and do something unique to express themselves. It’s not so much because of the frugality.”

One of her students had five proms to attend, and she made two of her prom dresses. Another student came up with her own line of organic dresses.

“I’m trying to revive the art of sewing,” says Izumi. “There is a whole new talented generation out there.”

After students master the basics with cotton, they can move on to other fabrics. She also teaches techniques to adjust patterns. Students also create decorative pillows, totes, quilts and clothing.

Izumi offers two-hour lessons once a week, and in summer sessions lessons are held twice a week in small, semi-private groups. This summer, she has a few openings left - for students who have mastered the intermediate level - in her junior fashion design studio with three-hour sessions twice a week.

“I enjoy teaching them as much as they enjoy learning,” Izumi says. “I make it pleasant for them.”

She has led school projects, and says it’s rewarding to see her students learn how to sew and get into fashion programs for college.

Izumi Arts is located above the iconic fabric store, Kaimuki Dry Goods.

“We literally have all our supplies at our fingertips,” says Izumi. “I can accompany them downstairs if they have a question on what to purchase.”

Izumi’s mom taught her to sew by hand at age 5, and spent weekends sewing with her. She attended sewing school from age 9, and the Maryknoll High School and University of Hawaii School of Fashion Design graduate also taught sewing at age 19 for Singer Company.

Prior to starting her sewing school in 2004, Izumi sold clothing in retail stores, designed children’s clothes, and taught English and art as well.

She says she appreciates the support of her friends and family, especially husband Dennis and their adult children Jonathan and Amber.

Izumi Arts is located at 1144 10th Ave. on the second floor. For more information, call 734-2610 or e-mail .

Focusing On Pet Photography

Deb McGuire is happiest when she’s eyeball to eyeball with an animal, so she started her company, Deb McGuire Photography, to combine a few of her passions: animals, photography and traveling.

She’s been on the back of a camel, on top of an elephant in India, and in the ocean an arm’s length away from a 14-foot-long, 1,100-pound false-killer whale named Kina. She’s currently planning a vacation to Arkansas to visit the tiger reserve at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Whether she is standing over a bug, or a lying on the grass to get a snapshot of a dog in a neighborhood park, McGuire uses her own tricks of the trade to capture a pet’s personality.

“I always know the pet’s name, but I may not know the pet’s parent’s (owner’s) name,” says McGuire as she fondly points to the photos of her model pets in her portfolio.

She gets to know the pet first by getting on its level, which sometimes include being on all fours. She also admits to using bribery.

“I always carry dog toys, dog treats and cat treats,” she reveals. “I become their favorite person right then and there. Then I photograph the pet in all angles. I like to keep them in a natural environment, whether they are a horse on a race track or cat under a bed.”

After she’s done shooting about 200 to 300 photos of the pet, she uploads the photos on her computer and whittles the number down to the best 10-15 for the owner to choose from. She can enlarge the picture up to a poster size, create a photo album, put the pet’s photo on a purse or even on a sterling silver charm necklace.

One of McGuire’s first pets was a dog named Heidi, who did lots of modeling when McGuire took her first photography class at age 14. Her career path includes modeling, acting, radio and television journalism as well as doing stock photography for five years.

“Ninety percent of photos I submitted to the stock photography were animals, and 90 percent of the photos they accepted were animals, so I thought there’s something going on there.”

Originally from Orange County, Calif., McGuire moved to Hawaii in 2005, and decided to concentrate on being a pet photographer as of January. She appreciates the support of her friends and family for her business and especially her husband, Tim, a retired Marine. He serves as the chief financial officer with duties to include putting together easels, cutting up foam core, and working with Photoshop. Her co-vice presidents of the company are their two cats, Sham-rock and Magic.

“The animal or pet comes first to me,” she says. “Other photographers are passionate about photography. They like taking the pictures, whether it is a building or a pet. Me, I like seeing the joy in the pet parent’s face when those photos come back.”

For more information on Deb McGuire Photography, call 247-5282 or log onto hawaiipetphotos.com.

Accounting For Small Businesses

Penalty fees, past due notices and unbalanced checkbooks - a lot can go wrong if accounting is not taken care of. That’s where Dustin Sellers and his company ProAccounting Hawaii come in with a message about the benefits of outsourcing accounting duties by small businesses.

“If it is something you don’t make money at and it isn’t your core business, if you can find somebody else to do it better, you should outsource it,” says Sellers. “We believe the timing is right from an economic environment to find areas that are administrative in nature, time-consuming, and that really don’t make any money.”

Sellers, along with business partner Ben Godsey and eight employees, help small businesses by doing their Quickbook accounting online.

ProAccounting also will take over the entire accounting process for the business, using web-based software that gives owners a financial picture of how their company is doing at a glance. Sellers explains that traditionally a person may do accounts receivable in the morning, print invoices in the afternoon, and then at the end of the week do a batched receipts review.

He says his challenge is getting business owners to grasp the idea that you can be effective 24/7 and know where you stand.

“When they talk to one of our clients, that is when they get it,” notes Sellers, a Punahou graduate. “It’s like anything, it is experiential. It’s like the first time you have your house cleaned by someone. They folded your clothes and put them all away for you, and you have another hour at work or with your kids. Until you have that great housekeeper you paid $50, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

ProAccounting clients include Ruby Tuesday and American Mattress.

“To the small-business owner, it means fewer headaches, fewer mistakes and more money in the bank,” he says. “That’s what the 28,000 small-business owners in Hawaii who drive our economy need the most right now.”

ProAccounting Hawaii was established in 2007 and purchased by Sellers and Dennis O’Connell in 2008. It is a sister company to ProService, which handles outsourced human resource services. O’Connell, director of operations for ProAccounting Hawaii, has 15 years of experience working in capital markets including Fidelity and State Street Global Advisors.

Sellers says there is a timeliness, a dependability and an accuracy involved in outsourcing.

“You can guarantee that your accounting, postings, invoicing, accounts recievable, accounts payable are pretty much 24/7 live,” he says, “because we are in fact taking the data throughout the day from the client and posting it in real time. It is almost like a conveyor belt.”

His goal for the company’s future? To drum up more clients, of course.

ProAccounting is located at 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., Suite 200, in Hawaii Kai. For more information, call 524-0748 or log onto proaccountinghawaii.com.

Furnishings Embody Artistic Spirit

Having a store with his designs is one of the things artist Kaypee Soh scribbled on his list of 10 things to do in a tiny sketchbook while he was riding the subway in New York City eight years ago. His shop So’mace Lifestyle embodies his artistic spirit.

“I have a lot of ideas,” says Soh about his dream come to life. “Anything creative, I love to do.”

The 1,300 square-foot store is home to framed photos taken by Soh, as well as pillows, wallpaper, lamps and other items that have Soh’s designs. He can be found at the store fashioning new projects.

Business partners Kaypee Soh, Edward Macey and Isla Schmidt roll up their sleeves to carry out their vision for the shop. Macey, the managing director, handles business administration and lends an eye to designs using his architectural and project management background. Schmidt, an interior designer, uses her retail background to flesh out the look and feel of the store so customers can get a feel of what it would be like to have Soh’s nature-inspired motifs at home. Schmidt uses her interior design skills at the shop’s design center where people can sit down at the table and look at swatches, discuss ideas from magazine pictures, and doodle with colored markers.

“We call Kaypee’s designs modern Pacific-inspired,” says Schmidt. “Everything he does is inspired by nature.”

Some of the designs are of waves, or raindrops, as they do their best to be sure the merchandise is eco-friendly. Other places Soh admits to getting his inspiration are the colors from the cereal aisle, and from his friends in the New York fashion industry.

“Kaypee is the Jonathan Adler of the Pacific,” says Macey about Soh’s line of home accessories in the store, which opened in 2008.

The company website, which also has a blog, explains that artwork can be altered by size and color. Furniture fabric, wallpaper, rugs and lighting can also be customized.

Originally from Malaysia, Soh attended art school in London at East Ham College, and his career included doing commercial design campaigns for companies like American Express, MTV, and L’Oreal USA. One of his recent projects showcases his photography in the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kona.

The partners plan to expand the product line and open stores in Miami, California and Canada in the future.

So’mace Lifestyle is located at 1115 Young St. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 593-8780, or log onto somacelifestyle.com

CORRECTION: In last week’s Entrepreneur article on Sanders Piano, Todd Sanders did not start his own moving company, S and S Delivery, he acquired it. MidWeek regrets the error.

A Family Business Stays In Tune

The Sanders family piano business has added three things to its two stores so more people can tickle the ivories.

Piano Outlet at Pearl Highlands Center is the only authorized Yamaha dealer in the state. The Sanders Piano shop on King Street now sells sheet music. And the second generation, Steven Sanders and his wife Li, may be grooming the third generation of the Sanders dynasty with their children Victoria, 3, and newborn Olivia, who was born April 16.

At the helm now are the first and second generations, working six days a week together. Bill Sanders, president, oversees the details of the business, including expenses and advertising. Son Steven, who serves as sales manager, says one of the lessons he learned from Dad is to pay attention to the details.

“Being in sales and marketing, a lot of times you are planning the big picture,” admits the younger Sanders, who started taking piano lessons at age 6. “The thing that he really impresses upon me is to make sure all the little parts are in line, and then big picture will come together.”

When ABC Music store closed last year, the 4,000-square-foot Piano Outlet became the only authorized Yamaha dealer in Hawaii.

“Yamaha is a leader, one of the strongest brands in pianos and digital pianos,” says Sanders. “The Yamaha Clarinova is almost like Q-tips or Coca-Cola because they are the first digital pianos made popular to take the place of an acoustic grand piano. In Hawaii, we do have a very large Asian population, and the Yamaha branding in that population is probably unparalleled. There is no other brand that is recognized as being synonymous with good-quality instruments as Yamaha.”

The 5,500-square-foot Sanders Piano location carries Steinway and Kawai pianos. And since ABC Music closed, piano teachers cried out that they no longer had a place to get sheet music and books, so Sanders Piano filled the gap.

“One piece may be done by three publishers,” says Sanders. The family got into the piano business when Bill Sanders worked for his uncle at the Ed Jeffrey Piano and Organ Center, which opened in 1954. When his uncle passed away, Bill Sanders became the piano dealer. The company name changed to Baldwin Piano Center in 1972, and over time it changed to Baldwin Sanders, and then Sanders Piano.

Piano Outlet opened 15 years ago at the inception of Pearl Highland Center.

Steven Sanders, the youngest of four siblings, worked for Norwest Financial for a couple of years before he joined the company officially in 1994. His brother Todd, who used to move the pianos, started his own moving company, S and S Delivery. The family extends its appreciation for the support of friends and customers.

One of the challenges of running a piano business, Sanders notes, is music-making is a lifelong commitment.

“Getting people interested in music has always been a challenge for our industry,” he reveals. “Our lessons program helps expose people, and it is fun.”

There are more than 1,000 students a week who take piano lessons at both stores.

“We focus on what we are good at: the cultivation of music,” adds Sanders.

Sanders Piano is located at 1500 S. King St. For more information, call 946-6500 or log onto sanderspianos.com. Piano Outlet is located at Pearl Highland Center at 1000 Kamehameha Hwy. For more information, call 456-0562 or log onto thepianooutlethawaii.com.

CORRECTION: The caption in last week’s Entrepreneur article on EMME Inc. identified Robert Pennybacker as the director of Emme Tomimbang’s documentary John A. Burns: The Man and His Times. Lisa Altieri Sosa served as the co-producer/director. Roy Kimura was director/writer. We regret the error. 

Emme’s Up-close Look At History

Emme Tomimbang profiles an important man, an important time and an important milestone with the limited release of her second DVD, titled John A. Burns: The Man and His Times.

With her television production company, EMME Inc.(Emme Tomimbang Multi-Media Enterprises), Tomimbang says the show is a biography of John Burns, a visionary who was the father of the modern-day democratic revolution in the 1940s and 1950s, and Hawaii governor from 1962 to 1974. Burns created the University of Hawaii medical school, law school and helped organize unions. In addition to DVDs available, John A. Burns: The Man and His Times, directed by Robert Penebacker, will air on KHON2 at 9 p.m. April 15 and at 4 p.m. April 19 in honor of the 50th anniversary of statehood.

Tomimbang originally created this one-hour special in 2000, and incoming medical students view the documentary every year.

“He was pivitol for the time when Hawaii was being shaped,” she says of Burns. “Here I am documenting my husband’s father’s life, who is one of the crafters of the statehood bill. It’s kind of surreal for me, not just to have my own statehood understanding, but to make it part of the legacy to share with other people.”

The show has been updated with an introduction by her husband, James Burns, a retired chief judge of Hawaii’s Intermediate Court of Appeals.

“He looks so much like his dad that the older generation see him and say ‘Governor Burns,’” Tomimbang says.

Judge Burns says Tomimbang insisted he go on camera, so, like a good husband, he complied.

“She told me everything to do and everything not to do,” Burns admits. “I had to lift my chin, turn my face and sit up straight. I prefer her in front of the camera, and I prefer to be somewhere else.”

There are plans in place to get the DVD into schools and libraries as an educational piece.

Tomimbang’s first DVD release, Mabuhay with Aloha - The Hawaii Filipino Experience 1906-2006, was created for the Filipino Centennial.

The year 2009 is a big one for Tomimbang: the 50th anniversary of statehood, the 100th anniversary of JohnA. Burns’birth and also the 15th anniversary of EMME Inc., where she produces her show, Emme’s Island Moments - stories of Hawaii including entertainers, chefs and other interests. Before starting her company in 1994, the Farrington High School graduate worked in radio and television news.

Tomimbang has participated in many meaningful events over time, and a recent one is especially touching for her: when her web designer helped her stream her 2008 Christmas show online for the military in Afghanistan and Kuwait. That show featured Raiatea Helm and had a retrospective piece on Aunty Genoa Keawe.

“Anyone can show anything on computer, but you have to look at the financial aspect,” she says. “I still have to find a way to sponsor it.”

Tomimbang admits that one of the challenges of running your own television production company is finding those sponsors.

“I have to be more innovative and creative,” she explains. “I make deals and I lower my production expenses. You are constantly finding ways to cope with what’s in the market. Without my sponsors, I would not be on the air. Sometimes it’s moment to moment, but at least it is on the air!”

Speaking of on the air, Emme’s Island Moments segments also are shown on Hawaiian Airlines flights.

“I’m not only on air, I’m also in air,” she says with a hearty laugh. “I feel honored and so lucky for being on the air for this long. Thanks to my sponsors.”

For more information, call 947-6677 or log onto emmeinc.com. ldelacruz@ midweek.com

Got Good Kids’ Stuff? Sell ‘Em

Making good use of good things is something Terrance Iwamoto believes in, and with the current economy, he is spot-on.

With his new business, Rhea Lana’s Children’s Consignment Events, Iwamoto is calling all folks who want to buy or sell gently used designer children’s clothes, furniture and maternity clothes. The hottest-selling items, he predicts, will be strollers, car seats and cribs.

“I found that, with this kind of niche, we get a lot of loyal customers,” he notes. “Everyone is helping each other.”

Baby Gap and Disney are among the brand names at the four-day sale at a location to be announced a month prior the event. In addition to clothes, there are books, videos, and toys for newborns to children in the early teen years.

People interested in selling their designer products can register online as consignors. The consignor inputs details of the inventory: size, brand name, asking price.

“We suggest people sell it for 20 to 25 percent of what they paid for it,” explains Iwamoto.

Consignors print the inventory list and drop off the items the day before the sale. From there, Rhea Lana will check the goods to be sure they are not torn, soiled or outdated. Anything that doesn’t meet the criteria is rejected. The consignor can go online to keep track of their account, as the items have a barcode. Then, at the end of the four-day sale, a check of 70 percent of the amount sold is made out to the consignor. A small fee is subtracted based on the number of items inventoried. Consignors can then pick up what wasn’t sold, or they can go online to indicate they would like to donate their unsold items and Rhea Lana will arrange for the items to be donated. For the inaugural sale, donated items will go to the Next Step homeless shelter in Kakaako.

“When I went to one of the events, women were going nuts,” observed Iwamoto. “They were rummaging through things, and they had a handful of clothes.”

Iwamoto says one of the challenges is getting people to know what this is about.

“Some folks are doing a wait and see, so they can understand the concept once they see it in action,” he notes. “So we are doing some community programs.”

Iwamoto can share with nonprofits how they can use the sale as part of their fundraising efforts.

Iwamoto joined the Rhea Lana franchise in 2008, as it matches the theme of a business he started in 2004, Mr. Ink Plus, located at 670 Auahi St.

“We recycle cartridges,” explains the McKinley High graduate about the inkjet, toner, fax and copy machine cartridges.

The Aiea resident says he got the Rhea Lana idea in part because his wife Judy had several bags of their children’s clothes she was going to give to relatives since they paid good money for them.

As the father of two sons, Zachary, 12, and Matthew, 9, Iwamoto says, “We know all too well that children grow out of their clothes so fast.”

Iwamoto encourages those interested in selling to log in now to start their inventory or join the e-mail list for more details on the next sale.

Oahu’s first Rhea Lana’s Children’s Consignment Event will be held July 23-26. For more information, call 306-5999, log onto Rhealana.com or e-mail .

A Creative Mom-Daughter Team

Sweet-smelling awapuhi, pineapple and tuberose are just a few of the scents the mother-and-daughter team of Stephanie Schoening and Kawehi Seno use to make island-designed sachet stones with their company, S&S Kreations.

The stones are made in familiar Island shapes such as aloha shirts, muumuu, honu, seashells, board shorts and surfboards, as well as ladybugs, motorcycles, teddy bears, dragonflies and more.

“It’s a different way to have potpourri,” says Seno. “They’re decorative. There are a lot of uses for them in your drawers, closets, cars and suitcases.”

The sachet stones are infused with the fragrances, which also include puakenikeni, plumeria, bubble gum, cotton candy, coconut and baby powder.

The company was started four years ago by Schoening, a lupus and two-time breast and uterine cancer survivor, because she couldn’t work. She says she appreciates the assistance of her family, especially her husband, Neill.

Seno joined the company in June 2008 after she was laid off from a job she had for 18 years.

“We know what we do, and we know how to do everything,” says Seno about the division of labor. “A lot of people call us to do favors for their party.”

They currently are designing masks for an upcoming masquerade party.

Schoening has been doing ceramics for 36 years, and has a line of ceramic turtles available at Under the Koa Tree and Nohea Gallery. The ceramics come in various designs and can be used as centerpieces.

Also passionate about good causes, mother and daughter have done fundraisers for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life in Waianae with a pink breast cancer ribbon stone, and 600 lavender ribbons for the Lupus Foundation.

Seno, a 1990 Pearl City High School graduate, has recruited husband Wesley and their children Kula, Kalei, Haku and Ano’i to help out. Her niece Loke also gets in on the action.

One of her challenges, Seno admits, is that she has had to learn a different system.

“Another challenge is making sure I can live up to my mom,” explains Seno, a Nanakuli resident.

“She is the bomb. She is awesome. She does it all. I’ve been trying to absorb it more and more.”

For more information, call 554-2595, or e-mail . 

Helping Plan Life’s Big Moments

As a wedding planner, Karine France-Matsumoto once averted an emergency without the bride ever knowing there was a problem.

“It was the night before the wedding,” she recalls. “I noticed that the tables for the guests had not arrived. I called the vendor and resolved the situation.

“The bride never knew. Otherwise, we may have been standing up eating pupus.”

Helping happy couples on their special day is just what France-Matsumoto loves doing with her company, Seasons of Life Wedding and Event Planning.

After all, she says, no two weddings are alike.

“You have your unique couples’ likes and dislikes, which can be shown in the decor, program, games at the reception, colors and mood,” she explains.

“This is the biggest party of their life. Some people want all the details, and some people want something simple.”

She offers free consultations, where she learns about how the couple met, how they got engaged and what ideas they may have.

She enjoys the organizing, planning and coordinating.

“It is really fun to have things to cross off on the todo list,” the Mid-Pacific Institute graduate notes. “I get excited in the planning process. On the day of the wedding, I need to be prepared and to be the calmest person in case there’s a storm, so the couple can enjoy this day. I get teary-eyed every time. It is going to be over so fast.”

The Aina Haina resident has planned weddings for friends and family for the past 10 years in addition to working as a promotional consultant before making the jump to fulfill her dream of owning her own business this year. She thanks her friends and family, and especially her husband Craig, as well as their children Nicole, Taryn, Jordan and Taylor, for their love and support.

To keep current with the industry, she has taken courses on being a professional bridal consultant, and she plans to stay up-to-date on trends in the business.

And, as a party planner, France-Matsumoto doesn’t want her involvement with the couple to stop at the wedding. She’s willing to help them plan their child’s first birthday party, sweet 16, graduation party and more.

“When the family is celebrating a special anniversary or a big Christmas party, I’ll be there,” she says. “It really epitomizes the name of my company, Seasons of Life. So many moments in our lives are gifts.”

For more information, call 387-0949, log on to SeasonsOfLifeEvents.com or send an e-mail to . com.

The Beauty Of Hawaiian Gourds

Celes Molina’s colorful designs hug a gourd with heartwarming images of Hawaii. He fashions flowers or fish on umeke (bowl), ipu (gourd) and ipu heke (double calabash).

“It’s like a canvas except it is a round object,” the artisan notes. “There’s more to just putting the color on. There’s the curvature, and the different sizes that will dictate how your composition will come out.”

The most popular designs are bright hibiscus, bird of paradise, sharks and manini. Molina’s work can be found at select craft fairs as well as the Haleiwa Arts Festival, Merrie Monarch Festival and the monthly Artfest at Kapiolani Park.

Born and raised in the Waipahu area, Molina left Hawaii in 1947 to serve in the Army, and then the Air Force. He started designing ipu 35 years ago while living in California.

“By doing the Hawaiian designs, it kept me close to the Islands,” explains Molina, who now makes his home in Makaha. “I used to make frequent trips to the Islands to see my parents when they were alive. But since they died, the trips were not that many. I did these local motifs because it made me closer to the Islands.”

His gourds were offered as first -place trophies to participants in the E Hula Mau competition in Southern California for a few years. Kumu hula who were on the West Coast participating as judges in the competition or hosting a workshop at the time may still have his ipu heke.

Finding the perfect gourds is a challenge, he notes, because there are other people scouring for gourds too. So persistence is key.

“If you are at the gourd farm, if you are able to find two gourds that would make a good ipu heke, then you take it,” he says. “The gourds are there. You need to spend more time looking for them.”

He personally decorates the gourds by hand, and each bears his signature ladybug.

Molina says he’s focusing on the designs he already has, and additional designs will come when he feels the time is right. “There are so many more (designs) I haven’t done,” he admits. “I have them in my mind.” For more information, call 695-8458.

Pet Sitters On The Windward Side

2 Sisters Pet Sitters may be a tongue twister, but the two sisters insist their dog-walking and pet-sitting services are easy to understand.

Keri Gall takes care of the animals, and Lori Sampaio handles administrative duties. If needed, Sampaio pitches in with animal care.

“We offer dog walking on the weekdays in Kailua, Kaneohe and Waimanalo,” says Gall about the 30-minute sessions that can include a second dog. “We walk the dog in their neighborhood privately. We also offer bathing services, if they have a contract with us. And we don’t charge extra if you have a naughty dog.”

Gall offers a free in-home consultation with the owners and their pet to learn what type of experience and training the animal has.

“For a lot of people, their pets are like their children,” says Sampaio. “They don’t want their kids, I mean their pets, to be locked up all day or not have attention. But people have got to work.”

For pet sitting, they visit the customer’s home to care for their dog, cat, bird, fish or other pet.

“Dogs are drawn to people that they know really like them,” says Gall. For instance, she says, “I’m just walking in the neighborhood, and one lady sees me. Her Chihuahua who is usually petrified of people just comes right up to me. So she just used me this past week for some pet sitting. She said her dog usually hates other people, and she felt very comfortable with me.”

The sisters advise traveling owners to call to let them know they’ve arrived home safely.

“I’m not going to stop taking care of your pet until I hear from you,” emphasizes Sampaio. “Three or four of our clients have gotten stuck in their travel plans already. “

Other services the sisters offer are pet-supply shopping, light grooming, overnight pet care, medication administration, and transportation. Kailua residents are offered a 15-minute service if they need a cat-litter changing or a pet feeding.

To spread the word about their company, the sisters have found that car magnets, stickers, signs, and word-of-mouth from their large family work best for them.

Gall and Sampaio grew up in Kailua. Both attended St. Anthony of Padua and have been involved with animals since they were little. Their family, which includes brother Kona, had a cat named Fred and a Doberman pincher named Jake.

Prior to joining her sister in the family business last year, Sampaio, a St. Francis School graduate, worked in finance and in the airline industry. She still maintains a part-time job at Whole Foods, and she appreciates the support of her children, Kimo and Miki.

Gall, a Kailua High School graduate, started working as a vet technician at 15 years old. Her career path includes spending nine years as a manager of a 14-acre horse ranch in Waimanalo. In addition to running this business, she also works part time at The Shack. She credits husband Rob and their children Kela and Kilia for their help.

In addition to plans to expand business, someday Gall would like to have a small facility with a big back yard to host animals while their owners are away.

For more information, call 291-4836, or log on to www.2SistersPetSitters.com.

Thinking Outside The Treasure Box

Sara Perry says she’d glue something on anything that didn’t run away.

Her Treasure Boxes is a line of hand-decorated boxes and purses featuring vintage images.

Perry says jokingly that she was born 50 years too late as she loves to create Hawaiian-themed boxes with retro surf pictures, hula dancers, pinup girls, and black-and-white photos from the 1920s.

She takes an unfinished wood box, paints it and puts a lining on the inside. After 15-20 coats of glue and paper, she adds the beads and doodads. The whole process takes about two weeks to create one box, as the glue needs to dry before she can continue on the next side of the box.

“I don’t do the same box twice, even if I use the same picture twice,” notes Perry. “The paper dries differently, and it takes on different colors when it’s finished. I put a glaze on it to make it shiny, and a clear acrylic coat to make it waterproof. It looks different than what I did on the previous box. The style continually changes.”

Perry also welcomes special orders. For example, a woman asked her to make a box for her husband, who then worked for Pan Am.

“I had fun digging up old posters and making the box,” Perry recalls. “He cried when I gave it to him. He loved, loved, loved this box.”

Other special orders include utilizing old family photos, pet pictures or a dream destination.

The boxes can be traced to the days when, as a child, she used to pick up shiny, sparkly stuff and bring it home.

“I always needed somewhere to put all my junk,” reminisces Perry. “I always had a box. I figured other people would need a place to put their stuff in too. It’s artwork that is very functional and pretty.”

She credits her friends and family for their support in her artistic endeavor, especially her husband Matthew.

Her work can be found at craft fairs, including the upcoming Waikiki Artfest at Kapiolani Park March 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Her mom, Nancy Calhoun, who also decorates boxes, is one of the founders of the Handcrafters and Artisans Alliance, which coordinates the aforementioned monthly art fest. The Treasure Boxes also will be available in April at the Merrie Monarch Festival’s craft fair, and

on Mother’s Day at the Lanikai Craft Faire.

Perry’s knack for crafts started as a child, when her mom had a dress shop.

“If I wanted money for something, it was going to come in at Christmas or my birthday, or I had to figure out some way to make money,” Perry, a Waianae resident, explains. “I was always making jewelry or something I could sell to get an extra $5. I always did something crafty to make money.”

Over the years her craft experience has included ceramics, scrapbooking, wire-wrapped pendants and painting on canvas.

Perry admits one of her challenges is to come up with something different or a new color combination. To overcome that, she finds inspiration everywhere, including museums in Italy, where she lived for two years.

She says one of her goals is to display her work in an established gallery.

For more information, call 696-6717 or log onto treasureboxes.wetpaint.com.

Helping Customers Look Good

Lek White is a wizard with a pincushion, a pair of scissors and a sewing machine. She hems pants, takes in clothing, alters sleeves and does other repairs at her Designer Alterations shop.

“We do whatever a customer needs,” says White. “Even just sewing on a button. We help them look good.”

Whether it is adjusting a wedding gown for the big day, making an evening gown fit better for a beauty pageant or altering a new outfit for a trip to Vegas, White looks forward to continuing on for many more years in business. At her side is her niece Lucy Palmer, who is growing into an alteration maven under the tutelage of her aunt.

Word of mouth is how most people have heard about the 21-year-old business.

White describes a recent job where a pair of pants needed to be shortened with a logo removed and re-attached.

“When he tried them on, he said he couldn’t believe it,” White recalls about the customer’s happiness with her work.

Palmer, who affectionately calls White “Mom,” says customers are impressed when White can fit a wedding dress, as folks often order them from the Mainland, and then need to adjust them. “That is a lot of work,” explains Palmer. “We pay attention to the customers. For example, when people get older, their legs are different, as in one hip is higher. She notices all the small differences.”

She also accepts vouchers from employees of Hawaiian and Northwest airlines who need their uniforms fixed.

White says the turnaround time is generally about a week.

“It makes me happy when customers try on the clothes and they say, ‘This is marvelous!’ I like it when they walk out of here happy with what we did.”

For White, the seeds for owning her own business were sown at an early age as she needed to fend for herself the best she could after her mom passed away when she was only 2 years old, and her father died when she was 17. Growing up as the third of five children, her family didn’t have enough money to put her through school past sixth grade. That didn’t stop her, as she did alterations at a military base in Thailand for five years, and also in Tennessee before moving to Hawaii in 1986.

She soon landed a job doing alterations with Oak Tree Clothing at Windward Mall. After a while, Oak Tree sold her the industrial sewing machine she was using, allowing her to do repairs at the shop and keep any money she earned from the repairs. But soon Oak Tree refused her the space, so in June 1988, she started Designer Alterations at her own location in Kaneohe.

Over the years, she’s never forgotten her humble start. She helped put her niece through college, and now White also is supporting a poor student in Thailand.

“I asked a family member, who is a teacher, to find a student who works hard but needs help,” she says about the young person’s photo hanging in her shop. “I can’t do a whole lot, but if I can help one, that is good.”

For White, giving to others includes feeding the hungry at Honolulu Church of God, where husband Douglas is pastor. She acknowledges becoming a Christian as an important step to her success, as is the love of her family including son Wayne, and son Christopher, who died in 1974.

Designer Alterations is located in Kaneohe at 45-1048 D Kamehameha Highway in the T. Yogi Building. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Call 247-6483.

A Secret Look At Store Service

Michelle Chun’s company Insight Twenty20 provides mystery shoppers to help business owners determine how they are doing with customer service. Basically, she sends her employees to “shop” at various businesses, and to check on service.

“It’s professional feedback,” says Chun. “The report is written in a much more objective way, and it is a way to positively help the clients because they want to keep track of how the service is provided. The shoppers are the eyes and the ears for them.”

Her clients include hotels, retail stores, restaurants, bars, nightclubs - any service-related business. The client customizes a list of areas it wants covered in the report, which ranges from the time a patron steps foot in the establishment to the time they leave. Examples of what a mystery shopper looks for are how the transaction at the cash register goes, appearance of the property and merchandise stocked. Some clients want to focus on how the employee greeted the shopper, while another is more concerned with the sales pitch. The shopper files the finished report, and it’s sent to the client.

“One of my clients said these reports are like the Holy Grail,” Chun recalls, noting some businesses use the reports to recognize employees for a job well done.

“Some base their employee bonuses on the report,” she adds. “Other companies that have multiple locations have a friendly competition to see who has the highest customer service.”

Chun says she learned a lot about customer service while she lived in Japan.

“The Japanese are the epitome of customer service,” she says. “You could just buy a handkerchief and they make you feel like you bought a diamond ring. They are really appreciative.”

Chun worked as a mystery shopper in 1999 for another company, which was sold. In 2006, the Moanalua High School graduate took those clients and started Insight Twenty20.

One of the challenges she experiences is hiring good people. Chun employs 15 to 20 part-time, independent contractors to do the mystery shopping.

“They are the ones who are turning in the reports,” says Chun. “That is what keeps our clients happy. It is hard to find people who are dependable, as it is not an easy job. So we invest a lot of time and money in the screening process and orientation training process. You have to enjoy writing and be detailed-oriented. It is a writing and observing job, not a shopping job. You don’t necessarily have to enjoy shopping to do this job.”

Her goals are to grow the business and publish what she’s learned about customer service.

For more information, e-mail or log onto insight20.com

A One-stop Tech Shop In Kalihi

CyberLife PC partner Danny Lawson says his company offers free diagnosis for computer problems.

“We are really pushing the tech services,” Lawson explains. “In other computer-repair businesses, because of some corporate policies in place, a repair person is not allowed to do certain repairs. Because we are a small business, we do what it takes to make customers happy.”

For example, some companies don’t deal with AC/DC jacks, but CyberLife PC does. The shop offers a variety of services for both Macs and PCs, including computer rentals, selling used computers and on-site service. Data retrieval, data backup, and installation of hardware and software are among the services offered. For customers who have warranties on their computers, CyberLife PC can handle details so customers don’t have to go to the manufacturer.

“Instead of buying a new computer, let us check it out,” says Lawson. “If it is not worth it, I’ll tell you to just buy a new one and the reason why. Just give us a chance to look at it. If we don’t do the legwork, we do not charge you for it.”

In addition, CyberLife PC sells Mobi phones, and they have plans to add more phone services from other companies.

One of the tips Lawson has for customers is to be as precise as possible in describing what is wrong with their computer.

“It’s like going to the doctor,” he explains. “If you go to the doctor and just say ‘I’m sick, ‘ it’s not as helpful as saying ‘My stomach hurts.’ That makes it easier for the doctor to narrow down the diagnosis.”

Lawson is in charge of bringing the business in and spreading the word about its services. With partner Christopher Allegretti as lead technician, there are several technical experts on the team, including Kevin Komoto, who serves as sales manager and technician, and Jazze Moore, a technician. The company already is in expansion mode, as a second location is in the works.

Lawson, a Waikele resident, has 18 years of experience in the computer industry, including working with CompUSA in Utah before transferring to the Hawaii location in 2002. After CompUSA closed in March 2008, he decided to look into being his own boss.

“If I can start something from the ground up and grow it, that’ll be better,” recalls Lawson about opening the Aina Haina shop in May 2008. In September of last year, it moved to its present 580-square-foot Kalihi location.

Customers have heard about the shop through word of mouth. An 82-year-old woman heard about the store from some friends, and visited the shop on the chance that CyberLife PC could help. Her computer crashed, and others had told her to abandon it, as it was not worth it.

“She told us she went all over the place and everyone told her no,” Lawson recalls. “People told her to send it to the Mainland, and that it was going to cost at least $1,500. In one hour, we retrieved her wedding picture from when she was 22 years old. When she saw it, she just started crying. That must have been one of the happiest days of my life. That’s when I knew that starting this company was the right thing to do.”

CyberLife PC is located at 1721 Liliha St., and is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call 377-6767, log onto cyberlifepc.com.

Sharing The Culture Of Hawaii

Pahu drums, carved fish hooks, books and Niihau shell lei are a few of the handiworks featured at Mea Makamae, a retail store located in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Partners in the endeavor are Maile Meyer, a collaborator of the Ward Warehouse-based retail store Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii; Peter Apo, a veteran cultural consultant who provides the native perspective to the visitor industry; Rob Iopa, an architect whose company WCIT Architecture designed the store and the remodel of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and Ke Kai Kealoha, a project manager.

They created Mea Makamae as a place where people could learn more about Hawaii’s cultural traditions.

“We really are a portal to a Hawaiian experience,” emphasizes Kealoha, operations manager. “It’s like the layers of an onion. We are one attempt at trying to uncover the layers to sharing who and what we are.”

In addition to showcasing handcrafted products made by artisans who carry on the practices of their ancestors, the 259-square-foot store is on a mission to help give people a deeper understanding and a unique feel of Hawaii.

Their plan is threefold: First is to focus on a theme every six weeks. For the royalty theme, the boutique sells symbols of royalty such as the feather kahili and feather lei made by Paulette Kahalepuna, Gladys Brede, Joe Recca and Kuahiwi Lorenzo. To commemorate the theme every few months, they’ll hold a one-day workshop. Second, at 10 a.m. each Monday they will offer a one-hour class on topics such as lei-making, hula and weaving. Third, small groups can take a tour guided by a cultural expert, who will transport them to that time period with stops at Kawaiahao Church, the window from which Queen Lydia Liliuokalani gazed out, the royal mausoleum Maunaala and Queen Emma’s summer palace.

With the help of staff, Mea Makamae also can request special orders from the artisans.

Kealoha says one of the challenges is coordinating the business.

“On the retail side, it is finding a system that works, that makes you accountable, that feels right so that you don’t lose that warm and fuzzy feeling.”

For more information, call 921-7248 or log on to MeaMakamae.com.

Self-improvement With Hypnosis

Mindy Sue Ash says anyone can be hypnotized.

“Hypnosis is 100 percent safe and natural,” she says. “If you are walking and talking, and you can follow directions, you can be hypnotized. This is something most people don’t realize.”

As owner of the Hawaii Hypnosis Center, Ash helps people stop smoking, ease chronic pain or lose weight. Physicians sometimes refer patients to her.

But, she stresses, hypnosis isn’t a magic pill that just solves a problem.

“You have to sincerely be committed and want to achieve the goal,” explains Ash. “I can’t make you do something against your will. You have to want to be hypnotized.”

She cites the power of suggestion as a key to hypnosis. For example, when a child gets hurt and a mom says she’ll kiss it and make it better, that’s a waking hypnotic suggestion.

“The child will believe it and the pain will subside,” she says.

According to Ash, hypnosis is something we do throughout the day in prayer, meditation, daydreams and what she calls highway hypnosis. Highway hypnosis is when people drive home and they don’t remember how they got there.

“Our minds work on two levels,” she explains. “We have the conscious mind and we have the subconscious mind.

The conscious mind is where we think. We have our willpower; we make plans with the conscious mind. That’s the mind we’d love to believe is in control, but the fact is it is not. The subconscious controls our habits and our behaviors. With hypnosis, we can directly communicate with the subconscious mind and release those bad habits and create new habits.”

Ash became interested in hypnosis 13 years ago when she formed some of her own new habits as she followed motivational speaker Anthony Robbins’ teachings to harness the power of the subconscious mind to attain goals. She used his principles and found she wanted to help others reach their potential. A former advertising executive, Ash has been hypnotizing people for more than two years. She trained at the Hypnotherapy Academy of America in Santa Fe, N.M., and is certified by the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners as a clinical hypnotherapist. She also is certified as a smoking cessation specialist.

One of the challenges of her business is educating people on what hypnosis is.

“It’s undoing the (false information in) TV shows, the stage shows and the movies,” she says. “People have a distorted sense of what’s real and what’s not real.”

To help people learn about hypnosis, Ash does public speaking and has launched her website HawaiiHypnosisCenter.com.

Ash meets with prospective clients to review what hypnosis is and discuss the client’s goals. She then guides them into a hypnotic state, or trance, which only takes a few seconds.

The sessions last 25 to 40 minutes. Being hypnotized, she explains, feels like when you are just about to go to sleep but aren’t quite asleep yet. When the client is in a trance, she gives them suggestions to make the requested change.

“It’s like I’m reading a bedtime story,” she describes.

Ash provides a personalized CD to some clients so they can perform self-hypnosis and listen to the suggestions on their own time.

“I want to help you be the best you can be,” she says, “and not let anything in your brain that is negative stand in your way.”

For more information, call 221-7353 or log onto http://www.HawaiiHypnosisCenter.com.

Making A Name At Craft Fairs

Carol Sakai totes her creations to craft fairs all around town. With Carol Y. Sakai Designs, she has several lines, including Japanese faces on clocks, jewelry, wall hangings and picture frames.

“I also have petroglyphs on wall hangings, jewelry and clocks,” she says. “Then there’s what I call my happy line - my whimsical line of hula girls, bears, bunnies and lucky frogs on pins, magnets, business-card holders and memos. They are so cute.”

The Kaneohe-based innovator originally started making Christmas ornaments with bread dough as a hobby. The flour, salt and water mixture was baked, painted and sealed.

“With Hawaii’s moisture, the ornaments would burst,” explains Sakai, who retired after 31 years as a state employee. “So I moved onto polymer clay. People were so interested that I moved on to a craft fair, sharing a booth with a friend.”

The Farrington High graduate says she hopes to add silver clay to her inventory.

With 38 years of craft fairs under her belt, she does roughly 40 events a year with the help of some of her friends. To help her clients, both locals and vis-

itors, she decided to use her name for her company.

“Carol Y. Sakai Designs is easier to remember than trying to remember a different company name,” she explains.

Sakai appreciates the support of her three grown children, Shari, Scott and Shaun, and four grandchildren.

With scheduling fairs, manning booths and making products, she says one of her challenges is juggling her time.

“I enjoy making the crafts,” she notes. “And I like that customers show their appreciation. It’s nice strokes.”

Her next craft fair, the monthly Handcrafters and Artisans Alliance, is Feb. 14 and 15 at Kapiolani Park, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..

For more information, call 235-8601.

Finding The Perfect Sitter Online

Kathryn Custer posted her baby-sitting availability on Craig’s List, resulting in nine families vying for her services within two days. That’s when she realized there was a great need for baby sitters in Hawaii and launched an online service that helps parents and baby sitters find each other: keikisitters.com.

She remembered how her own mom had the hardest time finding baby sitters.

“She would go to boutiques and look at the employees and ask if they liked children,” the entrepreneur recalls.

Here’s how the online service works. Parents pay for a membership and then post the job, pay, location, skills and certifications they are looking for. That listing goes to all of the baby sitters registered. The sitters look at the jobs, view the parents’ profile and contact them directly. Parents can view a sitter’s photo, profile, resume, references, availability calendar, background-check results and education. Once a sitter is chosen, the parents can delete their posting.

In order to be a qualified, baby sitter, applicants must be 18 years old and pass the background check, which costs $10.

“We partnered with Lexis Nexis, the nation’s leading background-check company,” adds Custer. “Every sitter must pass the national criminal search that checks all states for felonies and misdemeanors. The search is so thorough, we can even see minor traffic violations. We strongly recommend parents interview sitters and contact their references to ensure a good match.”

There are more than 600 people online who baby-sit, pet-sit and house-sit as well as elder companions and tutors.

Before Custer moved to Hawaii in 2007, she had started a similar service in California, where she personally interviewed the sitters and the families, and matched them up over the phone.

“To accommodate more families, I thought it would be best to do it online,” she says. “There are unlimited amounts of families that can find sitters without my schedule stopping them.”

One of the challenges of the business, she admits, is that she must face her fear of public speaking to promote the business.

“I have to put myself out there,” she says. “I tell myself I can do this. It takes a lot of courage.”

With the help of a staff of eight, including three website designers, she launched the site in March of last year. She also appreciates support from her family and friends.

Keiki Sitters also offers group childcare that includes fun toys, face painting and lots of baby sitters for events such as seminars and parties. She says so far, the most keiki they’ve watched were 150 children in four rooms during a military deployment brief.

Plans for the future include upgrading the website and franchising keikisitters.com to three locations: Australia, San Diego and San Luis Obispo, Calif.

For more information, log on to http://KeikiSitters.com.

Nothing Says Love Like A Lei

Holly Reiplinger zips around her Po’ohala Lei and Flowers shop greeting customers, stringing lei, answering the phone and sharing aloha.

“Lei are always a nice occasion,” says Reiplinger. “It is just love. The quality of our lei is outstanding. We take great pride in what we do.”

The Kamehameha Schools Song Contest kicks off the shop’s busy season in March, which continues through July. In addition to proms, a major job at the store is mailing lei to the Mainland for graduation. There’s also May Day, Mother’s Day and local college graduations to keep the shop active. December also is a busy time for the shop.

Some of the most popular lei are tuberose combinations, such as tuberose with carnation or orchid.

“Gingers are always popular, whether it’s single gingers or feathered gingers,” she says. “Double ginger is kind of taking the place of the old-time double carnation. That’s like our queen lei, our majestic lei. We usually carry it in the shop, but it’s best to special order it.”

Other popular lei include hala, and the seasonal pakalana and puakenikeni. “Pikake is always popular no matter what time of year,” adds the Punahou graduate.

The shop’s name, po’ohala, means to carry on the virtues and skills of the family, which is what Reiplinger is doing in more ways than one. Her goal is to use only locally grown flowers. “We would like to support our local growers as much as possible because we are all struggling. I don’t want to see our own flowers disappear. We have enough things disappearing. As it is, ilima is hard to get because the people who do it now are older and it is too much work. Flowers are such a big part of Hawaii.”

She hopes the next generation will step up so there will be more harder-to-find blossoms available.

Reiplinger is setting a good example by carrying on the tradition herself as the shop, then called Sweetheart’s Lei Shop, was owned previously by her father- and mother-in-law, Henry and Elizabeth “Sweetheart” Lau, from 1982 to 2005. Two weeks after Sweetheart’s Lei Shop closed, Reiplinger, her brother- and sister-in-law reopened it as Po’ohala Lei and Flowers.

When her brother-in-law passed away, Reiplinger carried on the legacy as sole owner with the love and aloha of a multitude friends and family. Reiplinger’s children, Nate, Deacon and Moani, continue to donate their time to lend a hand, along with many in their ohana.

“They are willing to help,” she says. “I don’t even call them. They just show up in shifts and they come when they can. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Reiplinger, a Waialae resident, has been surrounded by the Hawaiian culture her entire life as she grew up in the entertainment business. Her brother was famous local comedian Rap Reiplinger. Her grandmother started the Royal Hawaiian Girls Glee Club, and her mom was a dancer in the Kodak Hula Show. Reiplinger’s career path includes dancing hula and office work. She learned to string lei and different aspects of the business by helping out at Sweetheart’s Lei Shop.

“You don’t really learn until it’s all your own,” she admits.

What began as an unusual request is now more common - lei for dogs when the owners get married. “Dogs are a part of the family,” explains Reiplinger. “We’ve never had any cat leis, but we’ve done horses for parades.”

Another special request she fulfills is sending lei and flowers to transplanted Islanders who may be in hospice. People want to send fragrant lei to their friends to make their rooms smell like Hawaii. “You’re helping a little bit to give someone those nice memories, and it may be their last.”

Po’ohala Lei and Flowers keeps family and cultural traditions alive. “The people that we meet here, it’s our version of the Cheers bar,” says Reiplinger. “It’s a combination of the culture we are trying to share, and the customer service we give that people just come back, and they share a part of our big family. Then they become a part of our ohana.”

Po’ohala Lei & Flowers is located at 69 N. Beretania St. The hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call 537-3011.

Getting Islanders Organized

Kelly Galvin, whose career path has included working in travel, retail and in advertising, says it’s natural for her to be organized. So these days she makes her living helping others with her company Organized In Paradise.

“It is a skill to be learned,” Galvin says. “The more you practice it, the better you get at it. And that’s what stops people; sometimes they give up.”

Being indecisive and postponing actions is one cause of disorganization. Galvin uses incoming mail as an example. When mail comes in, open it. If it is something you don’t need, toss it out. The rest can be sorted according to what it is. Are they bills that need to be paid? Are there invitations that need responses?

“I don’t necessarily believe that paper needs to be handled only once,” she explains. “I believe you do need to make a decision on it.”

She goes to the client’s site where they discuss the project and decide whether it will be a good fit for both of them. Together they create a hands-on plan, which may be as short as two sessions or up to 50 or more.

One of the challenging things she finds is getting clients to stick to the plan. The ultimate goal is for the client to be able to sustain the organization on their own.

Galvin’s three test questions for attaining success in organization are: Is it functioning and efficient? Is it easy? Does it look good?

One of her specialties is to help people in the moving process. She sets up executive offices so that the staff has a working office running in a jiffy to take care of business, and she assists families moving into a new home. She focuses her efforts on the home and home-based businesses.

The Hawaii Kai resident, who moved to Hawaii from California in July 2001, notes that Hawaii houses don’t have basements or attics, so storage is different, especially with the humidity factor.

She says the simplest thing can be the solution. For example, a client can use a list posted in a prominent place so that it is easy to see.

“A little thing can make all the difference,” Galvin adds.

For more information, call 221-9153 or log onto http://www.organizedinparadise.com.

Creating A Word Game In Pidgin

Mark Bell, who prides himself in being able to turn his pidgin on and off like a light switch, created a game called Da Scramble. It’s a crossword game in pidgin similar to Scrabble except there’s no board and no points to add up. The person to get rid of all their tiles first is the winner. Players spell pidgin words in a crossword manner with all their tiles facing up.

“If you can be persuasive enough to convince someone a word is pidgin, that can count too,” explained the game’s inventor. “I’ve watched folks play it, and they are having a blast.”

The game is available at Tinker Toys at Kahala Mall, Island Treasures in Koko Marina and Island Treasures in Kailua, as well as other venues.

Bell says speaking pidgin isn’t just the words.

“There’s a music about it,” says Bell in perfect English. “You don’t really speak pidgin unless you know the pattern of how to do it.”

Bell, who grew up in Waianae through sixth grade,

wanted to come up with a fun, low-tech activity for families to do together so they could interact and have fun. Through that, he came up with the idea of a pidgin version of Scrabble.

“I called up the manufactures of Scrabble and asked them if they would be interested in creating Scrabble for regional areas,” he says. “They said no, and said I could go ahead and do it if I wanted to, as long as I don’t use their name and the words from their instructions.”

One of Bell’s first entrepreneurial ventures was when he was 21 years old. The Maryknoll High School graduate created his own brand of Polynesian Kasava Chips, where he grew the kasava and cooked, packaged, sold and delivered the chips. His background includes working in sales and marketing as well as creating his own company, Postcard CD. A self-described idea man, Bell created a postcard with a CD attached to it for companies, featuring tourist spots such as the Polynesian Cultural Center and Hanauma Bay.

With the support of his wife Minako and their 16-year-old son Matthew, the Hawaii Kai family now has a new game that generations can enjoy together. Bell already is working on a customized version of the game for the surf community. He also can personalize Da Scramble for businesses that would like their own version for promotional purposes.

For more information, call 348-3933, or log onto www.dascramble.com.

Saving The World One Tux At A Time

Save the world, have a ball and rent a tuxedo. That’s the philosophy of Karen Mukai and her team at Tuxedos by Hale Niu at their new store on Waialae Avenue.

“We want this to be a lifestyle business,” explains Mukai. “We want people to see us as more than just once in a lifetime.”

The “save the world” part comes from Tuxedos by Hale Niu’s policy of making a donation to charity when customers rent their formal wear for that organization’s fundraising event. That policy stems from Mukai and partners John Henry Felix’s and Julie Lumives’belief in phil-anthropic giving.

“He’s giving back in style,” Mukai says of Felix.

And with the presidential inauguration of Honolulu native Barack Obama coming Jan. 20, Tuxedos by Hale Niu is offering a special to folks planning to dress to the nines for the historic occasion.

Also as part of its community relations, proceeds from the company’s second-hand prom dress sale go to Abilities Unlimited, which trains and finds employment for people with developmental disabilities.

In addition to owning this shop, Mukai also works for Abilities Unlimited, and she is the vice president of Best Bridal Hawaii, a wedding salon in Waikiki.

Mukai’s family legacy starts with her paternal uncle Ed Kato, who opened the shop on Kapahulu Avenue 50 years ago.

“We were the first tuxedo rental store in the islands,” explains Mukai.

Kato’s son, Bert, an attorney, managed the store.

“We have the inventory on the premises,” she notes. “So the tuxedo you try on is the one that gets altered to fit you.”

Mukai recently acquired inventory of Tuxedo Junction, which boasts some of the newer colors. Lumives, who worked with Tuxedo Junction for 27 years, is now general manager of Tuxedos by Hale Niu.

“As a University of Hawaii fashion major,” Lumives says, “I learned that the Kato family was the forerunner with Sato Clothier, a men’s clothing shop in downtown Honolulu, in getting Hawaii men to dress up.”

The Kapahulu shop closed in December 2007 and reopened in July on Waialae Avenue with more showroom space.

Mukai says getting the word out about its new location is one of the challenges of running a business.

“People are still trying to find us at our Kapahulu location,” says Mukai, a Hawaii Kai resident. “The kind people at our former location tell customers where our new location is.”

The team at the emporium expresses deep gratitude for the support of all its customers, workers, friends and family that helps make the future possible.

“We are working to expand to the West side in 2009, perhaps in the Aiea area,” Mukai reveals.

Tuxedos by Hale Niu is located at 4210 Waialae Ave. For more information, call 734-2125.

Cleaning Up In The Soap Business

The husband-and-wife team of Ashley and Holly Harding are on top of their game with their company Bubble Shack Hawaiian Soap Company.

“It’s been a little crazy the last couple years,” Holly admits. “We feel like we are on a treadmill and we can’t stop the button. I’m not complaining.”

With a line of soaps, body washes, loofah soaps, lotions and candles, the Mililani residents are proud their products are in stores across Hawaii, as well as the Mainland, Japan, Canada and Sweden.

Their 3,000-square-foot Pearl City warehouse is the heart of the operation.

Among the 22 scents they offer in sets are Hawaiian Super Lavender Tropical Trio and Juicy Pineapple Tropical Trio. Sets include body wash, lotion and soap. There also is a line of loofah soaps that come in 13 different scents, such as Coconut Cream, Coconut Lime Verbena, Gardenias by the Sea Shack and Hawaiian Waters Ocean Bliss.

Their presence on Oahu includes some Star Markets, Walgreens Kaneohe, Down to Earth, Dole Plantation, Surf and Sea, Coco Cove and more. They also will be available at Target when it opens in March 2009. A complete list of stores that offer the soaps is on their website, http://www.bubbleshack-hawaii.com.

One of the challenges the company faces is keeping up with the demand.

“We are able to get the orders, but people are paying slow in this economy,” explains Holly. “You have to make decisions and prioritize things you wish you didn’t have to. We will buy supplies to keep the orders up versus getting other things.”

The Hardings, both professional musicians who previously owned a music entertainment agency, moved from Boston to Hawaii in 2003. It was his music job that brought the couple to the Islands. He plays saxophone with several groups, and she plays clarinet on a fill-in basis with the Honolulu Symphony. Needing to supplement their income, the couple decided to fill a niche that was missing at the swap meet at the time. Their soaps were made within a week.

“Starting up at the swap meet was such a great thing,” Holly says. “It gave us so much exposure. People would come to the swap meet on their vacation. They had stores on the Mainland, and they ordered. It gave us a lot of freedom to expand and go into wholesale. The swap meet is an awesome place to start a business. It gives anyone the chance to start without a lot of overhead costs.”

She credits discipline in music for their strength in business.

“We were in the mindset that we were going to be workaholics,” she admits. “As a child, I practiced music six to eight hours a day. So I went from juggling schoolwork and music to juggling a side business and music. That’s how we’ve always been. We love to work, and we love to have fun.”

For more information, log onto bubbleshackhawaii.com.

No Sweat For Nursing Moms

Growing up helping out in her family’s retail store selling towels to tourists, Carie Anderson learned many lessons about business. With an entrepreneurial spirit of her own, Anderson and her business partners invented the Snuzi.

“I tried to look for a product like the one we came up with, but there wasn’t any,” explains Anderson, who named the company I Nurse in Style.

The Snuzi goes on a person’s arm when feeding a baby so it soaks up the perspiration between the arm and the baby’s head.

“My first try was to take my husband’s sock, cut off the toes, and slip it on my arm,” Anderson says.

Ten prototypes later, she and business partners Kimberly Lee and Kristy Kono came up with the present design.

The Snuzi comes in two sizes: Small is 10.5 to 12.5 inches in diameter, and large is 13 to 16 inches in diameter. They come in various fabric prints, and there are sets with matching burp cloths. In addition to the Snuzi, they offer a keiki caddy strap that prevents an infant from slipping through the holes of the baby stroller.

The Snuzi is making its way around town at craft fairs and is is available at Little People in Hawaii at Windward Mall. The company website has a complete list of the locations.

These three moms cut and sew the Snuzis themselves when they’re not busy taking care of their families and working. They give thanks to all of their friends and family who have supported them through the process. Lee and Kono, whose husbands, Keola and Mark, respectively, are police officers, are dispatchers with the Honolulu Police Department. Each couple has two children - the Lees have 4-year-old Hunter and 2-year-old Hudson, and the Konos have 3-year-old Kylan and 2-month-old Kaylee, who uses the Snuzi. Anderson works part time as a medical lab technologist for organ transplants, and her husband, Erik, is a nurse. Their children are 4-year-old Ian and 3-year-old Dane.

“We have a 30-page operating agreement that tells what everyone’s duties are,” says Anderson. “It tells us what to do if any situations come up, such as someone wants out. It’s a business document. The agreement is great to have as it gives us peace of mind.”

Future goals for the company include getting their product sold at more stores locally and nationally.

Upcoming craft fairs where you can find the Snuzi are Dec. 6 at the Mililani Town Association at 95-303 Kaloapau St. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dec. 7 at Castle High School at 45-386 Kaneohe Bay Drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Dec. 17 at Waterfront Plaza at Restaurant Row at 500 Ala Moana Blvd. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, call 780-1512 or log onto inurseinstyle.com.

A Traveler’s Taste For The Exotic

Siam Imports has Thai-style futons, Tibetan singing bowls, Hindu statues and many other exotic things that appeal to owner Kevin Costello’s broad clientèle.

“We’ve got belly-dancing scarves, bed covers, wood carving panels, incense, jewelry and clothing,” Costello elaborates. “We’ve got young students to older people. There’s people with not so much money, and people with a lot of money. I try to keep it like that, and I want to keep as many people as possible happy.”

The Tibetan singing bowl is sometimes used for meditation. The bowl is placed in the palm of the hand, and a small mallet is used in a circular motion on the bowl, which makes a singing sound. Other imports include Buddha images, drums, cushions and tapestries. The 400-square-foot shop carries items from more than 50 small businesses in Thailand mostly, and also from India, Nepal and Burma. He says he’s been dealing with these businesses for many years, and he’s presently dealing with the next generation, so he interacts with the sons and daughters of the companies.

“Word of mouth is how people find out about the store,” says Costello, as he credits his good visibility with the amount of foot traffic.

Utilizing the sidewalk, he displays a sales rack, a mannequin with a dress and some woven basket handbags.

Siam Imports has been at the King Street location for 12 years. He had a second shop on Beretania for seven years until he closed it last year.

Originally from New York, Costello graduated from Chaminade University in 1984.

One of the challenges of doing business, he says, is rising costs.

“Over the last couple of years the dollar lost some value toward the Thai bhat,” notes Costello. “That, coupled with shipping costs, and the cost of goods over there has gone up, so it’s almost a triple whammy effect.

“The economy in Asia is slowing down as they can’t afford to keep inventory on hand. I usually have stuff made for me, and I like to pick up stuff that’s already on hand. So the stuff that’s on hand is less to choose from.”

Costello says he appreciates the support of his wife, Saengdao, who helps out a lot in the store, and sometimes works the cash register.

With four trips a year to stock up the shop, their 10-year-old daughter Kelly, who attends Mid-Pac, has some input on the boutique’s jewelry selection during the summers.

With the help of some part-timers, the shop is open seven days a week. Costello also wholesales some of his wares. He still maintains a 600-square-foot showroom where he has more statues and woodcarvings.

“We bring in unique stuff, make people happy and they tell their friends.”

Siam Imports, located at 2567 S. King St., is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. For more information, call 951-7426.

Teipel Sold On The Auction Business

In the auction business, a good turnout of bidders can result in the sellers getting true market value for their assets even if they are old, used or collectibles. Joe Teipel, CEO of Auction Action, specializes in auctions.

He assesses whether an auction would be appropriate. If it is, he and his crew prepare the auction. They organize, tag, catalogue and advertise the auction. “The bidders are often looking for a bargain,” reveals Teipel.

He conducts the auction, collects money, helps buyers get their items and gives proceeds of the sale to the client.

There are many reasons a business may want to have an auction.

“Sometimes the business owner would prefer to travel the world and follow other interests instead of operating the business,” Teipel explains. Perhaps the company is doing a renovation and they want to get cash for all of the furniture from the door-knobs to the cabinets and the windows. For real estate, he can do pre-foreclosure auctions and foreclosure auctions.

“This is a one-shot sale, winner take all, no retake kind of event,” adds Teipel. “It’s not like a retail store where you keep trying tomorrow or the next day. If you don’t hit the bull’s-eye, hopefully you hit the target.”

There are also the charity benefit auctions for schools, churches, and nonprofit organizations. “It’s a reward to see people’s generosity,” notes Teipel. “I help them learn about the art and science to get the maximum return.”

Teipel, who attended Iolani and Mid-Pacific Institute, started Surf News Network in 1976, which provided surf reports for local media until he sold it in 2000 to Gary Kewley, who authors the MidWeek column Surf News.

Teipel’s deep voice emcees many events, including endurance races such as the Honolulu Marathon, Century Ride, Tinman and Rough Water Swim.

His auction career began in the 1980s when he was booked to do fashion auctions around town. The Western College of Auctioneering graduate especially acknowledges the support of his wife, Miho, who works in the company in many capacities, including auction administrator.

In one of his latest ventures, he was a co-founder of the Ocean Network channel 349 and a host of the television show Ocean Rush, which is an action-packed, high-adrenaline, extreme sports show.

“In the landscape of business, there is a thing called change.” explains Teipel. “You can’t stop it, and I don’t cause it. My goal is to create happiness and success for both buyer and seller.”

For more information, call 538-1961 or log onto joeteipel.com.

Taking Care Of Everything Online

A Star Wars Darth Vader in fierce black samurai regalia is standing in LavaNet owner Pali Kaaihue’s office. The action figure represents technology of the future that is steeped in ancient traditions, and that’s something that LavaNet does in many ways.

“I created the tagline ‘Everything online,’” explains Kaaihue. “We do anything and everything with being online: web design, streaming audio and video.”

The company offers network design, where they can hook up two computers in a private home or 2,000 computers at a business. There’s security, disaster recovery and virtual IT (information technology) services. Another popular service is colocation, where customers are connected to LavaNet’s Internet and get the security monitoring and maintenance of LavaNet.

Thousands of people have viewed its streaming video for the Slack Key Festivals and the Pakele Live series of Hawaiian Music concerts. LavaNet’s ability to create the mauitoday.tv site snowballed into the company creating its own television series called Doko Ga TV. Kaaihue, a 1989 Maryknoll grad, thought it would be a fantastic idea to have an updated version of the Japanese magazine TV show he grew up watching called Shoko Ga Shiritai. The hosts of the show, Kaaiahue and Sachiko Uchida, do interviews featuring the celebrities, food, culture and fun things for viewers in Hawaii and in Japan. The show is on OC16 at 7 p.m. Mondays, and will be aired on other outlets as well.

Before Kaaihue owned LavaNet he could play a few computer games, but that’s about it. As a musician - he’s the leader of the Hawaiiian music group PALI - he mastered drums, bass, piano and guitar. He once owned a Hawaiian music kiosk at Aloha Tower, and traveled Japan as a musician. When he returned from Japan, he heard from his voice coach about a LavaNet customer-service job opening. LavaNet started in 1994, and Kaaihue joined it in 1996.

“I got yelled at on the first day on the job because I didn’t know you were supposed to shut down Windows 3.1,” he recalls. “I just pressed the button. Over time, I’ve learned to build a server and a computer.”

In 2005, the company was approached by a large Internet provider that wanted to purchase it and the deal didn’t go through.

That’s when Kaaihue sold his Hawaii Kai home and took out a loan to buy the business in 2006.

“One of the things we wanted to do is to offer things the national companies are offering,” explains Kaaihue. “We upgraded the e-mail system and various systems within. We are on the same playing field as everyone else.”

He mentions one challenge is not being able to do everything the customers want.

“We are more than happy to give a referral if it’s something we can’t do,” he says. “We live on a small island, and it is best to find ways to work with people.”

Projects include making an Office of Hawaiian Affairs Internet television channel, creating the home page for Yahoo of Japan and landing an account with SoftBank, a top communication company in Japan. One of the firm’s goals for the future is to provide a training academy for Native Hawaiians and Polynesians so they can get real-world experience and someday intern with the company.

And although it doesn’t sound like something Darth Vader would go for, Kaaihue looks forward to LavaNet providing video centers for the upcoming 2010 Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference in Honolulu.

LavaNet offices are located at 733 Bishop St., Suite 1170. For more information, call 545-5282, or log onto www.lava.net.

Audio Visual Company Has It Wired

Audio Visual Company president Thomas Lee says any year with an eight in it is a good luck year for him.

Back in 1978 he bought Hoffman’s TV, a consumer store, which he sold, and then bought Audio Visual Company in August 1988. The year 2008 marks 30 years for Lee as an entrepreneur, and 20 years as owner of the Audio Visual Company.

The sound system at Blaisdell Concert Hall, digital signs at Royal Hawaiian Center and video screens at the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center are just a handful of the types of projects contracted by the firm.

Lee says the business does only commercial jobs, which range from simple to complex. The simplest is what the industry calls the “hang and bang,” which is putting up a projector and a screen. More complicated jobs include designing a control center, where cameras and computers are linked together.

“We integrate a multiple amount of electronic equipment so they can all communicate to each other,” Lee notes. “The simplest way to explain it is, if you bought a stereo system for your home, you have a TV, stereo, VCR, DVD player and multiple remotes.

You can wire it up many different ways, and this can be designed to be wired up the way you like it. In the commercial world, we go so far as putting in 10 times more equipment.

You can connect to people around the world. You press certain buttons, flat panels turn on, the sound system turns on, you connect to Japan or Oregon or wherever. You can see four, six or eight sites at the same time. You can see each other as a checkerboard square or you can see the person who is talking. This is very complicated because it goes through a bridge, which costs $10,000 to $100,000.”

The firm was named Technology Company of the Year at the Technology Industry Awards held at the Hawaii Prince Hotel in October. With 45 employees who work in research, sales, engineering and as technicians, the business has interconnected hospitals, hotels, schools, business board rooms and shopping centers, as well as command centers for the military and the police.

Keeping current with technology is something this entrepreneur promotes.

“The biggest challenge is technology grows so fast and changes so fast,” explains Lee. “You learn one thing today, there’s two more things to learn tomorrow. When you finally think you have the right amount of employees, and you train them, there’s more for them to learn.”

Lee, who attended St. Joseph School and Saint Louis High School, says one of the biggest jobs recently is 10 courtrooms in Hilo, where everything is being recorded at the same time.

“The judge, the witness, the defense and the prosecutor all have cameras on them,” says Lee. “A voice-activated switcher focuses the camera on the voice that is recorded on a hard drive server.”

Another feature of the courtroom job is an interactive panel system that records where a drawing, done by a witness, shows up on all the monitors for the judge and the jurors. The system has a recall feature so if the judge wants to go back to what the witness said, it can play back electronically.

Lee says he especially appreciates the support of his family, friends and all his employees. His parents, Lorraine and Alfred, helped him buy his first business 30 years ago. He thanks his wife, Christine, and their children Kaleo and Jennifer, for their encouragement. Lee’s brother Patrick serves as the vice president of sales. Vice president Rena Gormley, who has been with the firm more than 20 years, handles operations.

Future goals for the business include rebuilding so the showroom and sales office are in the same place.

Audio Visual Company is located at 98-820 Moanalua Road. The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 485-3200, or log onto theavco.com

The Goshi Family Has It Covered

Color swatches, more than 30 years of expertise in the industry and service with a smile are what the family business Sav-Mor Upholstery brings to the table. The father-and-son team of Alvin and Brodi Goshi make housecalls for furniture reupholstery in homes and businesses. They specialize in antique furniture and can fix sofas, love seats and dining room chairs.

“The best customers are from referrals,” explains Alvin Goshi, who established the company in 1975. “When we go to their house, most times it’s definitely a sale.”

Dad Goshi says one of the keys to his success in sales is to be patient.

“When there are more people involved in the process, it can be more complicated,” he notes.

His son agrees. “Sometimes, if two parents finally decide on which swatches they like, that’s great. Then, if all of a sudden another person like a daughter or son comes in, the whole order could change.”

Cafe Sistina is a customer, and past clientele include the late Don Ho, the late Kam Fong, who played Chin Ho Kelly on Hawaii Five-O , and the late Doug Woo, a KGMB television reporter.

Alvin Goshi, a Roosevelt High School grad, did several things before starting the business. His varied career included the Army National Guard, selling Bison vacuum cleaners on Maui and working with a roofing company. He then got a job giving sales estimates with a company called Liberty Upholstery and, when Liberty went bankrupt, two of the workers approached Goshi to start a company so they could continue to work. Goshi learned from his workers how to cut the fabric and learned how to sew, then he started upholstering seats for chairs.

The family business included all members helping out with the company at some point. Goshi’s wife, Cindy, worked in sales in the 1980s and 1990s. Growing up, all their children - Brodi, Kipp, Chris, Morgan and Kimm - at one time or another may have carried some cushions to a job site. The shop was based in a Dillingham warehouse for about 12 years, and currently there is a workshop at the back of their Pauoa Valley home. These days the workers do the jobs from their own homes or shops.

In 2002, Brodi, a former cab driver, started driving his father to sales calls. Dad gives the estimates still, and these days Brodi has taken on more duties as a manager. He picks up the furniture, buys the fabric, secures supplies, delivers the job to the workers, and delivers the final product to the customer.

“I’m trying to promote the business, increase our exposure and expand the business,” Brodi says, noting that he attends lunch meetings every Friday with a Honolulu Business Network group.

Upholstery makes up the bulk of the business, but they also offer wood refinishing, and can revitalize end tables or dining room chairs by sanding, staining and applying a glossy or satin lacquer, as well as minor furniture repair. They also create and install drapes for windows.

For more information, call 533-6708 or e-mail .

Staying In Tune At Coconut Grove

Longtime Kailua landmark Coconut Grove Music has plans to expand.

“We’re always trying to do better,” says Mark Scrufari, a bass player and co-owner of the 20-year-old shop. “We want to expand conservatively and grow the business. We are the only music store on the Windward side.”

Coconut Grove buys, sells and trades new and used guitars, amps, ukuleles and other musical instruments. It also carries guitar cases, picks, drumsticks, microphones, reeds, stomp boxes, songbooks and other musical accessories. The line of guitars includes Fender, Squire, Parker, Morgan Monroe, Eastwood, Gibson and more. Lessons for beginner- to advanced-level students also are available.

It’s a one-stop shop for musicians.

“We make sure we have stuff in stock,” Scrufari assures. “It seems like there are so many musicians in Hawaii. Even the people who do it for fun are just really good musicians. And because there are a lot of kids playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games, they think it’s pretty cool, and they want to learn something. Hopefully, they have the determination to stick with it so they can learn enough so they can start enjoy playing it.”

Scrufari says although he plays it cool, he finds it exciting when one of the stars from the ABC show LOST drops by to browse.

Scrufari recalls Coconut Grove Music started 20 years ago when the owner of Hungry Ear Records, Luke Yamashiro, started selling instruments. Coconut Grove is a partnership with Yamashiro, attorney Kimo Leong and construction company manager Mark Tamashiro. When Yamashiro passed away in April 2005, he left his share of the shop to his sister Roxanne, and her husband, Scrufari, who runs the dayto-day operations. Scrufari grew up in New Jersey, worked as an art director with a division of McGraw Hill in New York, and played bass guitar in some bands in Manhattan.

These days, one of the challenges of running the music boutique is competing with the Internet.

“We try to carry stuff that the big Internet companies don’t carry,” says Scrufari. “When you are buying a guitar over the Internet, you have to worry about it being shipped, and it’s usually not set up for you. We take care of our customers, and that’s the biggest thing we can offer. So if we sell a guitar, we automatically set it up for them.”

Musicians love to play, so Coconut Grove provides amplifiers and drums as a sponsor of a blues-rock open-jam session from 6 to 10 p.m. on the last Sunday of each month at Tiare’s in Kailua. Coconut Grove customers and other musicians jam.

“It’s always nice when you can help people out, whether it is a beginner on guitar or someone who needs a different sound out of their setup,” Scrufari explains. “We get everybody from the first-time guitar player to people who are playing every night.”

Coconut Grove Music is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. The store is located at 418 Kuulei Road. For more information, call 262-9977 or log onto coconutgrovemusic.com.

The Pono Way Of Doing Business

The family entrepreneurial spirit carries on in the brother-and-sister team of Kalono and Maile Ferreira with their Pono Wear clothing line.

Pono Wear takes the history and stories of Hawaii the siblings grew up listening to and creates a design about it. The first item in their clothing line is T-shirts that reflect the spirit of being pono (doing the right thing).

The Queen Liliuokalani is the most popular T-shirt. The black tee showcases the queen’s letter of abdication on the front with Liliuokalani’s photo and a picture of Iolani Palace.

“She showed such a true spirit of pono,“ says Maile Ferreira. “To give up her land, not because she believed that what they were doing was right or that she didn’t want to fight - she didn’t want her people hurt. It was a self-sacrifice: ‘Imprison me, do whatever you want, don’t hurt my people.’Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, we don’t want to get into the political stuff. It raises the awareness. Its black color reflects the time of sadness and of sorrow.”

There are several designs available, and another popular T-shirt design is the crest, which features the American flag, the Hawaiian flag, a maile lei, a crown to represent Hawaiian royalty, a splintered paddle to represent Kamehameha, and a kalo leaf, which Ferreira says represents the foundation of the Hawaiian people.

Pono Wear also sells decals, and their creations are available at Na Mea Hawaii at Ward Warehouse. The company also showcases its merchandise at various shows around the Islands such as the MMA expo in June, the Prince Lot Hula Festival and the regatta scene. Their next show is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Season’s Best Craft Fair at Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall.

Dreams for the company’s future include a swimwear line, keiki clothes, backpacks, slippers and starting a scholarship fund for children.

The siblings grew up in their family air conditioning business, TSM Enterprises, started by their grandfather Merlyn, father Merl and their uncle BJ. Their mom, Carrylnn, also is in the family business. One of the most important lessons Ferreira learned from her family business is not to take work home.

“You have to separate work and family time or it’ll take over your life,” she says. “You’ll burn out. The work will still be there tomorrow. Take time to relax with your family.”

The Ferreiras both graduated from Kailua High School, although Kalono had some schooling at Kamehameha, and Maile also attended St. Francis High School. He comes up with the design ideas; she takes care of the details in event coordination and business administration. His background, besides working in the family business, includes working in sales and marketing. Hers includes accounting, oncology outreach and web design.

The siblings thank their friends and family for the support in the business, especially during these economically challenging times. “You can’t dwell on it,” says Maile. “The question is what are you going to do to make it better? It’s about us as a whole. If we do our little bit to help, we will be fine.”

For more information, call 848-0951 or log onto PonoWear.com.

A Helping Hand For Young Fighters

“My dream for years has been to be Jerry Maguire,” says Michael C. Hall, referring to the 1996 hit movie starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renee Zellwegger.

That’s the film in which Gooding’s character, a pro athlete, uttered the famous line, “Show me the money!” to Tom Cruise, a sports agent.

Hall’s company, Fight Agents, is a sports management agency that represents several mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters to be sure they don’t sign bad contracts, and to help find sponsors for the athletes.

One of his fighters, Richard Barnard, is hoping to make the U.S. Olympic boxing team for 2012.

“It’s not an easy battle,” explains Hall, a Honolulu resident. “If you were to give a tenth of what you give to a golfer to an MMA guy it would be so much better for your business just because of the amount of visibility you get in that 18-to-34 year-old market.”

Hall says the kids (athletes) often struggle financially, and they have to fight to be successful in life. He notes that although the have to fight, they still have big hearts.

Hall fell in love with the MMA scene when he saw some fighters in a gym training and doing good - instead of getting into trouble. Hall hopes to help them get sponsorships to cover basic needs so they can focus, as every athlete has a limited shelf life.

“I had that Jerry Maguire moment,” he says about one of the fighters.

“I didn’t know he could see me. I was in the crowd watching the fight. He won the fight, knocked the guy out. He was looking around the room for me, and he looked at me and pointed at me. Then I pointed at him. Goosebumps.”

Hall worked in sales before starting Fight Agents earlier this year with Carlos Silva, the company’s chief operations officer. Silva, a Kapolei resident who has done jiu-jitsu, karate and kickboxing, is responsible for working with the fighters and the trainers to be sure the fighters have the equipment that they need. Hall writes a monthly column in the MMA Hawaii magazine, and does a radio show on Hawaii’s Country Music Station 97.5 KHCM FM.

The company’s hopes for the future are to have a reality television show, and to showcase some fights at a new venue that can hold 5,000 people at Pier 11 near Aloha Tower. Next year, the firm hopes to get some computers donated to a gym in Waipahu so the kids can have basic computer skills.

The next big event is the Nov. 15 card at Aloha Tower which will have dance crews and live music as a part of the show lineup.

“It’s about not resting on your laurels,” adds Hall. “It’s about taking whatever opportunity you’re given and trying to get to the next level with it.”

For more information, call 699-9120 or log onto fightagents.com.

The Ancient Art Of Chinese Seals

In the days of instant messages, e-mails and digital signatures, Stephen Kow continues the fine art of hand-carving Chinese seals. The seal has a decorative design such as a dragon on top of the square stone, and the bottom is placed in ink to make a unique impression.

“Imperial documents would have the emperor’s seal on them,” explains Kow, who carves seals at his Kalihi home. “If a messenger hands you a document with an imperial seal, then you’d better follow the order - or else.”

With his company, China Seal Artists, Kow makes seals that are used in a modern-day way where artists sometimes sign their name in English on their work alongside their seal.

“Today, any government agency in Hong Kong or China uses the seal still,” the Farrington High School graduate says. “In banks in Japan, I heard you can’t cash a check unless you have your seal with you. So the seal is like a double check. It’s still used for authentication and legal documents.”

For Chinese New Year and other Chinese Chamber of Commerce functions, Kow, an educational specialist with the Department of Education, shares what he knows about the history and the art of seal-making.

This weekend, at the annual Splendor of China Cultural Festival and Tradeshow at Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, he’ll have a booth where he will present interactive, hands-on demonstrations on how to make a seal. He’ll provide attendees soft gum rubber erasers and a linoleum knife so they can create a simple seal in 15-20 minutes. He copies a drawing on the eraser, and the attendee carves it.

For the real seals, Kow uses soapstones, and he does his best to ensure they are historically accurate by using the oldest of the 3,000-year-old Chinese characters instead of modern ones. He notes the seal needs to be strong, clear, flexible, and have a balance between white and red. Seals are often carefully packed away in their own special container.

To make personal seals, Kow gets to know the person by asking them things like what he or she will use the seal for, and what is important the person’s life.

“If you look at a seal, it gives you the feeling of life-giving energy,” says Kow. “In a half -inch square of space you want to reflect a whole person.”

Kow went to Chinese school as a youngster, where he learned calligraphy with pen and brush. He continued his education with Chinese culture classes at the University of Hawaii. He started engraving seals in the early 1970s when he was so fascinated by seeing them that he wanted one. No one in Hawaii made them, but it just so happened that one of his teachers had a seal-making instruction book, and another friend had the necessary materials.

“I liked it so much that I looked for other sources of stones,” Kow recalls. “Because of my interest in culture, I was taking trips to Asia and visiting seals specialty shops in Hong Kong. I had to support my habit of buying stones, and so I made seals for others.”

With the support of his wife, Iris Lin, and their son, Alex, he hopes to continue educating as many people as possible about the seals.

“To see children get interested in it, that’s my enjoyment,” he says.

To learn more about Chinese seal engraving, Kow recommends Googling “Thinkquest Chinese Seals.”

For more information, call 230-7086 or e-mail .

Naughty Dog? Call Bark Busters

Scott Argus, owner of Bark Busters Hawaii, says he can teach a dog to instinctively focus on the owner and follow cues as to what it should do and should not do.

“During the lessons, one of the most common questions I get is, ‘Will that work with my children (mother-in-law/husband/wife)?” says Argus with a deep, hearty laugh. “I tell them ‘I don’t know, I’m a dog trainer.’”

Whether the dog is nipping at people, peeing and pooping all over the house or chewing on couch cushions, Argus says he can teach it to behave. He’s posted a 20-question quiz online that owners can answer about dogs’ behavior, and it gives the owner a grade on how the dog behaves.

Argus visits the home of the family for a private training session lasting about two-and-a-half hours (four hours for multiple family members). He suggests a good time to do it is in the morning, or whenever the owner is able to concentrate on learning to “speak dog,” as there is a lot of information to absorb. Most of the time Argus’dog Rufy accompanies him to the home to help teach people how to communicate with their dogs.

“Sometimes people ask if they can just trade dogs,” says Argus, whose license plate reads TLK DOG.

Owners work with their pooch twice a day for 10 to 15 minutes in a five- to eight-week session.

Argus says the challenge to running the business comes when customers realize the fee for the training costs more than other eight- or 12-week programs that offer no guarantee.

“Once we’ve done the training, if there are any questions or concerns, the guarantee is for the rest of the dog’s life,” Argus says. “All they have to do is to call us. We’re in 10 countries and in 41 states with over 400,000 dogs trained worldwide. There’s bound to be a local Bark Busters wherever you go.”

Bark Busters America, which started in 1989, has its headquarters in Denver, Colo. Argus started his franchise about three years ago, serving the East Oahu area. Bark Busters Oahu services the West Oahu side of the island.

One of Argus’ clients is Sue Tsuruoka and her dog BlackJack.

Tsuruoka has given up her marketing job and undergone the Bark Busters training. She now is a partner in the business with Argus.

Word of mouth is one of the ways people hear about Bark Busters, and veterinarians and their staff are offered free trainings for their own dogs.

“If they don’t have a dog, they can use some of the dogs in their practice that are abandoned,” says Argus. “Once they’ve seen the results, they are recommending us.”

In addition to recommendations from veterinarians, brochures at pet stores, radio interviews and other publicity, there are other ways to get the word out. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International (SPCA) has named Bark Busters the Best of the Best for 2008.

“We are saving their lives and training them at incredible rates of speed,” Argus says. “We can correct the behavior of any dog with any behavioral problem, and as a result we end up saving their lives.”

Argus always has had dogs ever since the day he arrived home from the hospital as a newborn. His family had a few dogs, plus a new litter of cocker spaniels, for a total of 10. Now Argus’ happy four-legged family includes Rufy and Taxi. The extended family includes his office assistants dogs, Chico and Osito, who are owned by Carlos Tapia and Leilani Witt, respectively. Rufy is trained as a pet therapy dog and visits with patients in hospitals.

“When one of the dogs is getting old, I get a new dog before that one passes on, so it can learn from grandpa,” shares Argus, who always has at least two dogs. “I can’t imagine living someplace without having a dog.”

Luckily for people who want a dog as a housemate, he says, more condo resident managers are converting to allowing people to have dogs.

“We can make it happen so you can have dogs in your apartment, and that everyone is glad the dog is there,” Argus says. “Our goal is to create a culture here where dogs are so well-behaved. We want our dog owners to have people stop them and ask them, ‘How did you get your dog so well-trained?’”

In the coming year, Argus, who worked as a biomedical engineer for 25 years, may branch into training and certifying service dogs for folks who have physical and mental disorders.

For more information, call 734-3440, or log onto www.barkbusters.com.

A Window Of Opportunity In Hawaii

Coastal Windows is one of 15 companies across the nation being honored with the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Sept. 18 at a black tie event in Washington, D.C.

Army reserve Sgt. Mike Echiverri nominated the company for the award, which acknowledges employers for their support of their workers in the National Guard and Reserve. Echiverri has been with the company since 1999, and has had three one-year deployments to Iraq.

“We run our business like a family,” says Bob Barrett, vice president of the Waipahu-based firm. “We take care of each other. There was never any question of what we would do when he was deployed to Iraq for a year. We hope he comes back in one piece. That’s our only concern. He is a delivery driver for us and does a fabulous job. Customers love him.”

“We fill his space when he’s not here, and when he comes back, he has a job,” adds Barrett’s wife Pam, who serves as the company’s director of advertising. “That seems the obvious thing to do.”

Coastal Windows designs, manufactures, sells and installs windows and doors for customers, from homeowners who need only one to commercial projects that require a large number windows to complete a condominium. Its niche is a window catered to Hawaii’s unique weather and conditions: moist salty air, rain, wind and even termites. The business offers a line of windows that include jalousie, awning, casement, sliding, bay and bow windows. Their doors grace the Ala Moana Hotel and the Radisson Waikiki, among others.

Customers can learn more about the company’s products in its showroom and at Home Depot.

The company spreads the word by participating in trade shows, through advertising and by sending out its sales team, as well as by word of mouth.

The idea for the company came when Barrett’s parents, Kurt and Marie Winner, had a window that was deteriorating in their condominium at Poipu, Kauai. When searching for a replacement window, they couldn’t find any vinyl windows in Hawaii. The family, which lived in New Jersey, packed up their worldly goods, hung up their sign and opened their business at the Waipio Gentry Business Park in 1990. The Barrett and Winner family includes the husband and wife team Clint and Anita Tirpak. Clint Tirpak, a vice president in the company, is Bob Barrett’s best friend since they were 12 years old, and Barrett considers him a brother. Tirpak and Barrett installed windows when they were growing up, as Tirpak’s dad was in the construction industry. Barrett’s dad was a part owner of a vinyl business, where Barrett also worked. Anita worked as an office manager and she serves as the accounting manager. Pam’s expertise is in advertising. 15 year-old Ty Tirpak, 13 year-old Trey Tirpak, and 9-year-old Matthew Barrett sometimes come into the shop, which has grown from 5,000 to 30,000 square feet.

Our family has a tremendous amount of experience in vinyl windows,” explains Barrett. “That’s why we can design the product. We find out what the customers are asking for, and what we need. We create something that is going to last; something that we can stand behind.”

Barrett says one of the challenges of running the business is keeping the inventory levels.

“You never know when a big job is going to hit,” notes Barrett. “If inventory starts getting depleted it’s hard get them because we live in the middle of the ocean. We need to haveenough to satisfy our needs. It’s a full-time job. Clint is an expert on that, and he has it handled.”

One of the company’s newest developments is the double hung window, which slides up and down to let the air in, and it detaches, so it is easy to clean the outside. Another one of their innovative offerings is custom colors for the vinyl window frames which usually come in white or bronze.

With the help of 62 employees the raw material is shaped, welded and assembled with high-grade parts before it gets delivered and installed. One of the secrets to their success is every window and door made at the plant has been ordered by a customer, so there isn’t any additional merchandise.

The business has been strong and growing as are the couples’ marriages. How is that possible?

“The bottom line is we get along, and that translates to everything,” says Barrett. “We get along with each other. The employees feed off of that. The sales staff feels it, and the customers feel it. It works all the way through.”

Future projects for the company include more work on the Neighbor Islands, military facilities, homes and condominiums.

Coastal Windows is located at 94-533 Puahi St. The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 676-0529 or log onto coastalwindows.com.

Arranging A Beautiful Business

Red roses, yellow sunflowers, green orchids and brightly colored daisies radiate among a wide variety of flowers that are the heart of Patricia Middleton’s shop, Volcano Orchids, which specializes in customized floral arrangements for celebrations, funerals and other occasions.

“I do everything fresh,” she explains. “Something is growing somewhere in the world. If you want it, I will find it. I’ve prided myself in pirouetting on a dime for people. They call me and say, ‘Pat, I need this.’ And it is always in a small window of time.”

Middleton, who supplies flowers to Foodland, Don Quijote, Safeway, Longs, Marukai and Hawaiian Airlines, says the trendiest flowers these days are hydrangea, super-green roses, deep-brown flowers with streaks of red and anything with green. Vibrant-colored vases are also a hot ticket.

She ships flowers out and also imports them from the East Coast, West Coast, South America, Africa and New Zealand.

“I do love to support the local growers, but sometimes they can’t keep up with the demand,” she says. “When possible, I like to use the local flower because it is much nicer.”

The retail division of her business, the Funeral Wreath Shop, is where she helps families with flowers during their especially vulnerable time of grief with flowers for the casket, wreaths or other floral designs. With a deep understanding of how precious life is, she lives by the motto, “You have to seize the day, and live each day with enthusiasm and joy.”

One of Middleton’s most recent arrangements was for Duane “Dog” Chapman. They ordered a flower arrangement, but something happened to it. They called back immediately for a replacement, saying it was needed right away. So a replacement bouquet was sent.

“They didn’t tell me they were shooting this, so the arrangement I made was a little different,” she recalls. “Then they told me that it was for the shoot, so I had to go down there and fix it up to make it almost identical to the other one I did, so it could match the shots they had previously done. It was kind of trying, but it was fun.”

Before she majored in agribusiness at the University of Hawaii, Middleton, a Kaimuki High School graduate, hadn’t had much experience with flowers or farming. She started growing orchids on the Big Island in 1977, where she named her company Volcano Orchids. She eventually sold the farm, then asked other farmers to ship their plants to her in Honolulu.

As a businesswoman, one of her foremost concerns is taking care of her employees, which number from seven to 13 depending on the season.

“It is a money challenge to support all the people who work for me,” she reveals. “Because of the cost of doing business, it affects what I can give my employees for a 401k for retirement. With these times, that is the biggest challenge. I hope to make enough money to give them back a little bit of profit, because they put out. I’m here because they are here. I want to give more to them. We have gettogethers, we have dinners and we do fun things. I know they work hard and they are very loyal.”

When she’s not working in the shop, Middleton enjoys golf and catching up with her three grown daughters, Shay, Vail and Cobe, and her four granddaughters. To give back to the community, she donates to the Blood Bank of Hawaii, and belongs to the Pearl Harbor Rotary Club. Her current project is finding donations of slippers for Aiea Elementary School students who don’t have shoes.

Although she works with flowers all day, Middleton says she never gets tired of them.

“I am a woman and I still appreciate the thoughtfulness,” says the Moanalua Valley resident. “When someone asks me, I say women love flowers and women love chocolate.”

Things she looks forward to in the industry’s future include hybridizing fragrance back into roses. She also hopes there will be sustainability in the future where there will be lots of wide-open spaces and people will still be in the floral industry with a watchful eye on taking care of the environment.

“Working in the flower business is really satisfying because you make people happy,” says Middleton. “What is better than that? What a job!”

The Art Of Growing Asparagus

Business partners Milton Agader and Al Medrano say asparagus has tossed their company Twin Bridge Farms into the spotlight.

“Asparagus is our signature crop,” explains Agader about their Waialua-based business. “We are the only ones in Hawaii commercially growing asparagus.”

The state Department of Agriculture contacted them to be a part of the 12 charter members that started the seal of quality.

“Asparagus is considered a gourmet item, too,” adds Agader. “We do it quite well. It’s well-received in the marketplace. It wasn’t really grown here commercially. People remember it was grown on a small scale here, not the scale we are at right now (on 65 acres).

“People have tried growing it. What makes us succeed with asparagus is we can move people around because we have other crops that we grow. When we fall behind in the asparagus field, we have other labor we can put in to catch up. When it is slow in the asparagus field, we can pull them off and let them do other things. If asparagus was all we did, we would not have been able to keep up.”

Twin Bridge Farms asparagus and employees will be one of the stops on the tour for the Chefs du Jour Island Moments show on KHON 2 at 9 p.m.

Sept. 4 and at 4 p.m. Sept. 6, hosted by Emme Tomimbang and Chef Alan Wong. The partners say that Wong has been a customer since way back when they were just starting.

Twin Bridge Farms asparagus is available at Foodland and select restaurants, including Town, and will be sold at the Whole Foods store at Kahala Mall that opens this month.

While asparagus brings the farmers the most attention, they also grow corn for Pioneer Hi-Bred International and potatoes for Minnesota and Canada.

At the Saturday morning Waialua Farmers Market, they sell their sweet onions, sweet potatoes, sunflowers, okra, long beans and vine-ripe tomatoes. They also grow papaya, eggplant, sweet peppers, squash, pumpkin and araimo (Japanese taro).

Agader and Medrano worked at the Waialua Sugar Mill for 26 and 18 years respectively until it closed in 1996. Then they both were employed by Dole Food Company until they learned their jobs were going to be eliminated. That’s when Dole asked them if they would be interested in continuing as a private growing contract for Pioneer. They agreed, and in 1999 Dole sold them the equipment they needed to start Twin Bridge Farms. They took their company name from Haleiwa, where two rivers meet on the makai side of the two bridges. The Waialua Sugar Road was called Twin Bridge Road on old maps. Their first crop of asparagus was ready to be harvested in September 2001.

These days, Agader takes care of administrative tasks and Medrano is responsible for the farming. They both say they appreciate their families for their support of the business.

One challenge of running the farm is keeping up with the pests.

You have to watch out for the insects and the weeds,” says Medrano. “If they beat you, then you’ll have nothing.”

To overcome that challenge, they do their best to understand their 15 employees who help make the business grow.

“We might try growing some organic food in a year,” adds Medrano.

For more information, call 864-6477 or e-mail .

A Real Smoothie Operator

Marcus Marcos, a self-proclaimed smoothie schlep, bursts through the doors of his Diamond Head Cove Health Bar with one goal in mind: to have good fun.

The shop offers fruit smoothies, poke, sashimi, salads, guacamole, hummus, juices and kava.

“I love local fish, local farmers and local products,” says Marcos as he scrolls through the names of more than 40 fishermen whose numbers are entered into his cell phone.

“When the fishermen catch their fish, they call me directly, and I buy it from them. I use as many local products as I can.”

A few of the most popular orders are the fish salad, fish wrap and Da Mana Cove Bowl, filled with acai, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, granola and honey.

“There’s a big sign here that says this is ‘the opposite of fast food,’” he explains. “We make everything fresh, so it’s not fast food. It takes time.”

Marcos, a Kaimuki High and UH grad who previously worked in office equipment sales, knew he wanted to have his own business someday.

When the owner of this Monsarrat Avenue store was ready to retire, the timing was right for Marcos to take over the space.

With the full support of his wife Ann, he opened Diamond Head Cove Health Bar in 2003.

“I knew smoothies were popular enough to start with and so that was the base,” recalls Marcos. “Everything else just came into place.”

Marcos, who loves to cook, surf, paddle and travel, says his employees must have fun. To be sure his staff of three are on the same page as he is, he sometimes takes them out for a barbecue picnic on the beach and a canoe paddling excursion.

“On a canoe, we all have to work together in the same direction,” explains Marcos.

At the store, he shares the cultural significance of the Polynesian elixir, ‘awa. He says it was used to calm a fussy child, and it was sipped by the Hawaiian people as they sat together in a circle and worked out their problems.

“‘Awa is good to help people relax after a long, hard day or to relax sore muscles,” Marcos says. “And it can open their creative side.”

He cuts, shapes and smooths out the coconut cups in which the ‘awa is served. ‘Awa nights - Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays - at the snack bar are when musicians, such as the Girlas, Lei Melket of Keahiwai, Kupa’aina and Charlie Palumbo take the stage.

“I want people to come back here with their friends and family,” Marcos says with a big smile. “And you don’t know who is going to be playing (music) here.”

The Diamond Head Cove Health Bar is located at 3045 Monsarrat Ave. The hours of operation are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight, and Monday, Friday, Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call 732-8744 or log onto www.diamondheadcove.com.

A Purse Lover’s Dream Come True

Handbag lovers squeal with joy when they find out they can buy a gently used designer purse at a discounted price at Paris Station. Boutique owner Cindy Young gives immediate payment to customers who want to sell their bags to her. Customers also can trade in their purse for one of the 500 or so bags in stock.

“We don’t take in everything and anything,” says Young. “We hand-pick every single piece every day. By doing this, we keep our quality very good.” The focus is on European brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Christian Dior and Fendi. Young and her sister, Connie Lung, who serves as store manager, can take appointments to examine the bags’ authenticity and condition.

“Every day we feel like shopping, and we are excited about all the items that come in on a daily basis,” Young says. “When you’re into luxury designer handbags, you’re excited coming into our store. It’s like looking at candy. There are so many bags and different styles. Sometimes women get tired of their bag, even if they may not have used it that much. They might not use it at all because they change their mind so fast.”

One of the challenges of running this business is the merchandise cannot just be reordered.

“I can’t force customers to come in and sell their bags to me,” she explains. “We select quality items that can turn around quickly. If not, they will be sold for less and we take the loss. We can also use our web-site to help sell the items faster.”

The Hong Kong native’s first designer bag was a $400 Louis Vuitton purse, a birthday present to herself when she was a student at the University of Hawaii, where she majored in accounting and management information systems. She says she used it for about seven years on special occasions, and now the same style bag sells for $750.

Young, who got her master’s in business administration at UH and worked for HMSA as a business analyst for six years, started Paris Station as a part-time online auction business in 2001 before expanding to a 200-square-foot retail store in 2004. She expanded the retail location twice before moving in June to the present 700-square-foot space on the corner of Keeaumoku and King streets.

“Some people think we are a new store,” Young says. “They can see it when they pass by. We had to expand because we have more merchandise.”

She says for customers who are looking for limited-edition bags or discontinued colors or styles, she might have them.

“If we don’t have it, we can put their name on a list,” she says. “If it comes in, we can call them. We give them hope that we may be able to get that in. We can help them find something that is almost impossible to find.”

Paris Station is located at 947 Keeaumoku St. The hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 942-3000 or log onto www.parisstation.com.

A Line Of Island-themed Boxers

John James will display his boxer shorts at the upcoming Made In Hawaii Festival - his line of boxers, that is.

“I believe they are the most comfortable boxers I’ve ever worn,” says James. And he should know, because he designed the fit.

“Underwear, in particular, is something people are very particular about because it is right next to your skin,” he adds. “I’m sure most people have a style and brand they like. Some people don’t really like these boxers, but I’ve had way more people tell me these are the most comfortable they’ve ever worn.”

His company’s name is SolidSurfHawaii. He produces several designs in a few options of colors, resulting in about 24 different boxers in sizes XXS for boys (size 6-8) all the way up to XXL for men (size 42 to 45 waist). Prints include things that reflect Hawaii such as florals, scenes of Diamond Head or postcards, as well as tapa print, ukuleles, underwater images and fish.

“It’s a very niche product,” admits James. “For visitors that come to Hawaii, they can wear it and it reminds them of some experience they had while they are here.”

The boxers are available online and in some stores across the state, including Island Keepsakes on Nuuanu Avenue.

James says this boxer business was not something he ever planned to do. It all started because he helped his mom, Mary, who passed away a few years ago, at craft fairs in Hilo with her line of patchwork stuffed animals. They were joking around with some fun and humorous ideas that would sell, and patchwork boxer shorts was one that made them laugh. When James, a UH-Hilo English major, had some time off from work in Hilo, he researched to see if anyone else was doing Hawaiian print boxer shorts. He found out that there was a possible opportunity, so he took apart his favorite boxer shorts and created his own pattern.

“This was started from a joke,” recalls James, who had originally started the production in his apartment. The business, which began in 2000, landed a wholesale account from Made In the Big Island Outlet in Kona. He got a booth at the Made In Hawaii Festival on Oahu and the boxers did well there, too.

Now a Kapahulu resident, he works full time in administration at Arcadia Retirement Residence, and his boxer business is a part-time gig. When he has some free time, he enjoys utilizing his creativity doing technical work at the theater, most recently Manoa Valley Theatre.

If customers have a large enough order, he can customize the elastic-knit waistband for celebrations or groups. He’s even done some custom boxers for a girl’s bat mitzvah, a coming-ofage celebration for Jewish girls around the age of 12. He’s done custom orders for sailing clubs and even wedding parties.

His future goals include increasing his visibility on the web and finding additional stores to carry his product.

He’ll be at booth number 287 at the Made In Hawaii Festival at Neal Blaisdell Center Aug. 15 to 17 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call 808-937-8970, 866-440-6969, or log onto www.hawaiianboxershorts.com.

A Business Venture Full Of Energy

Little did Kanani McCullen know when she strung leis in the garage after school to help her mom’s business that she, too, would own her own business one day.

But McCullen’s not making leis. She’s selling energy drinks in vending machines. The product, Monster Energy, jolts in six flavors: Original, Lo-carb, Khaos, Mixxd, Assault and M-80.

The most popular, she says, are the lo-carb and original, and The M-80 also is a favored flavor.

“Most people don’t know that Monster also makes coffee drinks,” says McCullen, a resident of Pearl City.

The Java Monster lineup of eight flavors are Nut-up, Originale, Mean Bean, Lo-ball, Irish blend, Russian chai, chai hai, and Loca Moca.

“Another thing most people do not know is that the coffee and the energy drink were formulated to be mixed with alcohol at bars,” she adds. “I haven’t tasted it with alcohol. The drinks are good by themselves. The energy drinks and coffee drinks both have vita-mins A, C, D, B6 and B12, so it’s not just caffeine.”

McCullen, an Aloha Airlines pilot for six years, came up with the idea for the business in April, about one month after Aloha Airlines closed.

The concept hit her because her fiance, Gabriel Aio, works from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. and then heads to a second job from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m.

“One night he needed to rush to the store before it closed to get his energy drinks to stay awake,” recalls McCullen.

That’s when she thought it would be a great idea to have energy drinks in vending machines. Her fellow pilot at Aloha Airlines, Darin Ho, encouraged her and said all you need is to find a niche, that one good idea. So McCullen embarked on a flurry of nonstop research, comparing machines and products, eventually making agreement with Anheuser-Busch to distribute its Monster Energy drinks in vending machines, and formed her company Island Energy Vending.

With the help of her family and friends, she’s boosting the business. Her dad, Woodley, who retired two years ago after 38 years at Aloha Airlines, pitches in. Her mom, Alicia, who sold leis to Safeways on Oahu with her own company, Alicia’s Leis, encourages her entrepreneurial spirit. Her sisters, Kehau Abe, a certified public accountant, and Sonja McCullen, an attorney, both rolled up their sleeves to assist in their areas of expertise. Many of her supporters, including business owner Shane Nojiri, have been helpful with connecting her with people who can help her.

The St. Joseph School graduate remembers her first presentation.

“I was so nervous,” she recalls. “My hands were shaking. My palms were sweating. I tripped over some words. And when the client said, ‘I think this is a good idea,’ those were the best words ever.”

She closed the sale.

One of the lessons she’s learned while running her own business is don’t underestimate yourself.

“Don’t be afraid to try,” she urges. “I already passed my goal to have three machines by the end of the year, so now I am working on getting more.”

For more information, call 225-1962.

Be Happy, Have Fun, Eat Chocolate

Vanesa Furnari handcrafts chocolate truffles on special order for parties via her company Taste Chocolates. She even creates names for the chocolates to match themed parties. Furnari has created chocolates for an ‘80s party, a Middle Eastern theme, a Mother’s Day theme and others.

“For an ‘80s party, I had Raspberry Beret, Rum DMC and Thriller,” says Furnari. “For Mother’s Day, I did chocolates inspired by mothers and women.”

For those who aren’t familiar with the 1980s references, Raspberry Beret is the name of a popular song by Prince, so this chocolate was filled with raspberries. Rum DMC, a rum-laced chocolate truffle, was named in honor of the hip-hop group Run DMC. She took the name for Thriller chocolates from Michael Jackson’s popular song and music video of the era.

Furnari uses seasonal products and says she hopes to use more local ingredients to make her sweet treats.

Give her 48 hours’ notice and the University of Hawaii at Manoa nutrition major can create a custom chocolate truffle.

At an art gallery showing, she set up her truffles on green ti leaves and had handwritten descriptions of each type of chocolate.

A couple of popular chocolates are the lilikoi mac nut and the lavender truffle. She also offers boxes, which can contain samples of four or eight chocolates.

“One of the challenges of doing chocolate for special events is that chocolate and the outdoors do not mix because of the heat,” explains the Palolo resident.

“If it’s outdoors, the chocolate will melt.”

Before moving to Hawaii in 2002, Furnari restored churches and theaters in New York City.

“My friends suggested I make a business out of my truffles,” recalls Furnari, who turned her hobby into a business within the last year.

“It was my hobby and I wanted to keep it fun. This is my candy money, and it supports my chocolate habit.”

Furnari also teaches yoga at various locations including after-school programs for children and at the women’s prison. Her future goals include partnering with other vendors.

“I love to see the expressions on people’s faces when they taste my chocolates,” she says.

For more information, call 777-7440, e-mail or log onto www.tastechocolates.com

A Hairstylist On The Cutting Edge

With a snip here and a snip there, Mai Lieu will demonstrate her doit-yourself haircutting product, the Crea Clip, on the Home Shopping Network for the second time in August.

“I appeared on the show in February, and we were sold out in minutes,” says Lieu, who has 15 years of experience as a hair-stylist.

Lieu created the product because her customers would cut their own bangs and she’d have to correct what they did because it was too short or uneven. The Crea Clip can cut bangs, create layers, trim long hair and cut men’s hair.

“Bangs should be cut every three weeks,” notes Lieu. “I’d tell my clients that I’d cut their bangs for them no charge, but no one has time. So I created this product to help them do it themselves, since they are doing it anyway in between haircuts.”

She stars in the instructional video on her website. She says her clients are using the product, and lots of parents who serve as the family barber use it, too. Lieu is now working on getting her product into local stores.

“I’ve loved inventing since I was little,” says Lieu. “When I was 8 years old I came up with an idea - two years later I saw it selling and I thought, ‘Hey, I thought of that.’ It’s happened many times. So I didn’t want to let this idea go. I had a burning desire to do it.”

Lieu tried out her product a year ago on Oprah’s competition for the Next Big Idea, and out of 6,000 people she made it to the semi-finals. But she didn’t continue because her product was still a prototype.

“That experience helped me tremendously,” says Lieu, who has been working on the product for three years.

“I knew I wanted to do this, and the universe has been on my side,” she says. “If I was thinking I needed some packaging, then the next day someone who does packaging would call me. I’ve stayed positive because I know whatever obstacles have come up, there are solutions.”

Her plans include inventing more products for hair and other uses.

For more information, call 818-230-7644, or log onto www.creaclip.com

Planning Parties For Pooches

Pet Power Hawaii owner Taryn Matsuda plans parties for pooches. She has doggiethemed invitations, hats, plates, cups, napkins, treats, muffins, cakes and more.

“I have games for the pets and for the humans, too,” says Matsuda. “There are party planners for people, so why not a party planner for dogs? Lots of people throw parties for their dogs. If you want to have a party for your dog, you don’t always have to invite other dogs. You can have friends and family over.”

One party game is called “Doggie Says” - a canine version of “Simon Says.” Dogs sit next to each other with their owners and someone says, “Doggie says, shake your hand.” Then the owner tells the dog to shake their paw. If your dog doesn’t do it, then you’re out. The dog that listens and does the trick based on “Doggie Says” wins!

Even if you want to coordinate your own doggie party, you’re not barking up the wrong tree here - you can purchase the party supplies from Matsuda.

The party-planning idea started as an expansion of the line of doggie treats she bakes using natural ingredients. She uses rice and rye flours to make the treats in sweet potato, peanut butter, taro, yogurt and coconut carob flavors. The treats are available at The Dog Shop at 28 Oneawa St. in Kailua, Beauty Salon for Doggies at 1370 Kapiolani Blvd., and at Sweet Nothings at 1218 Waimanu St.

One of the challenges of running her business, she says, is to get the word out.

“It’s mostly by word of mouth,” notes Matsuda, who was once a cheerleader for the University of Hawaii and a member of a Cherry Blossom court. “I go to the craft fairs for exposure and talk to people. I’m also visiting offices for lunch and I give them samples of the treats and cakes for their dogs along with my business card.”

Matsuda’s first pet was a brown poi dog named Maxi that her family got when she was 6 years old. The Kailua High School graduate started out studying animal science at the University of Hawaii, hoping to become a veterinarian, but decided to major in marketing instead. She worked for seven years as a financial planner and, in May 2007, returned her focus to her love of animals with her own business, Pet Power Hawaii. Her team includes the quality-control and taste-testing skills of her 3-year-old dog, Daisy (Weimaraner/shepherd mix) and 1-year-old Sosu (an Australian silky terrier named by Matsuda’s parents for Korean TV drama actress Sosuhno). Matsuda can be found walking her best friends in Enchanted Lake near her family’s home.

While making the craft fair circuit with the doggie treats, she was asked by customers if she could create cakes, so she did. The cakes come in the shape of a bone or a fire hydrant. Cakes need to be special-ordered one week in advance.

“The most enjoyable and rewarding aspect about planning pet parties is that deep down in my heart, I believe the owner and their pet will be happy to share this fun experience with each other, which will make their human-pet bond stronger,” says Matsuda. “Some pet owners treat their dogs like their own family, so throwing a birthday party is an absolute must.”

For more information, call 589-9971 or log onto www.petpowerhawaii.com.

Edgy Lee Takes TV To The Internet

PacificNetwork.tv showcases stories about Hawaii in a comprehensive online television network.

“With Internet access, we have opened so many doors,” says Edgy Lee, PacificNetwork.tv founder and award-winning filmmaker. “These days, a small company can reach people all over the world, and we are doing it with film and video. We are specifically for the Hawaiian people and the Hawaiian culture.”

The site officially launched in May.

With a staff of 12 people, Lee has created a venue where films can be previewed a few parts at a time, and if the viewer likes the film, the DVD can be purchased online. Her staff includes former UH football player Johann Bouit and director Jason Ordenstein working as cameramen, as well as reporters and editors. A partnership with private businesses, media and some state agencies is a part of the business model where TimeWarner Telecom, Hawaii Public Radio, KGMB9, the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are involved.

PacificNetwork.tv is a tool for our contemporary culture,” says Lee.

The news and shows cover health, travel, science, environment, sports, family, classroom, arts and culture. The audience includes anyone who wants to know something about Hawaii, whether they are local residents, former residents or visitors.

“We need to have good content,” she emphasizes. “Here is the chance for those folks who have been asking ‘What about us?’ to have a voice.”

As of press time, one of the news stories focused on how Hawaii is changing, which included opening and closing of businesses as well as locals choosing to return to Hawaii to work.

Lee says the editorial part of the website is popular. A question is posed and a variety of people with different views respond. All of the programming posted is first reviewed by the PacificNetwork.tv staff.

The Connections portion of the website hosts forums on topics such as mixed martial arts and teen violence. People post their opinions on the topic with or without video.

Coming up will be an interactive program called Local Justice, where folks who would have gone to small claims court decide instead to have their case heard on the show. The public will have a chance to express their opinions on how the case goes. Judge Boyd Mossman hears the case, and his decision is announced by KUMU radio personality Frank B. Shaner, who interviews the defendant and the plaintiff to get their take. Everyone on the show receives prizes, and the radio station helps promote it.

“People choose to go on a court TV show because they want to prove to everyone they are right,” says Lee. “It’s not for the money.”

For more information, log onto www.PacificNetwork.tv.

Board Shapers In The Green Zone

Much like that magic zone that surfers enjoy when they balance themselves on crashing waves, co-owners Jeff Bushman and Kyle Bernhardt get into the zone when they focus on making a better board using environmentally friendly products for their company, Country Feeling Surfboards.

“Even though the world is changing, if we can create more awareness we are helping the planet,” says Bushman. “We’ve been able to push manufacturers by ordering green products. While some people may be talking about being green, we are asking for green products and actually ordering them. We are getting a lot of response.”

To fashion the boards, the materials they use include a sun-cured resin that doesn’t release fumes. Sugar- and soy-based foam, silk and hemp also are natural alternatives to more toxic options.

“The board is not totally green because we haven’t developed a board that works well that way,” explains Bushman.

“What we are doing is a stepping in the right direction. We want people to be really stoked when they buy one of our boards.”

The eco-friendly surfboards are presently available on Oahu at Surf and Sea, Board Riders and Tropical Blends. The line includes longboards, stand-up paddleboards, single-fins and twin-fins.

The company’s goals for the future include developing the boards further and including other products such as waxes and paddles.

“It feels good to do the right thing,” adds Bushman. “We are the ones playing in the ocean, so we need to take care of it.”

Bushman, who moved to Hawaii in 1988, started shaping boards in California in the respectively.

The two shapers coordinate on the design, research and development of the boards. The North Shore residents say they are open to ideas or suggestions on materials and techniques on how they can reach a breakthrough point in making the green board better.

“We want to keep the fun in surfing,” says Bushman. “We want to keep that magic feeling and put a little smile on every day.”

For more information, call 638-7192 or log onto www.countryfeelingsurfboards. com.

Some Like It Hot - Really Hot!

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Wednesday - June 25, 2008

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Jordan Khan (front), Mike Khan, Thomas Khan and Beverly Matsuura have mild and hot stuff in their store It’s Chili in Hawaii

Hot! Hot! Hot! It’s Chili in Hawaii has brought in one of the hottest sauces in the world, made from the powerful Naga Jolokia pepper.

“This is hotter than the hottest pepper from the Guinnesss Book of World Records,” says Beverly Matsuura, who owns the shop with her husband, Mike Khan.

While the boutique does have lots of hot stuff, not everything in the store is super spicy. Some are mild. The shop has tamales, pepper jellies, spice rubs, chili mixes, black beans, garbanzo beans, dried chili. They also carry novelty items such as pepper-shaped earrings, serving dishes, and containers

“We carry the New Mexico green chili,” notes Matsuura. “If you’re from Hawaii, and you’re on the Mainland, you’ll be looking for Hawaiian food or poi wherever you go. If you’re from New Mexico, you’ll be looking for this green chili. I’ve had people kiss the floor and hug me when they find this chili.”

For those who could use some new ideas about what to make, there is an open house every Saturday starting at 11 a.m. The store features a sample of how to use one of their products, and the samples are available until they run out.

Matsuura and Khan say they are truly a mom-and-pop operation, and their “junior sales staff” includes son Jordan, 4. His 8-month-old brother Thomas is in training.

Matsuura’s retail background with Khan’s cooking experience in hotels make for a great combination for the store.

Gary Toyama ran the store for three years after his business partner Ken Martinez passed away in 2003. When Toyama considered retiring and selling all the inventory, Matsuura and Khan worked it out with Toyama in 2006 to take over the store as they were distributors of a chili garlic pea product from Australia.

“Right when we took over, that’s when gas prices and shipping started going up,” says Matsuura, a McKinley grad. “To keep our prices the same, we started to consolidate our shipping in California, and then have it shipped here by boat. We have to order two weeks ahead and try to predict the future.”

For the hot scale, there is a measurement called the Scoville heat units. Tabasco, for example, is 2,500. The high end of the scale is 16 million Scoville heat units.

“People seem to be able to take up to six million Scoville units,” explains Matsuura. “If people want something hotter than that, we can special order it.”

It’s Chili in Hawaii is located at 2080 S. King Street, No 101. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday. For more information, call 945-7070.

More Than Just A Beauty School

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Wednesday - June 18, 2008

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Christine Hall and Malia Sanchez oversee students’ work

Christine Hall and Malia Sanchez share the values and culture of their Hawaiian heritage and their aloha spirit as a cornerstone of their beauty school, Makana Esthetics Wellness Academy, which teaches students to give facials.

The learning center offers a 600-hour course in 15 weeks where students can take the test to become a licensed esthetician and pass the state of Hawaii Cosmetology Board Examination. Classes start every six weeks. As an esthetician they can work in a salon, hotel spa, dermatologist’s office and department stores. Training includes practice on customers - under the direction of a licensed esthetician - through the school’s spa services, which are offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Customers can book facials and cellulite body treatments as well as arm and hand treatments. Makeup, waxing and lash tints also are available.

“We take the personal development approach,” says Sanchez. “We believe we need to first develop our students so they respect and appreciate themselves, and they in turn will give the best in service to the customers because they are feeling good. We are doing things with integrity, and we want to represent ourselves in the right way with that inner balance. In resorts, when people come to Hawaii, we are representing and we want them to feel the Hawaii that we love.”

In the same spirit of putting the best foot forward to represent, the school also offers hands-on sessions with machines that high-end spas may use, including giving a microdermabrasion treatment that releases toxins from the cells.

“What I want to see is the expression on the customer’s face after they get a facial. I ask them, ‘So, how was it?’” says Sanchez.

For the already licensed estheticians, the academy also offers a professional discount on supplies such as makeup, brushes, wax, equipment and even continuing education courses. It carries skin-care lines from Peter Thomas Roth Clinical Skin Care and June Jacobs Spa Collection.

“We are native Hawaiians and we want to be role models for others to pursue their dreams,” Hall says.

Hall’s husband, Kamu, and Sanchez’husband, Jeff, rolled up their sleeves to help with every inch of the remodeling, from the first paint brush to the last nail, before the first classes started in March 2008.

Sanchez, a Waimea High School graduate, has been in the beauty industry since 1992, and her experience includes working at resorts and department stores. She teaches the classes at the academy.

Hall, who graduated from Punahou, has a background in project management and handles inquiries to the school, orientations and administrative tasks. Guest speakers are invited to help keep the curriculum innovative.

Sanchez pledges to give back to the community by offering facials to women in shelters and offering scholarships to the school.

Makana Esthetics Wellness Academy is located at 1168 Waimanu St. Classes are held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Spa Services are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call 591-6090 or log onto www.MakanaAcademy.com.

Keeping Good Time In Hawaii Kai

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Wednesday - June 11, 2008

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Rick Alhadeff keeps precision and antique timepieces tick-tocking on time

Rick Alhadeff can’t make time stop, but he can make fine timepieces go.

The pleasant sound of chimes can be heard in his Watch and Clock Service and Repair shop in Hawaii Kai, where his specialty is repairing the tiny moving parts on the faces of fine watches.

“I’ve always been interested in small mechanical things,” says Alhadeff. “I’m tinkering forever.”

He restores the tick-tock to Rolex and Patek-Philippe watches, which he says are the best quality. He doesn’t service digital timepieces, although he will change out the battery for customers.

Alhadeff’s expertise is in helping watch collectors keep their prized finds in good working order.

“Some folks have watches that date back as far as the 1600s,” Alhadeff says. “My personal interest is in the antiques. Everyone has an old pocket watch of Grandpa’s or Dad’s wrist watch. They are part of the family - a family heirloom.”

The St. Louis Heights resident acknowledges the support of his wife, Julie, whom he met as a sophomore at Kaimuki High School, from which he graduated in 1978.

Alhadeff has a small personal collection of watches that includes his grandfather’s alarm wrist watch from the 1950s, which has a loud and raspy tone from the hammer inside of it. As a member American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute and National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, he networks with others to add to his collection.

“The service of the watch is the easy part,” he explains. “That’s the easy and fun part. The tough part is the business part: the excise tax and filling out paperwork. That’s what you have to do.”

Aldhadeff started his business in 1989 after stumbling into what he says is his calling in life. He located a school that teaches watch repair, the Bates Technical School in Tacoma, Wash. Hooked on his newfound career path, the UH broadcast communications graduate hung up his radio station headphones to gain further knowledge on timepieces, traveling to Switzerland to enroll in the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program.

At first he worked from home, and when the business blossomed he moved to the current East Oahu location in February 2001.

“This is a business where you have to have a lot of patience and build it; it’s not for the meek,” says Alhadeff. “If you stick with it, you can make it work, if you have enough interest in it.”

Watch and Clock Service and Repair is located at 6650 Hawaii Kai Drive, Suite 109 in the AKAL Security Building. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. For more information, call 395-8834 or log onto www.wcsrhonolulu.com.

Healthy Drinks For Healthy Kids

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Wednesday - June 04, 2008

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Eileen McHale and Brian Machovina of Nui Water

The husband-and-wife team of Eileen McHale and Brian Machovina celebrate the one-year anniversary of their company Nui Water by launching a children’s book series in October, Nui Island: Eco-Logical Adventures.

Their main product is nutritional flavored water for children, which is available in three flavors - Outrageous Orange, Purple Power (grape-flavored) and Raging Red (cherry) - and they’re planning to introduce three new flavors in the fall. The drinks are found in stores such as Down To Earth and Kale’s Natural Foods, as well as at various locations on the Neighbor Islands.

“We want there to be healthy kids with a healthy lifestyle,” says Machovina, noting that the 10-ounce beverage has many good things in it, including fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

McHale adds: “Parents are sometimes used to getting a lot of nothing. Our drink has a lot of nutrition in a small size.”

As part of their research and development of the product, some students gave their input to the drink.

“My sister Meghan worked as a teacher at Waipahu Elementary,” notes McHale. “We listened to the kids as far as what they like.”

The founders of the company include business partner David Marshall, who serves as the chief executive officer. Marshall’s career experience is in media, entertainment, technology, and mixed martial arts. Machovina, who is the president of the company, has a background working as a teacher, environmentalist, executive and a promoter of community-grown organic foods. McHale, executive vice president, has worked in marketing, sales management, natural foods sales, and consulting.

Of running the business, Machovina says, “It’s been like a roller coaster with ups and downs.”

One of the ups of the business is its philanthropic business model similar to companies such as actor Paul Newman’s 26 year-old Newman’s Own, which gives proceeds after taxes to charity. The partners donate 50 percent of their profits to charities that match their mission, including Shaping America’s Youth, Kids With A Cause, Feed the Child, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Healthy Child Healthy World and others. This “for-charity” business model is something they say they are passionate about.

For more information, log onto www.nui.com

A Family’s Sweet Dream Come True

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Wednesday - May 21, 2008

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Henry and Bennie Hong, Van and Kathy Diep in their Pastry House

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, the Pastry House is ready to satisfy your cravings.

Owner Van Diep says some of the most popular desserts that come out of his family’s 800-square-foot bakery are cakes, mini-cheesecakes and the custard horn, which is horn-shaped crispy filled with rich custard.

“Some say they like our pastries because they are light and not too sweet,” says Diep.

With several varieties of cakes available, Diep says it’s good that they are sold in slices so customers can sample several pieces without necessarily buying an entire cake. Cake varieties run from strawberry shortcake, green tea cake and Black Forest cake to several kinds of cheesecake including mango, strawberry, guava, pumpkin, green tea and New York.

The bakery also produces doughnuts, scones, fruit danish, pies, breads, tarts, cookies, muffins, cream puffs, éclairs and brownies.

Don’t have a sweet tooth? Diep says customers also enjoy the savory ham and cheese mini-quiche.

The shop, which opened six months ago, had been the family’s wish for about two years. After researching and investigating several options, the right opportunity came along with this Aiea venue not too far from their Pearl City home.

Diep’s father-in-law, Henry Hong, once owned a bakery in Australia. Diep helps him with the baking when he’s not working as an X-ray technician.

“We get along very well,” notes Diep. “It’s a good mixture for us.”

Diep’s mother-in-law, Thuc Lai, handles the hostess duties as the cashier. Diep’s wife, Kathy, who used to work in accounting, decorates the cakes.

One of the challenges of running a bakery, Diep says, is waking up at 2 a.m. to be ready to open the shop up by 6. “We’ve got employees who help with that,” he says of his two part-timers.

“And thanks so much to all our customers for supporting us.”

The family hopes to open more shops in the future, with their sights set on Ewa Beach and Mililani.

Pastry House is located at 98-080 Kamehameha Highway in Aiea. The hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call 484-9289.

Documenting Lifetime Memories

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Wednesday - May 14, 2008

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Bob Belcher and Alan Nielsen of Affordable Image

Alan Nielsen and Bob Belcher of Affordable Image have found their niche in personalized video tributes.

“We want to save your precious memories,” says Nielsen, who directs the videos. Utilizing photos, video clips and music, they can produce a show about someone’s life.

The videos can be used in two different ways. A 10- to 15-minute video can be presented at a memorial service for a loved one who has passed away. If needed, Affordable Image can set up and take down the film projectors, monitors and sound equipment.

“We want our work to reflect a quiet elegance, to honor and respect the person in the video,” adds Belcher, who also can offer his services as a minister.

The second type of video is a longer, in-depth story of a person’s life or a family’s history. This documentary can be made for someone who is still alive or for someone who has passed on.

“Think of a jigsaw puzzle,” Nielsen says. “Bring us all the bits and pieces of your past, and we’ll help tell your story.”

Telling stories in one way or another is something that Affordable Image has done before.

The company has had a steady workload of changing 8-track recordings and 16 mm film to more modern formats such as CDs and DVDs. They’ve helped transfer old video footage about some World War II Marines for the Pacific War Memorial Association. Other archival videos the firm has been proud to work with include 1970s Primo Beer commercials as well as footage of Elvis, Jimmy Stewart and John F. Kennedy.

“Living tributes and family video albums are a logical extension of what Affordable Image has been doing for the last 15 years,” notes Nielsen.

Their recent work includes digitizing the library for Nanaikapono Elementary School, as well as 40 years of track and field at Punahou School.

“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” says Belcher. “It’s not just a job to us. We care about your memories, and we handle them with care. It’s about honoring someone. You can’t put a price on it.”

Affordable Image is located at 46-012 Alaloa St. in Kaneohe. For more information, call 236-4445 or log onto www.affordableimagellc.com

An Accidental Artist’s Success

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Wednesday - May 07, 2008

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Kawehilani Chun strings a clay flower lei

Kawehilani Chun’s first name means heavenly adornments, so it’s no wonder she eventually came to find her true calling making lei, earrings and beads with her company Ohana Expressions.

Chun, who grew up on Guam, worked in the banking industry for 10 years before she fell into her crafting business. A friend introduced her to polymer clay, and Chun started making some barrettes as a way to relieve stress, and gave some to her hairdresser to give away. When she visited the hair-dresser a month later, she gave Chun money with a note from customers asking for more.

“It just snowballed from there,” says Chun, who started the business in 2000. “At one of my first craft fairs, it was like a fish frenzy. People were all gathered with my stuff in one hand and money in the other hand.”

Chun, who had never really paid attention to flowers before she started her craft, now has her own garden so she can copy the flowers’ details onto her unique designs.

“People are wearing lei as a fashion now,” she says. “I used to buy pearls and gold, and now people are wearing lei. On the Mainland, they call it a flower necklace.”

Chun likes listening to her customers. Advice from one is to put the lei in a plastic container with a few of the real flowers in the refrigerator, so the scent of the real flower will soak into the polymer clay.

When she’s not busy with her floral creations, she caddies for her daughter, Stanford University junior golf player Mari Chun, who is an inspiration for her many designs.

For her daughter’s Aloha Week program, Chun made a baby puakenikeni lei, which has become a very popular seller. Also because of her daughter, she created a haku lei for the golf ball so players who hit the ultimate hole-in-one can cherish their glorious moment even more every time they look at the ball.

“Another time, my daughter had asked me to make some earrings for her, and then her classmates would ask her where she got them,” notes the affable Chun. “Then those earrings became something my customers also liked.

“My customers and I talk story and laugh and laugh and laugh! They’ve become my ohana.”

Her ohana also includes her husband, Waipahu High grad Alan Chun, and her son Darren, who are very understanding, as her production studio is the family’s Pearl City living room.

Chun’s love of flowers has branched out into her own line of custom beads that she sells to other jewelry crafters. Her future goals are to launch her website this year with photos of her products and a listing of her craft fairs.

Her creations can be found at the Mission Houses Museum and at Iolani Palace. As a member of the Pacific Handcrafters Guild, she makes it a point to participate in its craft fairs, especially the one in July at Thomas Square. She also attends the Made in Hawaii Festival in August. A member of the Native Hawaiian Maoli Arts community, she is happy to represent her culture at the Native Hawaiian Nuuanu Street Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 10 on Nuuanu Avenue and Bethel.

Not only is her first name significant to her livelihood, her business name is, too. Ohana in Japanese is flower, and ohana in Hawaiian means family.

She says some customers buy the lei to drape on photos of their loved ones.

“My lei becomes a part of their family,” says Chun. “Which is so good because my company name is Ohana Expressions.”

For more information, call 456-3583.

A Real Professional Tree Hugger

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Wednesday - April 30, 2008

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Mark Leon, owner of Sunshine Landscape Company Inc., at Haiku Plantations in an albezia tree that was deemed hazardous and had to be removed

If you find Mark Leon near a tree, he most likely won’t be sitting under it. He and his Sunshine Landscape Company Inc. employees will be working to assess any hazards - or he’ll be doing what he can to save the tree’s life.

What hazards from a tree? On one hand, the good things about a tree are that it is beautiful, it gives much-needed shade and it helps improve our air quality.

On the other hand, a tree can be dangerous if it falls on someone or on a home or business, or falls on the roadways.

Leon says one of the challenges of being a landscaper is educating people about trees.

“To top a tree literally means indiscriminate cutting of tree branches and limbs,” says the Kaneohe-based businessman. “There are people who want me to top a tree, but that may not be the best solution to the problem.”

Leon believes a professional such as himself should take care of the job as best as they see fit. He says if you don’t get the right professional, it’s like asking your dentist to take out your appendix.

“I’m looking for the long-term (customer) relationship,” says Leon. “We want the person whose grandfather passed down the tree from generation to generation. We are one of the few companies that will walk away from a job if we feel a customer wants us to do something that’s not good for the tree. Trees are living organisms. They should have dignity.

“You can’t just trim something the way someone thinks it should be done because you’re affecting the quality of life of the tree.”

Leon explains that one hazard of cutting trees in a certain way that some folks may request is that the new growth will be weakly attached. He notes that trees grow one to two feet per year, and when you top a tree it grows between four to six feet a year straight up instead of laterally - which isn’t good.

The solution, he says, is to deal with the tree in stages - that may take more time, but he knows how to do it. His company consists of four people including himself, and he is on jobs along with his crew, with his sleeves rolled up and his tools in hand.

Leon started out in 1990 as a yard worker, and he worked hard to get certified for several specialties dealing with contracting, landscaping, trees and irrigation.

Sunshine Landscape Company was recognized as one of 12 final-ists for the 2008 Landscaper of the Year award by Total Landscape Care Magazine and Case Construction Equipment.

As a finalist, Leon will be featured in Total Landscape Care Magazine, which goes out to more than 75,000 professionals this year.

Raised in Aina Haina, the Academy of the Pacific graduate lived on the Mainland for six years before returning home. A strong believer in education, Leon has plans to attend several tree conferences in San Jose, St. Louis and in Japan.

“I want to gain as much knowledge as possible and be better at what I do,” says Leon.

For more information, call 235-4328.

Playing To Learn Hawaiian Culture

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Wednesday - April 23, 2008

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Jeff Pagay (artist) and Eileen Tupman of Akamai Games watch (from left) Charity, Alyssa, Aryana and Brenten play games with Charley Lau

Eileen Tupman respects Hawaiian values and culture so much that she created two games for children to learn about them in a fun way.

“There are lots of books out there on culture and I wanted this to be an additional way for people to learn,” says Tupman, president and CEO of Akamai Games. “My family always played games together. I didn’t want something that was a video game because there is no interaction.”

Pele’s Perils Hawaiian Adventure Game is intended for ages 4 and up.

“It’s a simple up-and-down game that takes only minutes to learn for a lifetime of fun,” explains Tupman. “The first player to reach Pele at the top of the volcano is the winner.”

She adds that in one scenario, if you do good deeds to spread aloha, you can easily climb the volcano. The game comes with a pamphlet that explains more about Hawaiian culture, covering topics such as making lauhala and poi, and greeting with lei.

And speaking of good deeds, Tupman is doing her own good deed by donating games to children’s hospitals, including Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Shriners Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Charities. At Borders Books and Music during the month of April, customers can purchase games to donate to the hospitals. They are available at several stores including Borders at Windward Mall and Ward, and also at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

“It’s all about the keiki and helping to keep the Hawaiian culture alive,” Tupman says. “I also hope that visitors to the Islands will find Akamai Games to be a fun way to learn about the Hawaiian culture, and perhaps take a bit of the aloha spirit back home.

“The real reason I made these games is for our own keiki.”

Ohana Mana Hawaiian Adventure Game is for children ages 8 to adult.

“Throughout the years, my Hawaiian nephews and nieces have said, ‘Auntie, you know more about Hawaii and our culture than we do, and we’re Hawaiian!’” admits Tupman.

She studied tropical agriculture at University of Hawaii at Hilo and received her degree from Montana State University. It was during her studies on the Big Island that she was inspired by Hawaiian culture and family environment.

One of her challenges in putting the games together was to find an artist. She met with several and selected Jeff Pagay, who has illustrated several children’s books.

“I wanted the games to have that ‘Where’s Waldo?’ factor to them so that each time you play it, you might notice something new.”

She appreciates the support of her family, including her sister LaDonna, her mom Sheila Gimbel and her adult children Adrian Andersen and Matt Gibaldi.

“I want people to spend family time together,” says Tupman, who has three more games in the development phase.

For more information, call 489-6436 or log onto www.akamaigames.com

Chipping In For Fun And Profit

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Wednesday - April 16, 2008

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Jimmy Chan at Hawaiian Chip Company

You can’t stop at just one.

Jimmy Chan, owner of Hawaiian Chip Company, can’t have only one line of chips. So he’s introducing a Wasabi flavor shrimp chip.

“This way it never gets dull,” says Chan, a Waiakea High School grad. “I’m also looking to get the product in more stores locally and on the Mainland, starting in Los Angeles and other areas where there are lots of locals.”

His products already on the market include original taro chips, zesty garlic taro chips, kiawe barbecue taro chips, original sweet potato chips, zesty garlic sweet potato chips and Mauna Kea sweet potato chips. For those who like it spicy, he created the Kilauea fire sweet potato and taro chip combination. The chips are available at Longs, Times, 7-Eleven and other stores.

One of the challenges of running a business, Chan says, is balancing his personal and professional lives, and finding time to do things outside of work.

“Even finding time to actually sit down and have lunch is something someone complained that I don’t do,” he admits. “I go through the drive-through and eat on the way to someplace.”

But it’s no wonder Chan concentrates on the firm. “I’ve always wanted to start a business since I was a kid,” he says.

He actually got into the chip business by accident.

Chan, who loves to cook, was watching Emeril Lagasse cook some special chips and thought they would be a nice snack. So when some of his fellow Big Islanders wanted to start a restaurant together, he said he would do the chips as part of it. When the restaurant idea didn’t go through, he plowed ahead with the chips.

After he got his bachelor’s in speech communication from the University of Hawaii, he worked at Walden Books while launching his Hawaiian Chip Company in 1999. The first product was original flavor sweet potato chips, which were sold at gift and craft stores.

Jeff Yoshioka, a Hilo High School grad and one of the original members of the team that started the company, serves as the director of sales and marketing.

“Now that I’ve got the chip company, I don’t cook at all,” he says laughing.

Chan credits his family, friends and staff for their support, and especially his parents John and Mary, and his sister Lisa. With a total of eight part- and full-time employees covering everything from paperwork to peeling potatoes, he’s increased production from frying chips only two days a week to six.

What makes his company successful, he says, is that his employees take pride in their work, and he likes to have a lighter attitude and have fun. An example of his fun-loving and jovial nature came during the interview for this article, when he suggested we publish the cell number of his director of sales. Then he asked if he could wish his sister and his worker a happy birthday. Just like eating chips, you can’t stop at just one good chuckle.

For more information, call 845- 9868 or log onto www.hawaiianchipcompany.com

A Bargain Hunter’s Best Friend

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Wednesday - April 09, 2008

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Siblings Kara Sugihara, Jon Sugihara and Kristin Soeryadjaya created http://www.SavvyCircle.com to help others get a good deal

Everyone loves a bargain.

Jon Sugihara and his sisters Kristin Sugihara and Kara Soeryadjaya say they’re doing great with their new Internet business, Savvy Circle, which notifies customers when clothing, books, furniture or electronic items they are looking for are on sale.

“We find women do a lot more online shopping for clothes,” notes Jon. “On the men’s side, we do have men’s items too. However, electronics tend not to drop in price too much, and electronic companies tend to hide their prices sometimes. We’ve saved people lots of money.”

They track about 100 online stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, Bebe, Coach and Ann Taylor, among others.

Here’s how it works. Bargain hunters log onto the website and start an account. From there, it can be accessed in one of three ways: Download a plug-in to your toolbar, add it as a bookmark link or just log onto the website. Then customers look for products they want to buy when they go on sale and add them to their shopping list. Then Savvy Circle sends an e-mail when the products go on sale. Customers can buy online or purchase it at their local store. Sugihara does note that not all items available online are stocked in stores.

This idea all started when Jon and Kara had lunch one day and she said, “I wish there was something that could tell me when things I want were on sale.”

With his technology background, Jon built the website in a couple of weekends.

“We also gave it to some of our friends to tool around with,” he says.

They launched Savvy Circle in November 2007 and caught the holiday traffic, which helped them spread the word about their site.

All Punahou graduates, the siblings have their own responsibilities in the company. Jon takes care of the technology and provides business advice. Kristin, the middle sibling, handles the advertising and marketing and comes up with concepts. The youngest sibling, Kara, monitors the stores, since she has a fashion background and is good with numbers.

“I use it for my wish list,” Jon admits. “When I have the money and I want something, I will look at the list and remember what it is I want.”

There are two things that he’s learned from business dealings that have really helped a lot. The first is to give due diligence when it comes to deciding whom you will start your business with. He advises people to be sure to know that you’ll be agreeing and butting heads with this person, and that you’ll need to trust them. The second is to execute well and fast.

“Don’t be afraid to try something on the Internet, because if you try something and it doesn’t work, in two minutes you can adjust it or apologize on the web. You don’t have to start all over again.”

For more information, log onto www.savvycircle.com

Doing Local Kine Funny Business

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Wednesday - April 02, 2008

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Gayle Machida-Isono and Paul Isono get Local Kine cards

Colorful, action-packed cartoon drawings of local folks doing local-kine things and saying something humorous in pidgin is the hallmark of Maile Way Products greeting cards. The husband-and-wife team of Paul Isono and Gayle Machida-Isono offer Local Kine Stationery at more than 70 stores statewide, including Longs Drugs, Don Quijote, Mark’s Hallmark and Wal-Mart.

The cards show keiki with rice bowl haircuts, rainbow shave-ice, and brown-skinned, slipper-wearing men saying things like “Da bes’!”

There are cards for all occasions including birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation and Christmas. There’s also a line of cards honoring Hawaii festivities such as Girl’s Day, Boy’s Day, yakudoshi and conreki (male 60th birthday). There are even cards celebrating Hawaii’s ninth island, Las Vegas.

“The local feel and the local twist are emphasized in the card,” says Paul, a Roosevelt High grad. “People who live in Hawaii relate to it.”

Gayle explains, “And there are also some people who visit the Islands so much that they understand it, too. One woman told me that she had lived in Hawaii and she moved to Utah. When she received one of our cards, she started crying and got homesick. Her eyes started welling up when she was telling me the story.”

Gayle, a Lapahoehoe High grad, often comes up with the words that get printed.

“I think I’m better at pidgin than the others,” she boasts, noting that she grew up in the Ookala plantation town on the Big Island.

“We’re like a niche within a niche,” Paul observes. “We’re a local card within the Hawaiian card genre.”

Each year they introduce new cards and have kept some of the best-sellers in print year after year.

It all started in 1994 when they did a few birthday and thank you cards in this local style. They named the company Maile Way Products because they first met on Maile Way on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus. That’s also where they met Jon Murakami, who still works with them. Artist Dennis Fujitake joined the crew a year later.

“Some people think its my name, Maile Way, and that I’m Chinese,” Gayle jokes. “I just answer anyway.”

In 1997, the first store that gave them a chance to sell their cards was Longs Waipahu. What started as a part-time endeavor snowballed into a full-time business for the couple as they take the orders, pack, deliver and set up the cards at various stores. With two illustrators and four part-timers on the Neighbor Islands to help them out, they keep busy.

“We set it up at the stores ourselves,” Paul says. “We can hear people’s feedback when they are making comments about the cards, and they think we’re just workers. They don’t know we are the owners of the company. We like it that way because it keeps us in touch with our product.”

His background includes running a graphic design business an working in restaurants, in retail, and at the University of Hawaii. Gayle has worked at Holiday Mart (now called Don Quijote) and in a chiropractor’s office. They say their experiences working for others helped inspire them to start their own business. They also credit their parents for helping their business succeed by volunteering their time. Gayle’s mom, Tsuneko, helps with paperwork while her dad, Kuniaki, and Paul’s parents, Harold and Betty, pitch in by packing the cards.

“Because our business is so streamlined,” Paul says, “we can proudly say that we print our cards locally.”

“We even recycle our boxes for shipping,” Gayle adds.

There are many challenges to running a business, and Paul shares one of their tips to dealing with them.

“We are always in a worst-case scenario mode,” he says. “We are efficient as possible, and we are ready for a downturn in the economy. We take it day by day, and as long as we are in the worst-case scenario mode, we will be good. It’s not good to be arrogant and cocky.”

Gayle emphasizes, “We never take anything for granted.”

Their future goals include getting a website up, hiring another employee and expanding with some new products.

“The cards are a reflection of our life, of our experience, our childhood and getting older,” the couple admits.

“Probably when we have a family we’ll start having baby cards, too.”

For more information, call 753-5853.

A Business Literally For The Birds

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Wednesday - March 26, 2008

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Bruce McGonigal with Bailey II, Rosie and Bailey

Rosie the green-winged macaw twitches her neck from side to side and says hello. Adults and children alike stop in their tracks, mesmerized by her animated motions and long, bright-red tail feathers.

Bruce McGonigal’s face lights up when he talks about his birds. With his company, The Bird Guy, he shares his knowledge with others about birds at schools, libraries and parties.

“Birds are my life,” says McGonigal, who has more than 100 tropical birds including macaws, African greys, Alexandrine parrots and cock-atoos.

People can hire The Bird Guy for an hour, a day or a week to bring several of his feathered friends to an event. Photos can be handled in several different ways. A professional videographer and photographer, McGonigal is flexible and says he doesn’t mind if customers want to use their own digital cameras. He can take a photo for them using their camera, or he can use his own.

When the Navy veteran is hired for school events, he demonstrates bird basics, which include a display of the types of birds, various perches, different cages and how to tell which is a male or female. He also breeds the winged creatures.

McGonigal says he always had pets as a child while living on the Mainland, including fish, gerbils, alligators and raccoons, and his grandfather had a parakeet that went along on family vacations. But that wasn’t his inspiration for the business. He worked with Rich Miano Sr., father of UH football assistant coach Rich Miano, taking photos of people with birds in Waikiki. McGonigal says he struck out on his own soon after with a spot at Koko Marina next to a water sports activity shop. He notes his approach is a soft sell, not an aggressive style.

“There’s many a refrigerator magnet out there that has a photo I took of people with my birds as a souvenir of their trip to Hawaii,” he says proudly. “Some people tell me it was the highlight of their trip.”

He also was based near Hilo Hattie for about a year, and then at Aloha Tower from 2002 to 2006.

“People came back every year to have their photos with the birds,” he recalls. “One woman from Australia even took her photo at Hilo Hattie and then managed to track me down at Aloha Tower. She was looking for me, and she found me.”

McGonigal says right now he is again looking for a place to be based.

For more information, call 386-8606, e-mail , or log onto www.birdguyhawaii.com

Audio Media’s Sound Of Success

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Wednesday - March 19, 2008

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Freddie Ancheta works the audio editing system for local, national and international projects

As a post-production engineer at Audio Media, Freddie Ancheta really gets into his work. One of his most recent projects was doing the sound for the film Chief, directed by Brett Wagner, which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

“I just push the buttons,” Ancheta says humbly as he whizzes through the Digidesign Pro Tools audio editing program.

The firm works on audio production for radio, TV and film projects done locally and internationally. They can add sound effects, edit music, record voiceovers and coordinate sound design.

“With our ISDN, we can transfer our work to anywhere in the world,” says Ancheta.

The TV series Audio Media has worked on include North Shore and Hawaii, as well as Aloha Scooby Doo with the late Ray Bumatai. One of the many Hollywood films the firm has had a hand in is the 2004 movie Blade Trinity, starring Wesley Snipes. Some of the talents who have passed through the doors of Audio Media include Hollywood types such as Britney Spears, Pierce Brosnan, Jason Scott Lee, Kelly Hu, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa and Jason Momoa. The studio has seen nationally famous voiceover talents such as Joe Cipriano, whose voice is heard on the Today Show, the NBC show Heroes, and CBS’s Two and a Half Men. Character actor Earl Boen, who has a role in the Terminator series as Dr. Peter Silberman, drops in sometimes. Local voiceover artists who’ve recorded at Audio Media include Tracy Yamamoto, Krisha Fairchild, Billy Sage and Loretta Ables Sayre.

Ancheta, a Mililani High School graduate, says he got into the business in trial-by-fire fashion. A music major at Northern Colorado University, Ancheta had a friend who worked at Audio Media, and he thought she had the best job in the world.

When Ancheta began working at the shop six years ago, he brought some experience from his musical training.

“I’m good because of my ear,” he says. “I can hear a lot of things.”

While working on one of his first projects, Ancheta recalls that he really wanted to succeed, so he did his best to figure things out on his own and learn fast.

“Out of fear, I got fast,” he admits.

Veteran radio broadcaster Dunbar Wakayama started the company in 1977.

Previously he had worked with a different radio station every year because of ownership changes. He decided not to do radio anymore, although it was fun, because he needed something steady that he could count on as he had a family to support. Wakayama started the recording studio and decided to make it work.

One of their challenges Ancheta, says, is to publicize the company.

“The best way to get the word out is by word of mouth,” Ancheta notes. “When I’m in a session with a client, I treat them with lots of respect and produce the best spot I can, to build a good reputation.”

Audio Media is located at 1232-C Waimanu St. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, and by appointment. For more information, call 591-2007, or log onto audiomediahawaii.com

Sentimentally Yours Says Goodbye

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Wednesday - March 12, 2008

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Heidi Aoki-Phillips with her stock of Yankee Candles at Sentimentally Yours

After many years at Windward Mall and reopening at Windward City Shopping Center for less than one year, the collectibles and specialty gift shop Sentimentally Yours closes its doors April 6.

“People aren’t buying as much due to the economy,” notes owner Heidi Aoki-Phillips among other reasons for the closure. “We’ve been struggling to stay open.”

Aoki-Phillips hopes she can help you find the special something you’re looking for as she’s selling all the inventory, which features fragrance puffs, Yankee Candles, curios, display cabinets, and more. Items not sold before the closure will be sold online.

Among the collectibles, Precious Moments figurines are popular, she says, as they are familiar and cute.

“Hummels appeal to an older client as they know the history of how the Hummels started and that they are from Germany,” Aoki-Phillips explains.

The line of hard-to-find collectibles includes brand names such as Boyds Bears, Lilliput Lane, Windstone, Disney sculptures, as well as the Harmony Kingdom line of animal shapes which disguise the box. With the help of two part-timers to keep things running smoothly, she also has stuffed animals, charm bracelets, money leis for graduation and gift wrapping to round out the store’s merchandise.

Aoki-Phillips says she asks lots of questions when she helps someone to find a gift.

“First, I ask if they had anything in mind,” she says. “ Then I’ll ask if they have any hobbies, a favorite color or a favorite animal.”

She says when finding a gift for someone, there are so many questions and so many ways it can go.

“I want the person to have a gift that’s special for them, not just some random gift.”

Sentimentally Yours started out as one of the original tenants at Windward Mall. The original owner, Janet Ogawa, had it as Kris Kringle’s Den, which also had a store at Ward Warehouse in the 1970s before renaming it Sentimentally Yours. Aoki-Phillips started working in the store in 1989 as a sales clerk after she graduated from Castle High School.

For five years, she worked 30 hours a week at Sentimentally Yours, as well as another part-time job with the Disney Store, also in the mall.

“One person thought I had a twin, but I don’t,” says Aoki-Phillips.

In 2001, she had the chance to take over the store because the owner was retiring. In 2006, the store closed at Windward Mall when they were asked to leave the space they were in to make room for another store. Aoki-Phillips says the other options in the mall that were available were temporary and already occupied. Aoki-Phillips knew she wanted to find another location in Kaneohe. By 2007, she found her present location at Windward City Shopping Center.

One of the challenges of running the business, Aoki-Phillips admits, was letting people know that the store was still operating.

Sentimentally Yours is located at Windward City Shopping Center at 45-480 Kaneohe Bay Drive. The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 808-235-0411.

Organic Fabrics For Mom And Baby

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Wednesday - March 05, 2008

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Regan and Sue Ranoa say clothing made from organically grown cotton is better for sensitive skin

The mother-and-daughter team of Sue and Regan Ranoa is on the lookout for more products that will complement its inventory of organic clothing and toys for mama and baby. Their business, Organic Keiki, sells organic pants, onsies, T-shirts, tank tops, shorts and skirts for children. For mom, there are organic necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings and hats.

“Organics are good for the land,” says Regan Ranoa. “If it is not organic, the pesticides start to erode the soil, so it’s not usable. Organic puts back the nutrients. Organic food has more flavor, vitamins and nutrients.”

Ranoa further explains that cotton is grown with chemicals that include seven known carcinogens, and that is not good for cotton farmers, the land or consumers.

“Organic cotton is easier on sensitive skin,” she adds. “Organic cotton is not treated with chemicals such as formalde-hyde the way other cotton products are. The food you put in your body and the clothes you put on your body have an effect on you. We want to have the best opportunity for our kids, so why would we want to feed them or clothe them with anything that could be harmful?”

She researches to find companies that have been certified organic to be a part of their select line.

The challenge to running this business, Ranoa admits, is determining what your core capabilities are.

“Once you determine what you are good at, it’s good to delegate or outsource the things that you’re not so good at,” she says. “Know when to outsource because you can’t do it all yourself.”

Ranoa was working on an organic farm on the Big Island when she found her calling.

“I realized I wanted to do something in organics, but not necessarily farming,” says the former San Francisco resident who worked in marketing for a travel adventure company.

She and her mom bought Organic Keiki from a young mother on Maui who started the business. Ranoa revamped the firm’s website and added new products.

Mom handles sales, graphics and administration. Ranoa handles the website, e-mail marketing and public relations. Her dad Randy, who was born and raised in Hawaii, helps out with errands when he’s not busy doing his own work as a jewelry designer. He’ll be constructing a gourd playhouse for Organic Keiki.

The company is in the design phase for starting a clothing line of its own. The first products to be introduced are a dress and boy’s pants.

“We want the clothing line to be more fun, not so hippy dippy,” adds Ranoa. “We’d like something to serve the Hawaiian niche market. Some clothes will have the surfer/skater look.”

Organic Keiki’s full line is on the website. Coming up, they will be at the Green Living Expo at the Blaisdell March 15, 16 and 17, and the Kokua Festival April 19 and 20 at the Shell.

For more information, log onto www.OrganicKeiki.com

Renting Out A Watery Art Gallery

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Wednesday - February 27, 2008

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Richard Xie’s aquariums are a form of living art, perfect for any home or office

In the movie Finding Nemo, the young orange fish with white stripes who lives in the ocean with his dad ends up in a fish tank at a dentist’s office. The fish inside the tank try to maneuver a way for Nemo to get back to the ocean.

The world of the ocean and aquariums is something that Richard Xie is very familiar with in his company Hawaiian Sea Life.

Xie (pronounced like sea) has developed a new niche for his 10-year-old company.

He rents aquariums to professional offices, restaurants and homes.

He provides the fish, the equipment, and the service to maintain the tank.

Xie says he thinks of the aquariums as living art.

“It’s like an art gallery,” notes Xie. “Instead of changing the art, we change the fish in the tanks every so often so there’s something new to look at.”

The company brochure offers several packages for customers to choose from. To help customers learn more about the fish, reading materials on them are also provided. One of the packages even offers a feng shui consultation.

Using the firm’s services, it costs customers less up front investment to start enjoying an aquarium than it would if they had to buy everything themselves.

“I like fish,” says Xie.

After the China native earned his masters in business at HPU, Xie worked as a marketing manager before starting his company that specializes in importing and exporting fish to 34 states and 27 countries. The company initiated developments in fish tank design and filters. Xie notes that the fish industry is a $5 billion dollar industry in the United States, and $10 billion worldwide.

There are eight people working with the company which does most of its marketing through direct sales.

With all this expertise about fish, he’s not only concerned about showing off the fish but also about how the fish are doing in the environment in terms of conservation efforts, and also breeding fish.

Xie tried to work with local agencies in Hawaii to see if there are any possibilities for funding technology grants for research.

“We have to do it ourselves,” explains Xie. “So I went overseas, and in China the scientists were able to cooperate and find some technical breakthrough technology.”

Future goals for the company include reaching more customers, and someday franchising the concept.

“We hope that my children and grandchildren can see the fish,” says Xie. “We can make a little bit of difference.”

For more information, call 841-8080 or e-mail

All Things Sweet And Small

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Wednesday - February 20, 2008

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Frances Pons: sweet tastes in small bites

If you like things small and sweet, this is for you.

“There’s a huge movement of miniature foods,” says Frances Pons. “All things small are really loved.”

And she should know, because her company, Sugar Rush by Frances, specializes in miniature desserts.

Her line of miniature cheese-cakes comes in guava, pineapple, mango, Oreo, poi and mandarin orange flavors, as well as vanilla raspberry, white chocolate, chocolate truffle, strawberry, Italian espresso and Key lime.

Her newest miniature sugar rush is called the Goldfinger - pumpkin or strawberry cheesecake rolled into a ball on a stick like a lollipop, covered in milk- and semi-sweet chocolate. The handle is covered in gold.

Naming and describing the desserts seem to be just as much an art as the sweet treat themselves.

“I come up with the names myself,” Pons says. “Sometimes I get them from pacing the floor in the middle of the night.”

For example, one dessert is called Screaming Opera. Her menu reads: “This is the dessert that makes a prima donna throw caution to the wind and dive right in.”

“‘Opera’sounds a bit pretentious to me, so I thought I’d knock it down a notch and add the word screaming,” says Pons.

Screaming Opera is a classical European dessert of chocolate fudge layered with almonds, chocolate mouse and covered in chocolate glaze.

“There are a lot of chocoholics,” she says with a chuckle. “Anything with chocolate in it is popular.”

Besides the Screaming Opera and cheesecakes, she offers more trendy desserts such as the Anuenue, which is a cake made in six colors of the rainbow. There is also the Bogie and Bacall Key lime mousse, and the luscious Lilliputian is a lilikoi custard bar.

Pons needs a month’s notice for private parties and events of 150 or more. Her gift box of 16 pieces must be ordered 48 hours in advance. With the help of an assistant, and one day’s notice, customers can select from the company’s specials menu and pick up their orders from the commercial kitchen in Kalihi.

“As a young girl my grandmother made Japanese confections,” Pons shares. “My grandmother is from a restaurant family in Japan.”

A self-described military brat, Pons was born and raised in Japan, and graduated from an American military high school there. While she was working as a corporate planner in San Francisco, she started baking cheesecakes and brought them to work. Co-workers raved about her cheesecakes and began placing orders.

“Making the cheesecakes brought me so much more joy, and I knew something greater was calling me,” says Pons. “I prayed and I said, ‘What do you want me to do?’I took the plunge to start my own business, and people thought I was crazy. Others said, ‘Do what you love, and the money will follow.’ It’s really scary in the beginning. It’s terrifying.”

The California Culinary Academy graduate moved to Hawaii in 2000 to be near her mom and dad. She worked as a pastry chef for Koolau Catering for three years, then decided to start her own business in December 2003. She now makes her home in Salt Lake.

While this business is her passion, running her own company does have its challenges. One of which is to find and keep skilled employees. To overcome that obstacle, she says experience has taught her to understand what kind of person she is looking for. Another challenge of running a business, Pons admits, is inflation.

“Since everything is shipped out or flown out, it makes doing business cost more,” says Pons. “We just have to seek creative ways to diligently mitigate every day. Be organized, fastidious and not wasteful. You march forward and do the best you can.”

Pons says the best thing about her business is that the sweet treats make people happy.

“When you eat it, that’s when you appreciate it.”

For more information, call 949-4948.

Island Hopping To Help Save Lives

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Wednesday - February 13, 2008

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Sandra Apter (right) with Capt. Kaipo Almeida and flight paramedics Tim Hess and Eric Kitagawa with one of three planes

When someone falls seriously ill or is injured on a Neighbor Island and needs to see a doctor on Oahu, AirMed Hawaii is there. Each flight includes four staffers: pilot, co-pilot, paramedic and a nurse. And they encourage patients to have a loved one of the patient on the plane while they’re being transported to a hospital.

“We want a family member to ride on the plane with the patient,” says Sandra Apter, vice president and general manager of AirMed Hawaii. “The patient is fearful, and when you’re going to a strange place it is comforting to have someone you know with you.”

With three planes and 70 Hawaii-based employees - mechanics, pilots, co-pilots, nurses and paramedics - AirMed Hawaii transports patients of any age for medical treatment. Physicians and hospitals contact AirMed Hawaii directly.

To help make the transition from one hospital to another easier, a rapid response team on the Neighbor Islands completes the paperwork and gets the patient from the hospital to the aircraft.

“You know you are making a difference, and it’s very rewarding,” Apter says.

In addition to transporting patients, the company also helps conduct training at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine. David Yew, AirMed medical director, gives quarterly training sessions for the staff and other professionals using a lifelike ,state-of-the-art mannequin.

Apter previously worked with a physician as the clinic manager at Airport Medical in 1970, which also operated its own ground ambulance squad. Apter worked with Hawaii Air Ambulance when it started up in 1980 with seven employees and seven flights a month. She left Hawaii Air Ambulance in 2003 with plans to enjoy retirement. Then her friend Jeff Tolbert, founder of the 26-year-old Alabama-based AirMed International, asked if she could help with scheduling. Apter says due to a compelling need for more medical travel services, AirMed Hawaii got the company up and running in three days in 2006. The firm is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services.

“If you have the love for the work, you do it,” Apter says. “If you try to find a solution, it is much easier. We have an awesome staff of hard-working people. Whatever our staff needs to make them a success, we give them what they need.”

Apter notes that some of the challenges include new regulations from the FAA and exceeding standards. With her staff, she feels all obstacles are easily overcome.

“Some things are done by committee,” explains Apter. “The staff feels that they have ownership.”

Apter’s future goals for the company include new aircraft, a hangar and more certified medical personnel.

For more information, log onto www.airmed.com/hawaii

One Secret To Success Is FAMES

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Wednesday - February 06, 2008

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Joni Redick-Yundt is the quintessential multitasker

Joni Redick-Yundt is often doing more than one thing at a time. For instance, she’s promoting the Filipino American Multi Ethnic Society, which she created to help other businesses and to develop leaders in the community.

“I just want to help people,” says Redick-Yundt. “You don’t have to be Filipino to join.”

The Filipino American Multi Ethnic Society, affectionately called FAMES, secures speakers who can tell their stories of overcoming challenges and provide juicy details about their secrets of success to educate and inspire other business owners. Past speakers since the organization’s inception in 2006 include Glenn Furuya of Leadership Works, Ken Simon of Menehune Water, and Emme Tomimbang of EMME Inc.

“At our monthly meetings, we also have table sponsors, where businesses can buy a table and set up their brochures to talk to people before the program starts,” explains Redick-Yundt, an Aiea High School graduate who grew up in the Philippines.

The entrepreneur is the owner of Joni’s Limousine Services, which she started the same year as FAMES. She also is a financial specialist with Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a Mary Kay independent sales representative and an associate for Max International. The Mililani resident does a simulcast radio and television show called Million Dollar Mondays, which airs on K-108 and OC16. Last year, she released a book, Million Dollar Attitude, which tells the story of her life and reveals the answer to the question she’s often asked: How do you do it all? She also has been giving presentations and motivational speeches.

Abeauty pagent winner with the titles of Mrs. Hawaii United States 2002 and Mrs. Honolulu International 2001, Redick-Yundt credits her success to the support of her husband, Tom C. Yundt Sr., and her children Jason, 22, and Jessica, 16.

At the next FAMES meeting, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Dave and Buster’s, the featured speaker is Wally Amos, the owner of Chip and Cookie in Kailua. Amos previously owned Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies.

FAMES meets the first Wednesday of each month. The cost is $20 per person. RSVP required. Call 781-5905 or e-mail . For more information, log onto www.fameshawaii.org

Making Computers Accessible

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Wednesday - January 30, 2008

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Gigi Davidson

Gigi Davidson wants to help technology-challenged people, no matter what age they are. With Ohana Komputers, she can teach people everything from how to turn on the computer, use e-mail, the Internet, word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheets, etc., to databases, programming, graphics, applied technology and multimedia presentations.

“Almost any job uses computers,” says Davidson.

Ohana Komputers is available at various locations such as schools, after-school programs and community centers. Ohana Komputers also writes grants to get the equipment and programs started. The company’s main goal is to reach disadvantaged people throughout the state and enlighten their lives with the ability to use a computer.

Palama Settlement on Vineyard Boulevard has computers available for the community to use, and classes are held there. Davidson says some folks who have never used a computer before are delighted with their progress. Ohana Komputers also has worked with Kalihi Elementary School and Our Redeemer Lutheran School. It has been involved with several after-school and summer school programs such as Accelerations Hawaii, Boys and Girls Spalding Center, Kahala Elementary and Maryknoll Grade School. Private lessons also are available.

Davidson says there are many nuances to the business of teaching people how to use computers.

“Just when you think you’ve seen everything, something else comes up,” she says. “We had a gentleman in his early 70s who came for weekly lessons. He was ill-at-ease at first. He’d bring doughnuts and coffee to one of our locations where there was a dog. We have one photo where the gentlemen is at the computer, and the dog put his paws on the man’s lap. So it looks like the dog is watching the computer. The dog was really more interested in the doughnuts, but it looks like he’s looking at the computer.”

A Hawaii resident since 1978, Davidson’s background includes working in the financial industry and selling real estate.

Since she started Ohana Komputers in November 2000, she’s now up to four full-time employees, and has three to five part-time employees.

“I’m passionate about doing good things in the community,” says Davidson, who hopes to expand her business in the future.

She’s involved with the board of the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, Job Corps and charter school Halau Ku Mana. The Makiki resident enjoys hiking, surfing, athletic activities and spending time with her 19-year-old son, Jenya.

For more information, call 523-8191, log onto OhanaKomputer.org

Business On A Creative Note

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Wednesday - January 23, 2008

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Marsha Hamamoto writes a note on her Island-themed stationery

Sending a handwritten note to someone is a special thing to do, but writing it on nice stationery emphasizes the effort put into it. Marsha Hamamoto created a line of stationery that features note cards and sticky notes with a touch of Hawaii. Her company, Island Papercraft, also offers many other island-themed stationery products such as gift tags, calendars, recipe cards, note pad gift sets and magnetic lists with a matching pen. Designs feature bright colors, a hula girl, surfer girl, plumeria, hibiscus, slippers and more.

Hamamoto says the challenge is to be competitive.

“You can’t rest on your laurels,” she reveals. “The creative mind doesn’t rest.”

The Aiea-based businesswoman uses the work of a graphic artist to carry out her vision. With the help of four independent sales representatives, the array of products are sold at many stores across the state. The sales staff and the artist have been with her for about nine years, and she believes they stay with the company because they like the product.

“They’re free to give their input,” Hamamoto explains. “Some of our product ideas have come from store managers through the sales representatives. They are part of the process, and that makes it fun for them to see some of the ideas they bring come to fruition. And I really appreciate that there isn’t a high turnover in staff because it would be hard to keep the flow. If you have to constantly keep finding new people, it’s like taking steps backward.”

An example of input from the stores is the local-style graduation money card, which she still continues to produce.

Future goals for the company include selling more products in Japan and getting involved in specific projects with nonprofits and schools, and custom stationery.

One of Hamamoto’s keys to success is finding a niche.

“You have to see what the trends are and what the pulse of the customer is, which is not necessarily some of the same things that I might prefer,” she says.

Raised in Los Angeles, Hamamoto spent many summers in Hawaii as her parents are from here. A UCLA history major, she came to Hawaii for a six-month break and never left. After working in the travel industry with the airlines, she started getting interested in stationery, noting that there hadn’t been any new designs in a while. In 1988 she incorporated her company. It was with her first phone call for information on how she would go about getting her design ideas out there that she met a graphic artist with whom she worked for the first eight years of her business.

“Not being an artist, you need a connection,” says Hamamoto. “She taught me about the printing business as well.”

She says with note cards and sticky notes featuring dolphins and flowers as one of her first products, she catered her ideas toward the tourists, as she started selling at ABC Stores.

Hamamoto shares one of the lessons she’s learned over time.

“When I was selling in Waikiki, I thought I needed something for tourists, and something different for locals,” she admits. “When we merged the trends, that’s what we have now.”

She acknowledges the support of her husband, Farrington grad Berton Hamamoto, who is president and principal broker of Property Profiles Inc. He just completed his term as the 2007 president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Supporting local businesses is one of Hamamoto’s priorities, as she does her best to have her note cards, gift tags and notepads printed here in Hawaii.

“It is personal to local businesses,” says Hamamoto. “They take pride in what they do for me, and they see it in stores, and they know they did it. They appreciate that you made it in Hawaii and you’re supporting the local economy. We will continue to do what we do.”

For more information, call 486-9810, e-mail or log onto www.islandpapercraft.com

A Taste Of Authentic Latin Cuisine

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Wednesday - January 16, 2008

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The Rodriguez family - Alex, Lisa, Eric, Kayla and Justin - all pitch in to help with the food at community events for their company Latin Grindz

When Alex Rodriguez tasted some of the Latin foods available in Hawaii, he saw a niche to fill. He knew he could create a wider variety of Latin recipes for people to sample at community events.

“I want to introduce different types of Latin food to those who may never have had some of these dishes,” explains Rodriquez, who started Latin Grindz in 2006