Page 13 - MidWeek - April 5, 2023

APRIL 5, 2023 MIDWEEK 13
Meleana Estes (right, with pink lei) has been making lei since before she could remember. In her new book, the Honolulu resident explores Hawaiian culture through the art of lei making and shares the stories
of the flowers (top right), craftsmanship and community of local lei culture (above).
PHOTOS COURTESY TARA ROCK
Lei Maker Continues To Blossom
FROM PAGE12
tice with the world.
“I by no means consider myself
future of lei making, and believes there’s ample room for budding lei makers to join her.
a master lei maker,” says Estes. “I just have been really lucky to share this skill, the way Hawai‘i shares aloha.”
“I really do hope this inspires and continues a lei love to be ignited in young people,” says Estes. “In whatever way this could possibly
Engrossed in the local lei scene,
Estes noticed there hadn’t been a book celebrating lei since Marie McDonald’s Na Lei Makamae: The Treasured Lei, which came out 20 years ago.
“I wanted something to capture all of this beauty — it’s such huge part of our culture and it runs so deeply in so many ways.”
facilitate that, I’ d be stoked. I would feel like I did my job in the world.”
E
ing well-fitted, voguish vintage mu‘umu‘u (check out her Instagram, @meleana_ha- waii), is a Hono- lulu socialite who spent much of her
stes, who’s often seen wear-
“I think lei has
had a resurgence ...
and a lot of people
started celebrating
lei more. I felt like I
was just in the right
position to talk
about it and share it,” says Estes. “I wanted something to capture all of this beauty — it’s such huge part of our culture and it runs so deeply in so many ways.”
young adulthood in the bustling streets of New York City and Syd- ney, Australia. But it wasn’t always that way.
In Lei Aloha, which is written with author Jennifer Fiedler, Estes offers an inside peek into Hawai‘i’s lei culture, the history of flowers and island traditions. Each chap- ter explores a grouping of flowers and lei, such as plumerias picked by neighborhood keiki, strands of white and yellow ginger for a can- dle-lit party, or lei haku made for hula performances.
Born and raised in Kīlauea, Kaua‘i, Estes grew up chasing her cousins around their family’s farm. Weaving around fruit trees, barefoot, with her hair whirling in the wind, she enjoyed her quaint, red-dirt- stained lifestyle.
“I love to style, to entertain, put crazy things together, so putting this together was essentially 12 gigantic photoshoots and concepts, which was really fun for me,” shares Es- tes. “On the writing side, what has to be noted is how many wonderful people helped me, and the amount of people who I got to sit with and spend time with and hear their knowledge, their mana‘o, their sto- ries. It helped bring this book to life. I feel so blessed that people opened up their homes and hearts. It’s the most touching thing in the world.”
“I loved my time on the East Coast and abroad,” she says. “I think you should always be true to your own self and your own style. Don’t lose your bright, shining Hawai‘i light. If you show aloha to a place, it’ll show aloha to you back. I did that with New York; I loved it there. I wanted to absorb all of it, and it took care of me. I was very proud to be from Ha- wai‘i, no matter where I was, and I would incorporate whatever Hawai‘i I could, whenever I could.”
passing on her energy, love and mana to me. It’s a little bit like a passing of a baton, like, ‘Now it’s your time to wear this.’”
“The bracelets are the first project from the ‘Meleana perspective’ of Dmodernizing and taking a Hawai‘i traditional gem and making it more modern, fun and accessible.”
We’re proud to be Hawaiian, we’re proud to share it, we’re proud to wear lei, we’re proud to wear our bracelets and we’re proud to wear mu‘umu‘u. I love that.”
She did this in part by wearing her beloved Hawaiian heirloom brace- lets, gifted to her from the matriarchs of her family.
Desiring to, yet again, perpetuate and breathe new life into Hawaiian traditions, Estes created HIE Heir- looms of Hawai‘i (hiehawaii.com) with her calabash cousin, Noël Shaw. The brand sells bracelets, some tradi- tional and some with a modern spin, that can be engraved for a personal- ized touch.
ubbed the “curator of mod- ern aloha,” Estes has made it her mission to celebrate
Following Lei Aloha’s release, Es- tes will have rolled out two big en- deavors this year — and it’s not even May yet. Amid the flurry, hopefully, she’ ll remember to stop and smell the puakenikeni, and, like a flower in bloom, celebrate these moments of glory.
In a heartfelt tone, Estes shares 13 how she feels nervous about the
“I have a bracelet that says my tūtū’s name. I know that my grandad gave it to her for an anniversary and she gifted it to me at some point,” says Estes. “It’s sort of like she’s
the things that make Hawai‘i unique. “We have our own sense of self,” says Estes. “Hawai‘i has a very strong sense of identity and we’re not afraid to show it. We’re proud of it.
E