From left, Riches Kahala owner Lo Kaimuloa and her family. From right, husband Clyde, granddaughter Noe, son Kamakana, daughter-in-law Emi, and grandson Kaiko.
Lo Kaimuloa marked the 25th anniversary of her Kahala Mall kiosk, Riches Kahala, on Nov. 26, with an intimate gathering of supporters and fans, who were able to shop some of the most popular local jewelry designers carried by the kiosk. Among them were Beachcomber Designs, Hands in the Sand, Jennie B Jewelry, Kimberly Le, Michie, and Ani Young, and fabric clutches by Jana Lam.
The kiosk boutique has been so successful over the years, I asked Lo why she never expanded into a bigger space.
Although she said she's been invited by the center to move into larger quarters, she said, "Never wanted to," adding that she loves the individualized service and intimacy the small space affords. She has close relationships with her customers, and indeed, when I asked some women whether they were customers or friends of Lo's, they answered, "Both." One woman described Lo as a soul mate, and I can see that.
Although I don't know her well, she's just so friendly, big-hearted, and generous of spirit, that even I, a very private person, just found myself opening up to her. I don't know why, but once I told her about a wacky dream I had, that pre-blog era, would have been kept to myself.
I remembered that incident the night of the party. I couldn't remember the dream, but I only know it ended with a tiara.
Coincidentally, that day, I had been cleaning out my dresser drawers and found an old journal I had. For whatever reason, I threw it on my bed and left it there all day. When I got home from the party and was ready to go to bed, I picked it up and started leafing through the pages, and there, on Jan. 16, 1998, was the dream!
Even more now, I don't know why I told her this, but I dreamed I was going to a prom, and my date was gothy shock rocker Marilyn Manson. I was upset that, not only was he was prettier than me, to add insult to injury he was wearing a tiara, and I complained, "But I wanted to wear the tiara!"
Anyway, she got a huge laugh out of this, and a few days later, I received in the mail, a tiara from Lo! That's just the sort of thing she carries and the kind of things she does to make women feel beautiful and good about themselves.
I still have the tiara and still feel happy when I think about it, even though, to this day I'm still never gonna be the kind of woman who can outdress Marilyn Manson!
Happy anniversary, Lo!
Kimberly Le was showing her delicate woven wire and gemstone jewelry, including a new collection of bold heart designs.
No comments:
Post a Comment