Hifi Pops Up at Surf Line Hawaii Ocean-Lifestyle store

Nadine Kam photos
Hifi member designers featured at popup boutique within Surf Line Hawaii Ocean-Lifestyle Store were introduced by Hifi co-founder Melissa May White, right.

Surf Line Hawaii/Jams World Hawaii and Hawaii Fashion Incubator (Hifi) hosted a launch party July 11 for their first store-within-a-store collaboration, Hifi Pops Up at Surf Line Hawaii Ocean-Lifestyle Store.

Fifteen Hifi member designers' merchandise is prominently displayed right at the front of the store, and I thought their jewelry, accessories and clothing for men, women and children meshed perfectly with Surf Line/Jams World and other lifestyle apparel, active wear and ocean gear.

The Hifi roster: 1979, Arkotec, the BASE Project, Ecolicious, JenStone Jewelry, Katrina Langford, Maui Thing, Mamanu Kids, Organik, Salty Girl Jewelry, Sasaki Bags, Soluna Designs, Stir Crazy, UMEE, and Vers Hawaii.

The pop-up continues through Aug. 11, and a strong response may lead to more collaborations in the future.

The Surf Line store is hard to miss at 411 Puuhale Road, across the street from OCCC. I was worried about the parking situation, but neighbor Electric Union graciously allowed guests to park on their property. The owner keeps birds, and I love birds, so I made a detour to meet his ringneck parakeet, a giant compared to the green ones flying around, and he was proud to announce his bird loves to eat chicken! So do my parrots!

Mamanu Kids apparel photographed against the backdrop of Surf Line's towering display of vintage motorcycles.

The Hifi Coop's decoupage floor is replicated at the popup.

Looks like carved wood, but it's not! The BASE Project bracelets are carved from recycled PVC.

Fashion incubator close to (temporary) reality

Nadine Kam photos
The Hifi fundraiser shirt designer Sierra Dew, center, with Deanna Edon, left, and Hifi co-founder Melissa May White modeling the shirt.

Traffic flowed in and out of designer Andy South's Chinatown studio at a steady clip at the launch party Dec. 2 for Hawaii Fashion Incubator's 2011 fundraiser shirt. The event, hosted by Hifi, South and Hawaii RED Magazine, aimed to raise funds toward supporting a fashion resource center for Hawaii.

Sierra Dew designed the $20 shirt, which features stylized imagery of an a'eo in flight, and bearing the words for Hifi's mission of "moving fashion forward."

Fashion supporters could choose from men's and women's shirts or totebags, which will come in handy as a green way of hauling the holiday purchases. When it was over, most of the one-size-fits-all women's shirts (I guess all us fashion fanatics must be a size 2-4, LOL!) were sold out, according to Hifi co-founder Melissa May White, who says they're getting ready to place a re-order.

The event was timely tied to the holiday gift-shopping season, so there were also holiday pop-up shops by Sierra, as well as HI State of Mind’s Katrina Bodnyk and Umee’s Deena White Tearney.

It all supported a good cause since Melissa and her fellow conspirator Toby Portner have been dreaming, since 2006, of linking like-minded creatives and finding a multi-use site for nurturing young designers and artists.

Although White said Hifi "started for the reason each of us had our own goal in fashion, but I've found that I'm enjoying the act of connecting people more."

To get people to start thinking about what that might entail and the possibilities arising from such a community facility, Hifi intends to launch a monthlong pop-up laboratory in February 2011 for hosting classes, workshops, exhibits, films, events and trunk shows. They'll put up a calendar, and individuals or groups can sign up for a time slot for their event.

Events already on the calendar include Sierra Dew's popular stencil classes, and an open workshop with Andy South, in which designers can bring in their project to work on site, with critiques and help from South.

The group is now seeking sponsors, donated goods and services, and volunteers toward achieving this goal.

If you missed the event but want to support the cause, find out more at www.hawaiifashion.org.

To see more photos, visit honolulupulse.com.

HI State of Mind designer Katrina Bodnyk shows one of her repurposed silk skirts. On the rack are her silk halter tops.

Umee designer Deena White Tearney, right, shows some of her designs, with Lauryn Inouye wearing a pair of Umee shorts.

Deena's business cards bear images of her designs, many utilizing imported Italian fabrics. One of her wedding designs is shown at right.