What started as a pastime collecting shells on the beach in Sydney, Australia, has turned into a jewelry line featured last year in the pages of Sports Illustrated’s famous swimsuit edition. Marylea Conrad, founder of the line called [ki•ele], is still in shock. “Being featured in the…
Corbett Kalama sits in his one-man outrigger canoe six miles off Kailua Bay, surrounded by porpoises dancing on their tails. For most people, it’s a fantasy, but, for Kalama, it really happens. “At a young age, my father showed me how to interact with the dolphins in a special way,”…
Loreto “Lorie” Obra and her husband, Restituto “Rusty” Obra, were unlikely coffee farmers. They had emigrated from the Philippines to New Jersey in 1972 to begin their careers, Rusty as a chemist and Lorie as a medical technologist. However, while…
In 2005, Lourdes Vergara Marcelo left her job as head nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center to start her own company in Mililani with just one client and another certified nursing assistant. Soon, Marcelo had hired three more CNAs and…
Ready to move on after decades of experience, but not ready to retire? Consider becoming an encore entrepreneur: someone who takes over or starts a business in a field different from their main career. Many people are doing it in…
Kena Coffee Farm sits on a country lane that meanders through picturesque coffee and macadamia orchards. The 4.89-acre farm in Kealakekua includes 1,164 coffee trees, 39 macadamia trees and numerous producing fruit…
Renovated Volcano House reopens three years after closing. After standing empty for three years, the Volcano House Hotel is gradually reopening on the rim of the still-active Kilauea Caldera at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Photo: Courtesy…
It’s all in place: cubicles and copier, conference room and Wi-Fi, a bit of art on the walls and a verdant view of Iolani Palace. The Patsy T. Mink Center for Business & Leadership at the Laniakea YWCA on Richards…
Maleña and Dominic Taylor had the Balm idea after their first child was born. Like good entrepreneurial parents, they turned their hobby of making liquid soap into a line of organic, fragrance-free soaps and skin-care products. THinc Skin (get it,…
Charging through five-foot swells, soaked by waves while clinging to the rail of a 34-foot boat, you realize that seeing lava flow into the ocean isn’t for wimps. “This is not your powder-puff boat ride,” says Capt. Shane Turpin. “It’s…
The only thing Lark Willey likes to do better than grow vegetables is share them with her neighbors, which is why community-service agriculture is her perfect niche. “To be a CSA grower,…
Name: Misha Lam Job: Jewelry Designer Experience: One year in jewelry, six in fashion design Start: From an early age, Lam knew she wanted a creative career. After graduating from Punahou School in 2001, Lam earned a bachelor’s degree in…
Carey oversees an empire of 35 hotel operations in the Pacific and Asia, with more coming soon. He has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, plus a law degree and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He…
About six years ago, Paul Alston bought 20 acres in Volcano on Hawaii Island. The plot was zoned for agriculture and Alston, who grew up in urban Southern California, had no idea what he was getting himself into. “After we…
Steve Sue, founder of BizGym, a cloud-based rapid-development application for startups and entrepreneurs, can’t say enough about Bee Leng Chua’s program, Hawaii Tech Asia. Below: Bee Leng Chua, HiBEAM and K.O. Chia, president of the Hong…
Name: Lo Kaimuloa Job: Owner/Buyer, Riches Kahala Years of experience: 30 STARTING OUT: Kaimuloa spent five years learning high-end retail with jewelry designer Bernard Hurtig, then, in 1986, she opened Riches Kahala, an 87-square-foot kiosk in Kahala Mall. She expanded to 200 square…
Question: What’s the magic behind professional selling? Answer: Professional selling should be simple, ethical and highly effective, and it may appear almost magical. Learn and practice these basic tools and watch your clients appreciate you and your new skills. Tool…
As popular as Mexican restaurants are, three within a brief walk of each other in Hilo was probably too much. Casa de Luna and Lucy’s Taqueria both opened in December 2011,…
Whether it’s wholesaling T-shirts to the Navy Exchange or providing information technology to government installations, local businesses can learn the procurement ropes at the Hawaii Veteran and Small Business Forum & Expo next month. Organizers are reaching out especially to…
A slender face appears at the door of Palama Settlement’s kitchen, bowl in one hand, telephone on shoulder. Kathy Masunaga, owner and creator of Sweet Revenge, smiles a welcome to the Palama Settlement kitchen. She and a single employee are…
Name: LOA WONG Job: GREENS COORDINATOR IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY Years of experience: 20 WHAT’S INVOLVED: “Greens” is a specialty in set dressing involving landscape design and building artificial props, such as fake trees. A greens coordinator…
Executives who have trouble finding the time to exercise might consider the Vasper system, which is designed to provide the benefits of a two-hour workout in 20 minutes. “It’s a way to mimic the physiology of an intensive workout and…
Clint Churchill loves the loops, rolls and spins of acrobatic flying, but he gets his greatest pleasure from his passengers’ thrills. “When the passengers’ reactions are that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and they have these huge grins and want…
Spend a day at Hawaii’s beaches and you can’t miss the many small blue and white pieces of plastic scattered in the sand, along with bigger pieces of trash. Method, an ecoconscious cleaning-products company based in San Francisco, is putting…