Timeless Technique

Allen Wall, left, and Arian Yee squeegee ink through a silk screen to apply a Sig Zane design called Ho‘olauki. It took two stages and about one hour to print one 30-yard piece of fabric, says Chris Yokogawa, the second-generation owner of Puka Prints. Customers can turn the company’s custom printed fabrics into clothes, drapes, pillow cases or other products.

“The process is old school and because it’s by hand sometimes there are small inconsistencies,” which customers appreciate because they make pieces unique, he says. Yokogawa took over the business from his father in 2011, when the fabric industry was “going downhill.” But recently the industry has benefited from a growing demand for clothing and accessories from small designers, which are locally printed and crafted, he says.

Time:
 Wednesday, 10:08 a.m.
Location:
 Puka Prints, Honolulu, HI
Photographer: 
Aaron K. Yoshino