ITO collab exhibit...

So last night,

My buddy and I headed to the heart of Waikiki to check out "ITO: Interisland Travelwrights," a collab exhibit and pop-up store with some good friends of mine, Aunty Nalani, Kuha'o and Sig Zane, along with Interisland Terminal.  The pop-up store is currently being held until this Sunday at the Waikiki Parc Hotel.  I'm not one to really hang out in Waikiki, mainly because of the tourist scene, but this is one exhibit worthy of checking out.  I must say, the Waikiki Parc Hotel was a pretty good spot to have it at, being that it has a very contemporary feel to it.  For example, you gotta love this hotel's entrance...

Many of you may remember my blog entry about the Zane family and how I rock their New Era cap as my icon (http://haynmade.blogspot.com/search/label/Sig%20Zane), but ya, this is the same bunch of peopz.

 Photo above from Interisland Terminal

"ITO," as many of us locals know, is the abbreviation code for Hilo's airport, which is where they Zane family reside and have their store.  (www.sigzane.com)  For this particular exhibit and pop-up store, Sig, Aunty Nalani and Kuha'o wanted to capture "interisland living" where memories are embedded from within when one travels from one island to another.  As always, they have an uncanny artistic ability of bridging traditional cultural practices with present day contemporary (and in my eyes pushing to the borders of urban art) art and fashion.  If you're here in the 808 "ITO" is something you have to check out for sure, the exhibit and pop-up store is set up with goodies gallore, complete with aloha shirts and dresses, killer aloha print shorts, tshirts, surfboards, sculptures, prints, bags, and even kites (which I would never even dare to fly because these guys are high end quality, lol), just to name a few.

As for Interisland Terminal, they are an upcoming non-profit "for the arts" organization.  When my friend and I went to check it out, we had the pleasure of talking story with one of the organizations members and he shared the vision that he had for Interisland Terminal, he's a pretty cool cat may I add.  They are in the process of raising funds in hopes of opening an art cafe in town, where they have plans of having a  cafe and space where artists can exhibit their visual work through canvas, walls, video and music.  Proceeds from the "ITO" exhibit and pop-up store will be donated to Interisland Terminal  *Cough* *cough* I hear a collab event with 808orbit in the very near future with these guys.  I seriously can't wait to see what's down the road for Interisland Terminal, I guess we'll all have to wait and see. 

But ya, I ended up getting me an aloha shirt with the exact print from the photo below (provided by Interisland Terminal) along with an ITO tshirt.  In the photo is Sig himself, a stickler for detail.

But yup yup, again, you have to check it out, "ITO" at the Waikiki Parc Hotel until this Sunday, open daily from 11-7pm.

So what's up with the cap icon HaynMade?

You may ask,

So what's up with the cap icon HaynMade?  Cuz you see it everywhere, on 808orbit, on the Kidrobot forum, on Twitter, etc.  Well, I like it for different reasons.  For those of you who don't know, it's a special edition New Era cap, which were designed by two very good friends of mine.  This father and son team own a Hawaiian clothing (and accessories too) company called Sig Zane, named after the owner himself, Sig.

His son Kuha'o took it to the next level in reaching out to a younger audience and created this sick cap.  Along with this cap, Kuha'o did shirts, converse shoes and shirts, and followed up with other colorways and designs, which were hella popular when it came out.  Both Sig and Kuha'o are a powerhouse team in Hawaiian fashion.  Their Hawaiian wear is of awesome quality, and waaaaaaay above those tacky aloha shirts you see in Waikiki.  I really like wearing their shirts cuz they're comfortable and stylish.  Locals here know when someone's wearing a Sig.  The quality and comfort of these killer wearables are definitely worth the price in my opinion.

The thing that I really like about Sig Zane's clothing is that there's a story behind all of their designs, and I have an appreciation for people who have depth and stories behind their work.  The design in the cap icon I have is their 'ulu or breadfruit design.  In Hawaiian context, 'ulu represents growth and for many Hawaiian quilters like my grandmother will often use the 'ulu as their first design, because it represents that other works will "continue to grow" thereafter.  'Ulu also represents strength, the sap was used to glue canoe hulls, the leaves for sandpaper, the wood for poi boards and surfboards.  I'm sure that's what Kuha'o had in mind when he first chose this design as well.

So for me, the Sig Zane new era cap icon represents that growth for myself, personally and professionally.  Like the 'ulu, growth happens when you take care of yourself and help others along the way, and that's what I try and do in my everyday life.  Every now and then you get those peopz, that take advantage of you or envy what you do, but that's okay, like the 'ulu it's about staying strong and continuing to grow.  It also represents that you can survive and enjoy these urban times, while still keepin' it true to your roots and your cultural foundations.  Okay, damn, that was deep, take a breath now, haha.

But if you want to check out Sig Zane's killer fashion, check out their site at www.sigzane.com.