Made in Maui County Festival 2014

So it's official!

The Mad Hatter of Maui shall be one of the 130 Maui County vendors displaying their products at the premiere launch of the...

Held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center the first weekend in November, this 2 day event showcases some of the leading producers and manufactures of locally crafted items from the  3 islands in Maui county: Kaua'i, Lana'i and Maui.

Naturally, I've been spending every spare moment building up my stock, adding new prints to test market and will be available only at the festival.

For a link to the full list of vendors click here or on the banner above.

And an article appearing in the Maui Now.com

Lo-goin' Nuts! Maybe YOU Can Help?!

Aloha!

Lately I have been a spinning top behind the scenes here at 26 Poko Way. It has finally become a realization that the small business venture of producing reversible pre-washed children's bucket hats has the grand possibility of becoming a viable business. 

I have branched out to include women's and men's hats as well, and 5 styles of baby blankets, a reversible bib and I am working on a prototype for burp cloths.

I have a dedicated swing tag that is attached to the individual products, but it's time that I  seriously consider a label to be sewn onto each piece.

The brand "The Mad Hatter of Maui" for me, is just way to long to put on a label (hey, I have to contend with Hordyszynski) so I have been toying with a logo-style image that is more symbolic than written wording.

Following I have posted samples of what I have been working on. I am presenting these to you, the readers, because you represent my customer and I would like to know what you're reacting to: what you find interesting in design, color, graphic layout, etc. Each is numbered and I would ask that you vote for your favorite, and if you feel inclined, to leave a comment about why you like it and/or (possibly) what could be better OR what you think could also work. It's not a contest - I am asking for your honest and valued input. Please select one and register your answer at right.

Mahalo!

mark

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Megablog

I know I've gone AWOL. Life has been keeping me busy, and it won't really settle until I return from visiting family for the holidays. So here's a month's or better worth of things I need to catch up to date...

Santa's Land at the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center - the turtle with the fuzzy red hat reminds me of my logo for the holidays

One of the few pics of me - here with my sister Dana at Makena Beach

Here's Ana'ole - turtle 4 - the hatchling that I named in the contest at the Maui Ocean Center

A sea urchin spiny thingy

One of my hats on display in the gift shop at the Maui Ocean Center

A puffer fish. He's endearingly cute but was about 18"-24" long and has sharp spines on his body that spike out pin cushion-like when he inflates himself

Just a peaceful beach shot

This place has been around since the creation of the islands. It's an institution in Wailuku

They serve onion rings - tempura style - at a chinese restaurant

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Chow Fun noodles. These noodles are actually sliced like carrot sticks and made from potato dough - YUM!

An offering at the Home Maid Bakery shop

Lunch at Leoda's in Olowalu - Spicy (fresh) tuna salad on thier bread with tomato and butter lettuce. Served in a metal pie tin lined with brown paper

Some of the best fries I have ever had! With an aioli - and ketchup of course

Dana's lunch was Fried Mac and Cheese with a marinara - we both had leftovers...

On the road leading to mine, I see a long neck serpent in the grass

Wild lilikoi (passion fruit) flower

The serpent again

This is how my hats were displayed in the booth for the Haleakala Waldorf Holiday Faire. We had a great location - on an end, at the bottom of a hill and by the second entrance to the event - that really helped with traffic 

The hats are all my fabrics - Surf's Up, Seal Pups, Mermaids of Hana Bay, Hibiscus - and the pillow cases - Cotton Couture, Shell Dot and Gingerbreadtown

Mac and Cheese with Peas, please! Red pepper flakes and Kiawe smoked Hawaiian sea salt. The background is Siren Song - color Rainbow

Grilled Shell-on Shrimp  skewered on fresh Rosemary twigs

The morning of October 15 - my mother's birthday 

Comfort food for lunch - when it rains there is quite a damp chill in Haiku and a lunch like this hits the spot!

Rooster Rumble

This wasn't too violent just two roosters plucking the feathers out of one another - but what a display!

These are boneless version of the  bone in ribs I made when Dana was here. Both were preseasoned with the smoked sea salt and crushed black pepper. Next I smoked them over macadamia nut wood then glazed them with Maui Brewing Company Root Beer Bar-B-Que sauce. Last they cooked slowly to dry them out a bit like chinese roast pork.

 Another ornate rooster and hen

One of several gingerbread boy doll fronts drying before construction

Maui Ocean Center - I'm In!

The children's reversible, pre-washed bucket hats that I have been producing for the last year have not taken the world by storm but I have placed them in some very fine shops and boutiques on 3 islands: Trudy's Island Arts in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, The Growing Keiki on the North Short of Oahu, and Designing Wahine, Makawao and Hale Zen, Lahaina on Maui... and now I'll have a test order in the gift shop of the Maui Ocean Center.

The pattern I am using for the outside of the hats is from my latest collection TIKI-TINI LOUNGE and called Fish Tank. The hats, in 3 sizes (newborn, infant and toddler), will be lined in orange, violet and red 21-wale corduroy.

Keep our fingers crossed that they have a good sell through in the 30-day test period to be followed by a nice reorder!

Well, I'm off to cut more hats!

Children's Reversible Prewashed Bucket Hat in Fish Tank print lined in orange corduroy and sold exclusively at the Maui Ocean Center gift shop.