DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mari Stewart, left, owner of Rafael, a small boutique that offers a mixture of contemporary designers' clothes, dresses her store front window with her store manager Sherri Miyasato while Stewart's dog, Lucky, enjoys hanging out. CLICK FOR LARGE
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Stewart reopens
Rafael in town
Mari Stewart had few regrets about leaving the mall environment for the frontier of an Internet storefront, but in taking her Rafael boutiques online, there was one thing she missed: face-to-face contact with her customers.
While bantering with buyers across the nation and Europe is fun to the entrepreneur, it's nothing like witnessing a perfect match between clothing and customer, so she's back on the sales floor, this time in the laid-back, arty setting of downtown Honolulu.
Rafael is at 22 S. Pauahi St. between Bethel Street and Nuuanu Avenue. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Call 536-2823 or visit www.rafaelhawaii.com.
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"It's like a Soho before it got crazy, or Nolita," she said. "It's a very nice, individualistic area. I think it's fun. It's really a lifestyle. I bring my dog and go out for walks. I don't have the pressure of keeping mall hours."
Stewart feels the timing is right for boutiques like Rafael that focus on discovering new designers and small brands.
"There's always a movement backward and forward, and there was a tendency to go corporate but I think people are tired of that and they're looking for individuality," she said.
She leaves town today on a buying trip to L.A., and is continually scanning the local scene.
"We'll be carrying Melia Conrad and Noelani Designs by a young designer who creates beautiful jewelry. These are people who need venues to show their products to get exposure. They're not really going to get if from a Nordstrom, initially."
She said it's a win-win situation not only for Rafael, but for designers looking to expand their businesses, as well as clients seeking to share in the discovery of tomorrow's fashion stars.
"I'd love people to have a sense of a more personalized experience, a sense of real help from a salesperson who can talk about the designers or fabric, things that people in a department store may not be geared toward so much.
"I feel like this is a real neighborhood where people feel comfortable dropping by. People can still shop at our Web site, but if they like instant gratification, they can come and try clothes on."