TheBuzz
TheBuzz
MAX AND MARY Suiter's upscale and rapidly expanding Malama -- An Aveda Lifestyle Salon Spa is to be honored Friday when Kaneohe Ranch rededicates its Windward Trade Center on Kailua Road as The Malama Building. Malama to the Max
—and Mary"Max just found out -- he was just so honored, it was a total surprise," said Malama spokeswoman Mona Wood. Max is also president of Canaan Construction Ltd.
Malama will use the entire second floor, 12,000 square feet. The ground floor is largely occupied by lifestyle retailers. The Kailua location will be Malama's third and largest, also housing its headquarters. Wood said it will have the strongest "Hawaiian sense of place" in its interiors and services.
The new nomenclature is the latest honor for the company since its incorporation as Malama Salon & Spa Ltd. in May last year.
As the Hawaii licensee for the Aveda Lifestyle Salon Spa brand, Aveda President Dominique Conseil, was here for the grand opening of the Ala Moana Center location at Christmas. Upon surveying the interior's local touches he said, "This is the rebirth of Aveda."
Wood said while advertising is done selectively, exposure has also come via Japanese press, "We get two magazines or TV shows from Japan a week," which brings Japanese clientele.
To staff the Kailua spa and positions at its Ala Moana and Manoa locations, the company is planning a job fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Garden Lanai of the Ala Moana Hotel. Co-owner and Wellness Director Mary Suiter said there will be presentations at 9:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. Various types of work will be available at the Kailua center, which will need staff for salon and spa services as well as a Yoga-Lates fitness center, an organic delicatessen and juice bar and childcare operations, which will eventually include Kupuna to teach Hawaiian songs and tell stories. Yoga-Lates, Wood said, is a combination of yoga and a trendy exercise method called Pilates.
It won't be Malama's last job fair -- it is negotiating to open more facilities on the West Coast.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com