DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Pamela Dow shows one of her museum quality Niihau shell lei.

A prized display of the Niihau
jewelry highlights the craft's
art and workmanship

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Connoisseurs of Niihau shell jewelry have been buzzing around the Neal Blaisdell Center where Pamela Dow and six lei crafters from Niihau are showing a collection of museum-quality pieces through Saturday.

Niihau shell jewelry is prized as an indigenous native Hawaiian art form. It is believed that perpetuation of this craft rests in a few remaining Niihau residents with access to the beadlike shells in a variety of colors including sand, rose and green.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM One of her necklaces strung in a design resembling crown flowers.

Dow, owner of Forever Kauai, an island gift company, is devoted to elevating the art form to a level where color, luster, the quality of each shell, workmanship and design are of equal consideration in valuation.

Those who have Niihau jewelry in need of repair can also bring it down for examination. Repairs will be made for a fee, with prices to be determined by the piece.

Oahuans were first introduced to Dow's lei during a temporary exhibition at the opening of the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The show will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Saturday.

For more information, call 808-337-2888.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM This 10-strand Niihau shell necklace is valued at $4,800.

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