TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Hawaii-made bean bags,
baubles and bites
to line upBean bag chairs are making a comeback, or so they appear to be, as a Google search drew 34,800 results.
CORRECTION
Friday, February 14, 2003» The Web site at www.islandcraftconnection.com is the sole property of Jared Tanouye, owner of eProject Direct, which launched the site. "TheBuzz" column on Page C1 Wednesday incorrectly stated that crafters had created the site.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.The resurgence had not hit Hawaii when Andre Dukes set out to find one.
"I was searching for bean bag chairs, just for myself, and there were none," said Dukes, co-owner of NFaith Wear LLC of Wahiawa.
"Then my creative side came out," he said. An art major and football player in his college days, the maker of licensed apparel for the University of Hawaii decided to make Hawaiian print bean bag chairs. Andre and wife Shareen took their trial balloon, in bean-bag-chair form, to a trade show at Blaisdell Center about a year and a half ago "and we got a big response," he said. The chairs start at about $40.
They took orders then made more. They made 10, they sold out. They made 20, those sold out. "Okay, it's a go," Dukes decided. "That's when we started manufacturing 100 a week."
They went the craft fair and swap meet route to get themselves known before taking the next step, leasing retail space.
Made from cotton canvas the bean bags and accessories are sold at the Dukes' store, Island Comfee Bagz at 72 Wilikina Drive in Wahiawa; at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and online at www.e808.com. NFaith is the only local distributor of the polystyrene "beans" which fill the chairs, Dukes said.
Doing her own thing in bean bag chairs is Susan Hallman, sole proprietor of Aloha Balls.
"I won't ever do a retail store. I don't really want to go into heavy-duty manufacturing," she said.
The eight-weekend debut of Aloha Balls began last March at a Koko Marina craft fair. The volume of orders had her sewing until 2 a.m., she said.
She's now a regular at craft fairs where she displays samples and takes orders, which stack up around the holidays. Her chairs start at about $70.
"At Christmas I had to have some help, there's no way I could have physically done it," Hallman said. Helpers made the muslin liners and she focused on the outside.
Recently she and other crafters set up a commerce-capable Web site, at www.islandcraftconnection.com.
To keep her sewing machine pedal to the metal, Hallman will be a repeat exhibitor at the Made In Hawaii Festival Aug. 15-17.
The Dukes just found out about it.
Booths are $475 and $500; the higher price is for a corner spot. Deposits are due in to organizers at the Hawaii Food Industry Association by May 1.
The festival, sponsored by First Hawaiian Bank, may again spill from the Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall into the Arena as it has for the past couple years.
A bonus for Hawaii manufacturers looking to expand is the private, three-hour preview open only to retail buyers.
"A lot of them are local but they also come from the mainland and Europe and other places as well," said publicist Cheryl Tamura. "Many exhibitors are small and it's hard for them to provide the supply that the buyers need, so we need some larger companies."
Hallman can attest to being on the smaller side of that equation. "I had a football made out of aloha print with UH on it. Everybody loved it," she said. A buyer expressed interest, "but my bottom line is too high."
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
