The bestselling kamoe lei ($85)
is made of goose feathers
dyed to resemble ilima blossoms.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
A Kauai lei-maker must work
day and night to meet demand
While other kamaaina homes may be filled with toys, books or assorted knickknacks -- the stuff that accumulates over the course of a life -- Diane Masumura's Kauai home is overrun with feathers. They can be found in assorted Ziploc bags just about everywhere, including inside her washing machine, clothes dryer and even in the freezer.
And if they're not lying loose, they're attached to live pheasants that have taken over her carport.
Luckily, Masumura knows exactly what to do with all those feathers.
Made in Hawaii Festival
More than 400 exhibitors will feature locally made products including artwork, clothing, candies, snacks, coffees, fruit-blended wines and more.When: Noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Place: Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall
Admission: $2; children under 6 free
Call: 533-1292
Her obsession began about 15 years ago when she quit her hotel job to become a stay-at-home mom. But she couldn't just quit cold turkey, so to speak. So she started a business called Weslyn's Creative Feathers, named after her son.
Masumura's first product was a headband, adorned with feathers, after she learned the art through trial and error.
Her business took off, and now she makes a variety of pins, hair accessories, necklaces, earrings and elaborate feather leis. "I need to work seven days and seven nights to keep up with the demand," she said. Not that she's complaining.
Masumura will be among the exhibitors at the annual Made in Hawaii Festival, featuring more than 400 isle business offering their made-in-Hawaii wares, from food to artwork. Masumura's products are also available at Martin & MacArthur at Aloha Tower and the Bishop Museum Shop.
Masumura said her pins are popular among women and children, while her feather leis are sought by collectors, including one Georgia fan always seeking to fill her "Hawaiiana" room. "She has canoe paddles, a koa chest and about a dozen of my leis framed in shadow boxes on display," said Masumura, whose creations sell for about $5 for a pin to $200 for her larger leis.
The leis seem fragile, but each feather is hand-stitched five times for maximum hold, she said.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Peacock hair clip, $15
Masumura was inspired by John Dominis Holt's book, "The Art of Featherwork in Old Hawaii," and "Feather Lei as an Art," by Oahu's Mary Lou Kekuewa and her daughter, Paulette Kahalepuna.
Kekuewa began teaching feather lei making in the 1970s and opened Na Lima Mili Hulu No'eau, a store specializing in feather supplies, feather leis, hatbands and accessories. Na Lima Mili Hulu No'eau's products will also be available at the Made in Hawaii Festival.
The contemporary feather artists continue a long tradition. "In ancient Hawaii the red feathers of the i'iwi bird and the yellow feathers of the mamo and o'o birds were treasured in the art of crafting capes, helmets and belts for royalty and high chiefs," Masumura explained.
The feather necklace, known as the lei hulu manu, was worn on the head or neck to signify royal ranking. The higher the rank, the more lavish the garments.
Royal bird catchers were trained from childhood to capture the birds alive. A few feathers were then plucked, and the birds were released back into the forest, she added.
ACCORDING TO THE Bishop Museum, nearly half a million feathers, gathered from an estimated 80,000 birds, were worn on the shoulders of Kamehameha the Great.
"Because of the shrinking native forest and introduced predators, most of these birds are now extinct," Masumura said. As a result, contemporary feather leis are made with dyed feathers from commercial outlets. Masumura collects her own feathers by going pheasant hunting with her husband and son.
The process of transforming thousands of loose feathers into a wearable piece of art requires much time and patience, and Masumura is lucky to have a family willing to help her with some of the prep work.
"Each night, my husband sits at the table, takes a ruler out and measures every feather. Each feather is cut, one at a time," she said.
Exact measurements are needed to ensure a quality product.
"My mom is real good. She makes all of my small ribbons," added Masumura, who has dyed feathers to match particular flower colors.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pueo (owl) pin, $5
Feathers need to be boiled to remove oils from the bird, and it normally takes about three days of boiling just to make it one shade darker. The average time it takes Masumura to make one lei ranges from four days to one week.
"Anything with peacock or pheasant feathers is harder to make," she said. "The center quill is much stiffer."
Among the varying lei styles she tries to mimic are Maunaloa, Micronesian ginger, ilima, hibiscus, carnation and closed rosebuds. Masumura's bestseller is the kamoe lei that features goose feathers dyed to match the color of ilima and accented with more goose feathers that have been dyed red.
Another product in demand is the machine-sewn hatband. "Less time is involved, so it's more affordable," she explained. While a hand-sewn band costs about $300, the machine-sewn version is $75, said Masumura. The less expensive version works better for those who wear an everyday hat. If the hat is going to be passed down as an heirloom, she suggests investing in the hand-sewn hatband because it is designed to last.
She's not interested in slowing down, nor does she ever find her interest waning, in spite of the bits of down that waft throughout her home. "We are constantly vacuuming the screens, and we can't even set out a cup of water. It is time-consuming and messy, but I love what I do," she said.
Music, more
The entertainment lineup for the Made in Hawaii Festival:
Friday
Noon: Jerry Santos
1 p.m.: Del Beazley
3 p.m.: Melveen Leed
5 p.m.: Maunalua, with former Miss America Angela Perez Baraquio performing hula
7 p.m.: Jay Larrin
Saturday
10 a.m.: Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom
11 a.m.: Frank De Lima
1 p.m.: Marlene Sai
3 p.m.: 'Ale'a
5 p.m.: Robi Kahakalau
7 p.m.: Nathan Aweau
Sunday
11 a.m.: Raiatea Helm
1 p.m.: Sean Na'auao
3 p.m.: Darren Benitez
Click for online
calendars and events.
