Joy of tapa

Happiness is a new doll, handmade by a master and treasured forever

Having problems? Make dolls. That was the solution for Lani Lei Ogasawara, who has been making dolls since the 1940s. Her tapa-cloth creations were sold at Bishop Museum, Liberty House and Sears.

Honolulu Gift Fair » Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday » Place: Blaisdell Exhibition Hall » Admission: Free » Information: 623-1165 or visit www.honolulugiftfair.com

The earnings allowed her to put her kids through school, but she's been on a hiatus from doll-making for more than a decade. She's back for the personal satisfaction. "Making dolls makes me happy," she said. "I wanted to get away from my problems, so I started again. They chase my problems away."

Ogasawara will come out of retirement for this weekend's Honolulu Gift Fair at Blaisdell Center. After that, she plans to disappear once again. She hopes that 10 "lucky winners" who will receive free doll-making classes will carry on.

"I have one foot in the grave," she said, as she chuckled. "I just want to share my skills -- spread the good cheer."

The dolls' bodies, clothing and faces are made from tapa; the hair is mohair, ordered from England.

Tapa, also known as kapa and taba, is hard to get nowadays, Ogasawara explained. She orders hers from Tonga. "It takes 100 hours to make one piece of tapa. The whole world is getting more Westernized and it's easier to get machine fabrics."

The tapa for the dolls is made from a specially cultivated wauke or mulberry plant and is very expensive, she said. "It was used (as) a form of money in Hawaii."

To print the patterns on the dolls' clothing, Ogasawara uses bamboo collected on Old Pali Road. "I carve and draw a pattern on the bamboo, I use dye and press it on ... it's the authentic way of printing," she said.

Each doll is unique -- "I don't like to do the same thing over and over" -- although each one wears a hibiscus, Hawaii's state flower.

"It's fun to have a doll with a story, " Ogasawara added. She researched the costumes, ensuring that they are traditional. "In the early days, they had bare tops and the tapa wrapped around the waist. When the missionaries came, they needed to cover up," she said. "They wore layers and layers of clothing. They would roll up the skirt to make it cooler."

Some dolls wear grass skirts, others wear holoku, with shell leis and hand-woven lauhala fans. Some display the rolled-up tapa skirt. The dolls range in price from $19 to $325.

Philip "Flip Kuchler, founder of the Honolulu Gift Fair, said Ogasawara is an ideal vendor for the fair. "We are presenting a side of Hawaii that doesn't always get seen. The vendors don't mass produce and may only do one or two shows a year," he said.

"She hasn't brought her dolls out in 12 or 13 years. It's like they have been reborn."

Among the more than 200 vendors will be those selling Hawaiian coins, currency and stamps, Kuchler said. Dozens of booths were provided at no cost to nonprofit organizations, such as the USS Missouri and schools working to support Project Graduation programs.

Another hot item: a special University of Hawaii Warriors football shirt. "It is an exclusive shirt that is not available anywhere else, only at the fair."