Island girl in the desert....
When I moved to Las Vegas in 2020 in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, it threw me for a loop. Being a native Hawaiian, and being born and raised my entire life in the islands, flowers and lei were a natural part of my life. Hunting and gathering flowers to make lei was a daily occurrence when I lived in Hilo, Nuuanu and Manoa.... so suddenly I found myself literally in the middle of the desert with not a flower in sight. It made me want to come up with a way to create my own flowers just so I could feel close to the islands and my beloved lei flowers. I found polymer clay was the closest medium to use to recreate my floral friends, but what about the fragrance?? Half of the beauty of most of these flowers are their incedible scents which of course I couldn't duplicate with clay creations. I decided to utilize sandalwood in my creations, so that - while not exactly the same scent as the flowers themselves - they provided a scent that evoked memories of the sweet fragrance of the lei at home.
What began as a hobby and a way for me to stay connected to my homeland, became something that people started to ask me to make available for sale - so I discovered Etsy and felt that it was the best platform to offer my creations - it allows me to be as busy or not busy as I choose, and really simplified the "business" part of a small business.
I hope my creations remind you of the beauty and simplicity of Hawaiʻi and keep thoughts of her close to your heart.