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Lei Me Down
Find a cure for island fever in Orange County Hawaiiana shops.
By Melissa AdamsPublished: September 01, 2005
Even if you’re an inveterate weather-tracker, you may not have heard of “Hurricane Rell.” It was a 1997 tempest that transformed Hawaiian native Jan Carreira’s Mission Viejo home into a “hale” filled with carved wood, rattan and vintage island art from the 1940s that recalled her girlhood home in Makaha, Oahu.
The only child of beloved pro surfer Rell Sunn, who lost her 15-year battle with cancer in 1998, Carreira grew up amidst the Hawaiiana so dear to her late mother. “My mom was a true lover of Hawaii and the Hawaiian people,” she explains. “We had our koa furniture, perfume bottles, ukuleles, pune’e,and lauhala mats on our floors. Our hale reeked of Hawaii’s romantic past.”
Back in the 1970s, when Sunn was paving the way for women in the world of professional surfing, her home was a sanctuary for wayward visitors. Although a struggling single mother, the woman often referred to as “the Queen of Makaha” always had a welcome mat out for her competitors and anyone else who might drop by for an impromptu luau. “My mom would go diving and cook fish and lobsters, and we’d have a feast every night,” recalls Carreira. As word of Sunn’s hospitality spread, someone hung a sign on an eave that made the open door policy official: “Rell’s Motel,” it read.
Rell’s comes to the mainland
A year before her death, Rell Sunn visited her daughter and son-in-law in Mission Viejo. “She took charge of our new hale (Hawaiian for house) and filled it with vintage furniture and art, until it looked just like the house I grew up in only on steroids,” laughs Carreira. “We remember her visit as ‘Hurricane Rell.’”
As a tribute to one of surfing’s finest ambassadors, and to help others enjoy the Hawaiiana she loved, Jan and Tony Carreira founded Rell’s Motel in 2002. Rather than a hospitality suite, it’s a one-stop shop for furnishings and accessories that reflect the island spirit. Here you’ll find sofas crafted of fine carved wood and sturdy six-strand rattan for your living room. Cushions are fashioned of barkcloth in any of several prints designed with the dreamy, muted color palette of 1940s Hawaii. Most are made in the Philippines from narra wood rather than koa from endangered rainforests.
Rell’s also stocks handcrafted desks, tiki bars, table sets, shelves and bedroom furnishings. For walls or window hangings, there’s etched glass depicting Polynesian bathing beauties and lei makers. Other accessories include lamps, plant stands and fruit baskets.
Items can be purchased online at www.rellsmotel.com, or custom-ordered. Appointments to view pre-crafted inventory at a Laguna Hills showroom can be made by calling (949) 830-8144.
Hilo Hattie’s
Furnishings from Rell’s Motel also are available at Hilo Hattie’s in The Block at Orange, the first mainland outlet of the 42-year-old, Hawaii-based retailer and manufacturer. Just as there was a real Rell, there was a living, breathing Hilo Hattie. During the 1950s and ’60s, a schoolteacher turned popular entertainer had some fun doing the hula to such humorous tunes as “Princess Pupule Has Plenty Papayas” and “When Hilo Hattie Does the Hula Hop.” Born Clarissa Haili, she became known onstage as Hilo Hattie and is remembered today for popularizing the comic hula style.
Since 1998, the 20,000-square-foot mega-outlet that bears her stage moniker has been proffering aloha shirts, muu muus, sarong dresses, exotic jams, beach towels, island-grown coffee, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, fresh and silk leis and Hawaiian cookbooks and music CDs. If you forgot to shop for souvenirs on a trip to the tropics, you can purchase hula dolls, notepads shaped like Hawaiian shirts, Hawaiian candies and other gift items here.
Hilo Hattie’s clothes for men, women and children include island-inspired golf wear, resort apparel and wedding fashions. If you’re planning a luau, pick up hula skirts, coconut cocktail cups and tiki shot glasses.
“We’re a Hawaiian department store that’s all about providing a broad selection and a fun experience with tropical colors, sounds, smells and music,” explains Hilo Hattie President and CEO Paul de Ville.
Sleeping with surfers
If you fancy sleeping with Hawaiian surfers, head for Dean Miller Surf Bedding. Founded six years ago by avid surfer Doug Smith and his buddy Edward McLean, the Santa Ana-based firm was one of the first in The OC to introduce Hawaiian-themed sheets and bedroom accessories.
The idea was born of a shopping trip for bedding. While working on his MBA, Smith went looking for sheets and found little other than dull solids, boring plaids and 28-year-old bachelor-inappropriate Star Wars and Laura Ashley prints. Determined to create something that reflected his beach lifestyle, he visited a fabric store, purchased a surf print and asked a dry cleaner to sew a duvet cover.
Using a $10,000 graduation gift, Smith and McLean then launched their line of sleep accessories decorated with surfboards, hula dancers, tropical cocktails and other Polynesian motifs. To deepen the romance, they named it after a legendary character reputed to have slept on a bed of Hawaiian flowers while living in the rain forest on Kauai.
With names like “Surf Tribe,” “Reef Break” and “Dawn Patrol,” Dean Miller sheets are popular with 20-somethings, as well as with more mature shoppers looking for something for the surfer in their lives. Now married and a new dad, Smith recently designed his first children’s line, depicting tiny surfer kids on Hawaiian beaches.
While the focus of his firm is still sheets and comforters, Dean Miller Surf Bedding also features accessories like rugs, raffia bedskirts and a new line of dinnerware. Smith is now looking for larger headquarters facilities and franchise opportunities.
Goin’ to a hookie lau
A love for Hawaii and all it represents also inspired former military medic and licensed contractor Wes Johnson to open his House of Tiki, across from Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, in 2001. After a three-year interlude on Lanikai on the windward side of Oahu, Johnson returned to the mainland for family reasons but found himself yearning for the island vibe.
“Anyone who goes to Hawaii wants a piece of that feeling,” says the 20-year resident of Orange County. To create it, Johnson hawks everything from tiki mugs and lights to aloha shirts, hula skirts, bamboo and rattan furniture, and even Maui-style island chips at his Polynesian pop-culture emporium. Hot sellers include tiki statues and bars at a spectrum of prices.
Johnson is now hard at work building Hot Lava Java, a Hawaiian-style coffeehouse adjacent to his retail outlet. After an anticipated opening in fall 2005, mainlanders will be able to enjoy a taste of the tropics, with Hawaiian pastries, shaved ice and specialty coffees.
“One thing that’s missing on the mainland is the spirit of Aloha,” observes Johnson, explaining that manifestations include expressions of love, kindness and respect for the land. Like others who have created stores that embrace the island lifestyle, he hopes to retain that spirit as the basis for his entrepreneurial enterprises. OCM
Melissa Adams is one of OC METRO ‘s regular retail contributors
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The only child of beloved pro surfer Rell Sunn, who lost her 15-year battle with cancer in 1998, Carreira grew up amidst the Hawaiiana so dear to her late mother. “My mom was a true lover of Hawaii and the Hawaiian people,” she explains. “We had our koa furniture, perfume bottles, ukuleles, pune’e,and lauhala mats on our floors. Our hale reeked of Hawaii’s romantic past.” Back in the 1970s, when Sunn was paving the way for women in the world of professional surfing, her home was a sanctuary for wayward visitors. Although a struggling single mother, the woman often referred to as “the Queen of Makaha” always had a welcome mat out for her competitors and anyone else who might drop by for an impromptu luau. “My mom would go diving and cook fish and lobsters, and we’d have a feast every night,” recalls Carreira. As word of Sunn’s hospitality spread, someone hung a sign on an eave that made the open door policy official: “Rell’s Motel,” it read. Rell’s comes to the mainland A year before her death, Rell Sunn visited her daughter and son-in-law in Mission Viejo. “She took charge of our new hale (Hawaiian for house) and filled it with vintage furniture and art, until it looked just like the house I grew up in only on steroids,” laughs Carreira. “We remember her visit as ‘Hurricane Rell.’” As a tribute to one of surfing’s finest ambassadors, and to help others enjoy the Hawaiiana she loved, Jan and Tony Carreira founded Rell’s Motel in 2002. Rather than a hospitality suite, it’s a one-stop shop for furnishings and accessories that reflect the island spirit. Here you’ll find sofas crafted of fine carved wood and sturdy six-strand rattan for your living room. Cushions are fashioned of barkcloth in any of several prints designed with the dreamy, muted color palette of 1940s Hawaii. Most are made in the Philippines from narra wood rather than koa from endangered rainforests. Rell’s also stocks handcrafted desks, tiki bars, table sets, shelves and bedroom furnishings. For walls or window hangings, there’s etched glass depicting Polynesian bathing beauties and lei makers. Other accessories include lamps, plant stands and fruit baskets. Items can be purchased online at www.rellsmotel.com, or custom-ordered. Appointments to view pre-crafted inventory at a Laguna Hills showroom can be made by calling (949) 830-8144. Hilo Hattie’s Furnishings from Rell’s Motel also are available at Hilo Hattie’s in The Block at Orange, the first mainland outlet of the 42-year-old, Hawaii-based retailer and manufacturer. Just as there was a real Rell, there was a living, breathing Hilo Hattie. During the 1950s and ’60s, a schoolteacher turned popular entertainer had some fun doing the hula to such humorous tunes as “Princess Pupule Has Plenty Papayas” and “When Hilo Hattie Does the Hula Hop.” Born Clarissa Haili, she became known onstage as Hilo Hattie and is remembered today for popularizing the comic hula style. Since 1998, the 20,000-square-foot mega-outlet that bears her stage moniker has been proffering aloha shirts, muu muus, sarong dresses, exotic jams, beach towels, island-grown coffee, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, fresh and silk leis and Hawaiian cookbooks and music CDs. If you forgot to shop for souvenirs on a trip to the tropics, you can purchase hula dolls, notepads shaped like Hawaiian shirts, Hawaiian candies and other gift items here. Hilo Hattie’s clothes for men, women and children include island-inspired golf wear, resort apparel and wedding fashions. If you’re planning a luau, pick up hula skirts, coconut cocktail cups and tiki shot glasses. “We’re a Hawaiian department store that’s all about providing a broad selection and a fun experience with tropical colors, sounds, smells and music,” explains Hilo Hattie President and CEO Paul de Ville. Sleeping with surfers If you fancy sleeping with Hawaiian surfers, head for Dean Miller Surf Bedding. Founded six years ago by avid surfer Doug Smith and his buddy Edward McLean, the Santa Ana-based firm was one of the first in The OC to introduce Hawaiian-themed sheets and bedroom accessories. The idea was born of a shopping trip for bedding. While working on his MBA, Smith went looking for sheets and found little other than dull solids, boring plaids and 28-year-old bachelor-inappropriate Star Wars and Laura Ashley prints. Determined to create something that reflected his beach lifestyle, he visited a fabric store, purchased a surf print and asked a dry cleaner to sew a duvet cover. Using a $10,000 graduation gift, Smith and McLean then launched their line of sleep accessories decorated with surfboards, hula dancers, tropical cocktails and other Polynesian motifs. To deepen the romance, they named it after a legendary character reputed to have slept on a bed of Hawaiian flowers while living in the rain forest on Kauai. With names like “Surf Tribe,” “Reef Break” and “Dawn Patrol,” Dean Miller sheets are popular with 20-somethings, as well as with more mature shoppers looking for something for the surfer in their lives. Now married and a new dad, Smith recently designed his first children’s line, depicting tiny surfer kids on Hawaiian beaches. While the focus of his firm is still sheets and comforters, Dean Miller Surf Bedding also features accessories like rugs, raffia bedskirts and a new line of dinnerware. Smith is now looking for larger headquarters facilities and franchise opportunities. Goin’ to a hookie lau A love for Hawaii and all it represents also inspired former military medic and licensed contractor Wes Johnson to open his House of Tiki, across from Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, in 2001. After a three-year interlude on Lanikai on the windward side of Oahu, Johnson returned to the mainland for family reasons but found himself yearning for the island vibe. “Anyone who goes to Hawaii wants a piece of that feeling,” says the 20-year resident of Orange County. To create it, Johnson hawks everything from tiki mugs and lights to aloha shirts, hula skirts, bamboo and rattan furniture, and even Maui-style island chips at his Polynesian pop-culture emporium. Hot sellers include tiki statues and bars at a spectrum of prices. Johnson is now hard at work building Hot Lava Java, a Hawaiian-style coffeehouse adjacent to his retail outlet. After an anticipated opening in fall 2005, mainlanders will be able to enjoy a taste of the tropics, with Hawaiian pastries, shaved ice and specialty coffees. “One thing that’s missing on the mainland is the spirit of Aloha,” observes Johnson, explaining that manifestations include expressions of love, kindness and respect for the land. Like others who have created stores that embrace the island lifestyle, he hopes to retain that spirit as the basis for his entrepreneurial enterprises. OCM Melissa Adams is one of OC METRO ‘s regular retail contributors |
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