Talk Story

Funny enough, "United Islands" is the name that almost never was.  One of the first things I did in starting my brand was to go through quite a rigorous naming exercise.  One particular thing I did I wanted to share with you in case it's useful to any aspiring entrepreneurs out there.  It helped me direct my brainstorming along certain paths rather than being totally scattershot in my thinking.  

I met Puʻunui at the beginning of the year when he kindly agreed to "field test" our Hawaiian RH Shirt prototype and put the shirt through its paces.  When I visited him at the office of HI93 in downtown Honolulu to drop off the shirt with him, it was only 11:30 but he had already put in a solid day's work on-air, having just wrapped up as fill-in host on the morning show.  

Antique stores tend to be places people either love or hate.  As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.  Well, I am an unabashed treasure seeker, and one of the best shops in Hawaiʻi is most certainly Antique Alley (1030 Queen Street, Honolulu).  Run by Paké Zane and his partner in business and life, Julie, the store is (almost literally) floor-to-ceiling antique & vintage finds.

As I go through this entrepreneurship journey, I thought it might be useful to tell you some of the things I'm experiencing and learning along the way.  For those interested in brands, entrepreneurship, or even launching companies of their own, my goal is to share any knowledge I discover and perhaps tell a few stories too.