New for May 2024 we are introducing "Edo Blended" with unique colors and a fun new Dragon Spiral design located in our "Segmented Collection". Akalei Designs continues innovating new handcrafted woven Kumihimo beaded glass "Forever" Hawaiian Lei. Based on Maui we have showcased on HI Now as part of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Pop-Up Marketplace and continue to discover new customers are our Kihei location on Maui.
This jewelry designs is truly found only at Akalei Designs with our diverse and inventive new jewelry concept. Nowhere else is this being designed except on Maui. It is will be a delightful addition to your wardrobe as it and works well as an accent or conversation art jewelry piece. The Beaded Oimatsu Rope™ (Necklace Lei) is one of the most complicated designs to weave and construct. All Kumihimo Oimatsu Ropes
™ are hand woven on a round wooden Japanese Marudai braiding stand using 16 strands of beaded fiber with each strand loaded with between 500 -800 Japanese glass beads for a total of up to 8,000 to 10,000 beads per braid. Because these are Hawaiian Forever Necklace Lei you will notice these are extra long compared to other items in our store. The length is consistent with the lovely Hawaiian Floral Lei the islands are known for.
This beading technique is also known as Continuous Beaded Braids (CBB) and when first introduced into jewelry world took Kumihimo braiding to a new level of design options, especially for the Hawaiian style of beaded necklace lei. These stunning (and comfortable to wear) braids are easy to clean.