Akalei Designs is Hawaii's premier designer of handcrafted Kumihimo beaded Hawaiian Lei. Recently featured in Maui on HI Now with POP-Up Mãkeke and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. With hundreds of unique designs all our collections are handcrafted on Maui from beads we've sourced from around the globe. Akalei is unique in that we incorporate aspects of floral lei into modern "forever lei" using glass beads with designs normally only seen in the shell lei made famous on the island of Ni’ihau (The Forbidden Island).
As a resident of Northern New Mexican for over 15 years I l have always loved the colors of the Southwest - blue skies, puffy white clouds, turquoise and coral jewelry, dry sage brush and the sight of mountain ranges. These are reminders that motivate me to create practical jewelry for woman and men using leather that incorporate Picasso Beads with earthy colors to create classic fashion jewelry designs. All these designs can be customized for your needs