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Continue ShoppingAkalei Designs is Hawaii's only designer of handcrafted Kumihimo beaded Hawaiian Lei. With over 100 unique designs we were recently awarded “Best Beaded Lanyard” from The American Kumihimo Society (2023) for our complex braid structures. In addition our silk Hawaiian necklace is being showcased in a commercial for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Pop-Up Makēkē Market. And another positive compliment was three of our designs were selected in a juried art exhibit in Oahu by The Hawaiian Handweavers Hui. This public recognition reflects how our unique and high quality necklace lei are gaining attention. All our designs are handcrafted on Maui. We are unique in that we are able to 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’iHua (The Forbidden Island).
Hawaiian Island Inspired Choker Necklace Earth Tones - 16" (red, brown, yellow)
Red, yellow and brown Picasso seed beads provide the basics for this distinctive choker necklace inspired by nature. There are 4 distinct segments using White Luster Pinch beads which look a lot like shells to give it the Forbidden Island appearance. Pearly white seed beads are used for contrast along with a silver toned acrylic magnet to hold it around your neck.
This necklace line was inspired by the beautiful multicolor rare shell necklaces made famous on the Hawaiian island of Ni'iHau (The Forbidden Island). This beautiful handcrafted puku choker style necklace was made using hundreds of glass Japanese seed beads on multiple nylon cords that are woven together on a wooden Marudai stand then finished with a strong shiny silver magnet end cap to ensure it is secure.
These Necklaces can be made into various lengths (from 10” up to 25”) prices will vary with length or materials used. Akalei is the Hawaiian word for "bead reflections" which truly describes this unique style only available here on Maui. We specialize in designing a wide range of modern yet familiar Hawaiian lei. Please send an email to info@akaleidesigns.com.
Kumihimo is an ancient Japanese braid making technique that creates beautiful and strong interlaced cords. This art form goes back hundreds of years as braids were made for use in armor of Japanese samurai warriors. In modern times these braids are designed as belts (obijime) used on kimonos.
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