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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).
Matte Brown Dragon Scales w/ Baroque Beads Necklace - 34"
These dragon scale or magatama beads, are woven into this necklace in two directions (facing towards the focal center). When they join at the middle the Antique Bronze Baroque beads provide a pearly accent feature Because we use glass beads this design will last forever (with normal wear and tear) The dragon scale beads are some of the largest glass beads made by manufacturers in Japan. By weaving nearly 1000 glass beads in this necklace no two are alike. This statement necklace lei is finished with a silver toned magnet end cap that has a extra strong hold.
Our necklaces feel wonderful to wear and require little to almost no care by using a clean dry towel every few months to keep dust free and bright. This beautiful hand-crafted style necklace was made using hundreds of glass beads from around the world that are meticulously loaded onto multiple cords that are then woven together on a Japanese Marudai braiding stand (see photo).
Akalei Designs make great gifts for woman, girls, and men! Akalei is the Hawaiian word for "bead reflections" which captures this unique style only available on Maui. We specialize in designing a wide range of modern yet classic Hawaiian looking lei. For customized orders please contact me at info@akaleidesigns.com.
Kumihimo is an ancient Japanese braid making technique that creates beautiful and durable interlaced necklaces and bracelets. This art form goes back hundreds of years as braids were made for use in armor of Samurai warriors. In modern times these braids are used for belts (obijime) on kimonos
It is my goal to provide you with a long lasting, beautiful piece of jewelry that you will enjoy wearing for years to come. I take great care in the construction of my pieces to ensure just that. Please note: colors may slightly differ from their appearance on your display, as it depends on your monitor settings.
Please send me a message with questions or comments.
Thanks for stopping by!
Aloha Aku.
Randy
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