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Continue ShoppingWe are thrilled to be selling with Lahaina Arts Society 2026. Our shop has a booth located outside the Cannery Mall in Lahaina from 10am to 3pm (please call for dates). Or call to schedule an in-person appointment. We will be teaching throughout the islands with the Hawaii Handweavers Hui, and during the 2026 Gathering hosted by the American Kumihimo Society. Our classes focus on confident beginners and emphasize the blending of Japanese tradition with island inspired Hawaiian necklace lei.
We reimagine traditional Hawaiian Lei to create "Aloha Inspired Forever Lei." Our designs merge an ancient Japanese braiding technique of kumihimo with the beauty of island colors and textures. We showcase our jewelry with the Lahaina Arts Society on Maui's West Side at the Cannery Mall .Check schedules on our website. All of our jewelry is handcrafted exclusively on Maui..
Two-toned "Forbidden Island" Inspired Beaded Necklace -23" (Rare Beads)
We waited 5 years for these White Travertine Rizo beads to be made at a factory in Prague, Czech Republic. No other vendors have these bead combinations (shape/color), so we are delighted to offer this new braid with the two Earth toned Rizo beads. Imagine threading a grain of rice, that is the level of attention to detail required to create these necklaces.
There are approximately 800 of these tiny beads loaded onto 8 cords then woven so a two day project. This necklace is a smaller version of our #1 selling necklace the Metallic Brown with Yellow Picasso Dragon Scale beads, This was inspired by the Earth toned Ni'iHau segmented designs from the Hawaiian islands and is another unique offering from Akalei Designs. The necklace is finished with an acrylic magnetic (for a strong hold) for a combined length of 23".
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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