Island Journal

‘Ohana Nui gives 10% of its profits to protect our sea life, especially our endangered Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles. For the first two years that I lived in Hawaii, not much of a person to lay around on the beach, I spent much of my recreational time hiking in the mountains. It was not until I met someone who was an avid open-water swimmer that I began to explore the ocean. I had previously been a tad scared of swimming in the open sea, having spent part of my youth living on the coast of northern California, where the water...

One of the best things I remember as a kid growing up in Japan was the tradition of gift-giving. Called omiyage, it is the presenting of special gifts to friends, coworkers, and family upon returning from a trip, as well as when one is invited into a friend's home for a party or dinner: the presenting of a special gift is considered proper etiquette. Besides the gift being special, and often expensive, the object was often wrapped in elegant washi—paper printed in beautiful colors and patterns, which was folded around the gift box, similar to the complex folding of an origami bird. Even before the gift was opened, one knew that the object...

I didn’t go about trying to make an amazingly delicious cookie. What I really wanted was to make a cool box that many visitors to Hawaii would want to take home from their vacation. As a professional corporate designer and photographer, I started with the packaging first. But as a passionate cookie lover and an avid baker, I did want to to fill the box with a product that I could be proud of and that I would want to eat myself.  So I began tinkering around in the kitchen. I tend to be very goal-oriented when I cook, which might sound...