Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2005 — Fashion statement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Fashion statement

Afew months ago, after we ran this picture taken at the big rally to protest the court mling against Kamehameha Schools' admission policy, we received a number of calls from people wondering where they could get hold of one of those "Keep Kamehameha Hawaiian" T-shirts. Well, we finally found out (from an aunty's friend's cousin) who made the shiits: the folks at Creative Native Crafts in Kāne'ohe. The store's owners, Delia Parker-Ulima and Bella FinauFaumuina, are both Kamehameha graduates. "On the day of the ruhng, Delia said we should really do something," says Finau-Faumuina. "So she eame up with this statement of how we felt, as Hawaiians and

Kamehameha alumni. The plan, she says, was to make the shirts just for family and friends, but they had some left over, so they brought them to the march-and we sold out of them right away." As it turns out, Parker-Ulima and Finau-Faumuina are past recipients of an OHA business loan to pursue Creative Native's main focus: manufacturing supplies for a Hawaiian-style version of scrapbooking, whieh was

identified as the fastest-growing segment of the hobby and crafts industry in a recent survey. To find out about the Kamehameha T-shirts, eall 236-0800, or e-mail creativenative@verizon.net. To learn more about Creative Native's island-themed brand of scrapbooking supplies, visit creativenativecrafts.com, or visit the store at 46-174-F Kahuhipa St. H

Photo: Sterling Kini Wong