The Beautiful Hawaii Boutiques & Design Shops In Honolulu

Honolulu is best known for the white sand beaches and ocean views of Waikiki, but there is a lot more to do there than just hang out on the beach all day. In Hawaii’s capital, there are lots of popular shopping centers, restaurants that serve food from local farms, and historic museums. There is also a growing scene of independent boutiques. There, you can find some of the coolest and most unique clothes, accessories, and home decor. Many of these items are made in the area or have been carefully picked from all over the world.

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The Coolest Hawaii Boutiques & Design Shops In Honolulu — © XWL/Flickr

Roberta Oaks

Store, Shop

Roberta Oaks, the shop’s namesake, designed the best modern-fitting Aloha shirts and dresses. This is where the cool locals buy their sharp-fitting button-downs and the best vintage-inspired dresses for women. Everything is made by hand in Honolulu, and because the Aloha shirts are made in small batches, they have become collectibles. Fans from countries like Japan and Australia also buy the colorful day dresses. The shop is also full of the best handmade bags, packs, totes, and accessories that you won’t find anywhere else on the islands. It sells things made by TOPO Designs, Will Leather Good, Stone + Cloth, Herbivore Botanicals, Thread + Stone, and Angel Court, as well as jewelry and body products made in the area. There is also a bar and coffee section with Chemex, Big Island Organic Coffee, Wentworth, Kauai Cigars, and Mason Shaker. Roberta Oaks, the brand’s owner and designer, gets ideas from her simple retro lifestyle, her vintage car, mid-century modern Hawaiian design and architecture, and her love of traveling and other cultures. This makes her brand look like it came from the fabulous 1960s, but it fits and looks more modern.

WIMINI

Store, Shop

WIMINI is a cute little shop that Mari and Yutaka Chino opened in a parking lot in 2007. It sells hand-printed, eco-friendly shirts for babies, kids, and adults, as well as jewelry, home decor, and other clothing. The name of the brand comes from rearranging the letters in the Hawaiian word for honeycreeper, “IIWI,” with the first letters of “MIND” and “NATURE.” Yutaka is a graphic designer who was born in Tokyo. In 1992, he moved to Hawaii, where he now spends most of his free time surfing, fishing, and going on hikes. So, most of his designs are based on the beauty of Hawaii’s nature and are also influenced by Roy Lichtenstein, advertising characters, and ukiyo-e, which are Japanese woodblock prints. WIMINI uses inks that are made from water and are tested for harmful chemicals to make sure they are safe for people and good for the environment. To make the prints feel softer, they are also washed with water. WIMINI also uses sunlight to expose the screens instead of electric exposure units, since the sun shines most of the year in Hawaii. The t-shirts are made in a small clothing factory in Los Angeles, and each one is printed by hand in the company’s tiny factory in Hawaii.

Owens & Co.

Shop, Store

Owens & Co. is a home accessories and gift shop in the heart of Chinatown, one of Honolulu’s most famous and historically important neighborhoods. Missy Owens opened her first brick-and-mortar store, Owens & Co., in the historic Arts District of Honolulu’s Chinatown in March 2011. Owens & Co. has a wide range of unique gifts you won’t find anywhere else. These include handmade soaps, stationery, and home accessories, as well as chic, exclusive lines of women’s clothing. Wide windows let in a lot of light, and the shop’s charming decor makes it feel homey, comfortable, bright, and stylish. The items are neatly displayed and the tables are set up in a way that makes it easy to move around the store. The staff is always friendly and willing to help, but they are never pushy. Owens & Co. is a popular place for locals to buy one-of-a-kind gifts. Some of the most popular things to buy there are potted succulents, rare jewelry, boxed stationery, greeting cards, fragrances, and cute kitchenware, though the selection changes often. They also sell a lot of cute and unique things for kids and pets.

Fishcake

Store, Shop

Late in 2007, fishcake opened its doors in the middle of Kaka’ako. It quickly became an important part of the design scene in Honolulu. Fishcake is a concept store and designer showroom that changes with the times. It has hosted clothing and vintage pop-ups, events, classes, exhibits, a startup co-working space, and most recently, a coffee kiosk. “Furniture, accessories, and art for the home” is the shop’s slogan. Fishcake is driven by a love of modern design and artwork by designers, artists, and makers from Hawaii. They want to help everyone make their living spaces more beautiful, simple, and fun. It got its name from a factory space where fishcakes used to be made for the local market. The owners eventually found a better place for the shop, but the name stuck. It shows that the shop has its roots in Honolulu, which is a city with many different cultures, and that its approach to design is diverse and unusual, but all in good taste. Most days, fishcake has several themed areas with pop-up shops from local vendors selling everything from shabby chic to hipster furniture, delicate chandeliers to artsy housewares. At the front of the store, there is also a Morning Glass Coffee café where customers can get coffee and snacks.

Dog and Bird

Store, Shop

Hound & Quail has a unique mix of curiosities, antiques, and everything else in between, like taxidermy, mid-century furniture, and small leather goods. Mark Pei and Travis Flazer, who are both from Hawaii and started the business in 2011, carefully choose the vintage oddities and conversation pieces that they sell. They’ve gathered old and unusual things from Hawaii, the mainland, and all over the world and put them on display in a cozy place that looks like the small shops in Tokyo and Amsterdam. The prices are also very fair, and the salespeople are always friendly and knowledgable about the unique items in the store. People love to stop in to buy wall art, gifts, mirrors, taxidermy, office and home decor, vintage cameras, and more, and it’s always nice to talk to the warm and friendly owners. The treasure trove of interesting things sparks the imagination and becomes a haven for creative people everywhere. The shop even has a cool event space in the basement called The Outpost, which is used for art shows, wine and art classes, and many other amazing shows.

Topic: The Beautiful Hawaii Boutiques & Design Shops In Honolulu

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