Kekumu‘aoa Designs

Name: Kekumu‘aoa Designs
Address: 81-6259 Lower Government Road, Captain Cook, HI, 96704, US
Telephone: (808) 756-5872
Price range: $$

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Kekumu‘aoa Designs

Kekumua‘oa Designs
Isaiah Smith So this is my page for my business Kekumu‘aoa Designs.

My name is Isaiah Smith and I am from Captain Cook on the Big Island. I am a carver/woodworker, working mostly in wood, mother of pearl and bone. The name Kekumu‘aoa translates to 'the sandalwood tree, or trunk' but can also be read as the 'sandalwood source.' 'Aoa is an odler word for 'iliahi, used in the Kumulipo. The mana‘o (reasoning or thought) behind the name is that art to me is much like t

he 'iliahi (sandalwood). Sandalwood, or the part with the most scent is actually only the core heartwood of the tree, and to me art is like that heartwood in the sense that it is something precious from within that you are bringing out to the world and just as sandalwood gives off a pleasant fragrance that blesses those around, art should also be a blessing to those who receive it and look upon it.

12/16/2023

Sorry no more new stuffs today but wanted to post something pretty with meaning. This makau was commission and though I won’t go into the full mana’o of it, it is something that is connected to place and loss. This time of year for many is wonderful and beautiful, but please remember those who might have had loss in this year as it often hurts the most around the holidays. And for those who have experienced loss, feeling alone or going through a hard season, part of the symbolism of this mākau is the lā (sun). The sun might not always be around, and we go through the darkness of night, but if we wait and holomua, there is the promise that the sun will return, shine forth with the hope of future of joy, peace and brighter times to come.

12/12/2023

Aloha! Been so busy with commissions, school and life, lol haven’t been able to upload in a while, but a few new sets got freed up so if you are interested let me know! A couple of pewa bars (first one in lama, second in koa) and even a hulu manu ʻōʻō! DM me if anything catches your eye! Hoping to finish polishing a few more sets this week.

12/07/2023

Aloha! The black versions of our limited run ae’o prints have finally dried! $45 plus $7.50 shipping. Majority of proceeds will go to support .ia.kalauao ! DM if you are interested. Get a great gift and support local artists and farmers!

12/01/2023

Some of the things I got to finish in between the rain, lol. A set of pewa earrings with African blackwood and a pretty deep-pink pink ivory wood. The color is really nice on this set. Pewa (the bow tie looking things) is a traditional way of fixing cracks in woodworking. These sets are meant to represent healing and repair for ourselves or even our relationships. I k**e the mana’o of pewa and the idea they represent that precious things are worth spending the painstaking time to repair and fix. As of posting these are still available so can DM me if you are interested!

11/30/2023

Progress has been stalled a bit due to all the ua (rain) but taking what opportunities I can do work on more things. A couple more bar-type earrings the first the very popular manu ʻiwa design Inlayed with blue-green paua and this example is made with curly pink ivory wood. The second set are some niho manō pattern bars in Hawaiʻi grown African Blackwood. As of posting these are up for grabs, so can DM me if interested!

11/26/2023

Slowly working through my to do bag of earrings to polish, but these are a couple of gorgeous sets that I just finished today! The top is an old “Mauna Kea” design featuring the ʻāhinahina (silversword plant) under a snow covered puʻu, silhouetted by a green/blue paua inlay sky. This is inlaid in African Blackwood that was grown in Hawai’i. The bottom ones are African Blackwood inlaid with a swoosh of beautiful paua. I’ll make maybe one or two more sets of the Mauna Kea design before Christmas but it’s a design that is tedious to cut and inlay, so I don’t make it very often. DM me if you are interested!

11/24/2023

Soo, it’s really hard to choose what to post since I finally have so much in stock! I’ll be posting more closeup pics of the earrings in my story but plucked a few to highlight and also have some group pictures of what is available as of today. I am still sanding a bunch more earrings like crazy so if nothing catches your eye this post, be on the look out for more things in the next couple of weeks! DM me if you interested in anything and forewarning these do tend to go fast. Prices vary a bit depending on design but here are some of the prices - bars with the paua dots bottom are $25, the straight thin bars are $30, the triangles with the inlay at the bottoms are $45. Of course feel free to ask about other prices. Shipping is $5 but you get free shipping if you buy two or more sets (for domestic shipping at least).

11/22/2023

Aloha! We are excited to announce that will be selling limited edition block prints in support of .ia.kalauao and their work to restore ʻāina, identity, and abundance in the ahupuaʻa of Kalauao in ʻEwa, Oʻahu.

The print is of an aeʻo (black-necked stilt) wading in a freshly planted loʻi in Kaʻōnohi, Kalauao, ʻEwa, Oʻahu. This print was inspired from a special day working in the loʻi and seeing some of these beautiful birds interacting with the wai, lepo, and iʻa as their ancestors probably did in ancient loʻi hundreds of years ago.

The block print is hand-printed from hand-carved blocks using long-lasting professional block printing ink (so it will last a long time if cared for).

We will be making only 50 prints of this set (so it is limited) and once they are gone there will be no more prints made. Currently there are prints in dark-green but we will be making more black-inked prints in the future (until we reach 50).

Each print is $45 plus $7.50 shipping and the majority of proceeds will go directly to supporting .ia.kalauao and their efforts in food sovereignty, maintaining native spaces and reviving of loʻi.

DM if you are interested!

Check out them out on IG .ia.kalauao or hoolahouiakalauao.wordpress.com to learn more about the work they are doing!

11/19/2023

Fresh off the press! Still gotta final buff with wax but still shining! Short bars in African blackwood, snakewood, koa, ‘aʻaliʻi, and Hawai’i grown African blackwood! The Pewa bars are curly koa and African blackwood . All of these are inlaid in the many shades of beautiful paua abalone! If anything catches your eye feel free for DM me.

11/15/2023

Still working on finishing new things, lol, but in the meantime some old commissions. This was a curly loa box commissioned as a gift to the Myaamia people of Indiana. I tried to incorporate some elements of Hawai’i as well as some traditional design from the Myaamia’s ribbon work. As we were (and are) struggling with water issues in Hawai’i and one of the names or descriptors of the Myaamia people are ‘those who came out of the water,’ the theme of the inlay is different forms of water and the blessings/life it brings. Inlayed with white mother of pearl, paua, green turban shell and walnut.

11/06/2023

A lot of people have been going back to the lewalani recently, many (at least in my human understanding) well before their time. It is a special honor to kōkua with the things like hoʻolewa (funerals), something I would ofen help my dad out with as a kid (he would help with all the burials at our church). Nowadays I don’t help out as much with that, but sometimes I have the honor of making the final homes of the kino of loved ones. This is a manu ʻiwa inlaid on a koa urn made for a good friend’s son. I don’t use a lot of black mother of pearl but it can be absolutely gorgeous in the right light. An ‘iwa flying to the lā, like us as we make that sacred journey to the ancestors and the peace of Iesū.

10/30/2023

Still in the middle stages of making things to sell again, but in the meantime here are more fun projects I have been working on. These are a special set of earrings for a dear friend’s birthdays. This is a set I actually named (when I first started I practically gave a name to everything). In more recent years I seldom give inoa to things as when I do I want I to be almost as intensive as naming a person. There is so much to an inoa and I think by giving something a name you imbue it with that extra layer of mana and aloha. The name of this set roughly translates to “a scent that brings a gentle smile.” If you look at the other pictures can see some of the creation process. Many intricate inlays used for this set. Can anyone guess what pua these are? Clue:not pikake, lol. Extra credit points if someone guesses correctly in the comments, haha.

Address

81-6259 Lower Government Road
Captain Cook, HI
96704

Telephone

(808) 756-5872

Website

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KekumuaoaDesigns

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