Shopping: Best Gifts to buy from Hawaii

Say goodbye to tacky tourist souvineirs > to Hilo Hattie aloha shirts, fake ukulele's, dashboard hula girls and seashell leis from the ABC Store. Here are some other ideas....

{ ala moana shopping center}

Martin & MacArthur - my favorite tourist gift shop. most accessible place to get Koa jewelry boxes, hand crafted bowls, ceramic ornaments, tea pots, local inspired jewelry, koa paddles for home decor, a ukulele, a wall print. on the small gift side: woven slipper coasters for cocktail drinks or glass blown cocktail rings in shapes of slippers for a wine stem. anything you get here will be a welcomed gift. Walking through the store is always an artful pleasure.
Naole - one of my personal favorite gift stores located in the old ward shopping plaza. great place for art prints, hand blown glass ware, photography, gyutaku inked fish prints, koa pens, bowls and carvings, windchimes, handcrafted jewelry. place for one of a kind gifts. like this place (perhaps) even more than martin & macarthur. it's a toss up.

Koa Pens - koa wood. elaborate handmade koa pens. got my dad a pen from here as a gift. beautifully crafted. comes in a velvet bag and wooden box, signed by the artist. bowls and other giftables too. forget the store (kapahulu) but some vendors at the blaisdale center craft faire. also at the fine gift stores mentioned above.
Hawaiian Quilt - give a quilt, pillow cover or potholder. These quilts take hours and days to make. also ceramic themed tea pots, tea cups, and other items at the Hawaiian Quilt store at Ala Moana, Beach Walk or Duty Free Store in Waikiki.

Fine art - I'll have to plug my favorite local artist again, Heather Brown. Her work can be purchased at the Chinatown Boardroom (a small gallery) and on the North Shore. Other places that sell local art: Island Gallery (Hyatt Waikiki), Nohea Gallery, Maui Hands (Paia, Maui), Honolulu Academy of Arts gift center.Unique Hawaii Gift Cards: Only in Hawaii do stores create their own limited edition gift card designs. A gift folks can use in Hawaii or the mainland. Here are the places that create unique and collectible Hawaii themed gift cards...

Starbucks
Macy's
NordstromThings for your Office Co-Workers

(easy to pack in your suitcase, easy to share):

-Pineapple shaped gourmet cookies from the Hawaii Cookie Company.

- Big Island Candy(chocolate dipped cookies) are a classic treat--if you fly to the Big Island.
-Individually packed chocolate covered Mac Nuts from Costco
- Box of Choco Mac Nuts from Longs, Walgreens, and ABC Stores.

-Pens, calendars, magnets, postcard: Walmart (best), Longs
-Cracked seed/cuttlefish, shortbread cookies from Wholesale Unlimited.

For Young girls and Women:

Cinnamon Girl - a store only found in Hawaii(photo below). floral and feminine clothing, giftables, baby clothes. they also have some really fun finds...like lady bug dishwasing gloves, funky journals, holiday ornaments, and flower shaped kitchen timers. (look on the ground and on tables and in high places throughout the store.)

Fresh Lei - who can resist this unique gift? Purchase before heading on the plane to keep fresh. (Walmart, Costco, Cindy's lei and Lei Florist on University Ave, or most super market and Longs store).

For the Tea Collector: hawaiian loose leaf tea pineapple shaped tea infusers, hawaii flower tea cups or coffee mugs.

Fun, feminine and quirky stuff...check out Red Pineapple in Ward. (love this store)

Parents & Grandparents:

-hawaii cookbooks (costco)
-Mu'u Mu'u (if you must) - Sears (for non-touristy types)
-Handcrafted ornaments and Christmas giftables (do check out the Blaisdel Center Craft Faire, Fall months)
-Koa wood frame with a family photograph framed inside.
-Family Portrait session. Check out photographer Garrett Nose in Kaimuki. He's talented and great to work with.

Boys and Men:

Aloha shirts: Tommy Bahama (Moana Surfrider giftshop, Macy's, Nordstrom); Tori Richard (boutique in Ala Moana mall, Macys, Nordstrom). Vintage aloha shirts.

Hawaiian music - CDs (Jake Shimabukuru, Justin Young (love this guy), or oldees like Hapa, Kapena, Keali'i Reichel (my old school favorite--think i went to his concert way back when)

On the small gift side: Ikaika warrior helmet, Hawaii vintage liscense plates, King Kamehameha statue, finger surf board, surf designed t-shirts, hats and caps, Nostlagia postcards or photographs DVDs of Hawaii history, screen savers of photos...

{plenty more ideas. please share your recommendations too}