What is Mana?

Mana - 

1. nvs. Supernatural or divine power, mana, miraculous power; a powerful nation, authority; to give mana to, to make powerful; to have mana, power, authority; authorization, privilege; miraculous, divinely powerful, spiritual; possessed of mana, power. Cf. -āmana. Mana makua, parental authority. Leo mana, voice of authority that is obeyed. Mana kiaʻi, guardian power. Mana loa, great power; almighty. Noho mana, to wield power.  www.wehewehe.org 

So speaking from my perspective as a Hawaiian, I consider my Mana, my personal power, my essence, my energy that connects to source and yet defines me through a unique pattern of vibrational frequencies as my unique self, in which I resonate and most importantly how I, non-verbally communicate to my "outside" environment....ALL that surrounds me. 

Why is Mana important?

Well...with recognition and understanding of your own personal mana, it will allow you to live in full relation to all living things and therefore live inPono or full harmony with all of life simply by the CHOICES that you make. My Kumu Lomi! Maka'ala Yates interprets our Hawaii state motto of "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono" as "The very life, breath and spirit of the land endures in right relationships between people and all living things." I have personally adopted this motto for most of my adult life, giving recognition that we are a part of a whole at all times, and therefore how we emulate our Mana, is what shows up in our world immediately surrounding us. This is the physical reality of our larger environment in which we,once again, are interwoven into. The best visual I can come up with is the sceene in Avatar, when all the indigenous people are sitting in circle all connected and chanting to the great tree, which is connected by a larger energetic root system to the whole forest. Oh I love that movie! 

How is mana important to your home? 

As I have stated in most of my writings thus far, "Your home is an extension of your Mana." So an easy way to grasp this, is to:

• First think from your gut...your na'au. 

• Then picture your home in your mind.
• How does that picture make you FEEL?
• Is your home your sanctuary? 
• Or does it steal your Mana-your energy from you just thinking about the disarray, or clutter, or disfunction? 
•  Now I invite you to examine your na'au (gut) and listen to your inner voice of wisdom when I ask, "how does your home reflect the state of mind, or state of be-ing you are currently in?" 

Remembering that you are a unique expression of source and all that surrounds you, will allow you to recognize that this unique stamp that you have on the world is also reflected within your home. From your unique choices of style to the way you enjoy the flow of your home. We can all use our homes as our personal mirrors to where we are in life and how our Mana is showing up in the physical within our surroundings. 

I want to say Mahalo, thank you, for taking the time to "Listen" to your Mana, whatever it was that may have been revealed to you. It is "through understanding comes knowledge, through knowledge comes life and well being." In some upcoming blogs I will discuss some ways in which you can start to shift your mana within your home to best serve your highest and healthiest self! I will also be soon posting about my current trip to Portland and what trends are sweeping the home decor world, and how you can re-create those "feelings" within your own Hawaiian Homes! So stay tuned! 

Much love, Kamaile

La'au Lapa'au Tea Towels

Whoopie! The Tea Towels are done and in Kai Boutique for Christmas! 
So here's one of the missions i've been on for the last month or so. I really have worked hard at bringing the healing concepts back into our homes, and this is one of my first approaches. To start off the series of my La'au Lapa'au tea towel designs, I have featured two that are not only my favorite, but also widely used in traditional medicine. 




"Olena" - is widely known for it's anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. Also traditionally used in dying Kapa.


"Noni" - is a very important plant to the Hawaiian people. Traditional uses of the noni plant are varied and virtually every part of the plant is used as some form of medicine.

"E Ala E" - is the name of a Hawaiian Oli which is chanted early in the morning "to aid the sun in it's efforts to start a new day."




I hope you enjoy the new inspiration for your home as much as my family and friends do. My aloha is printed in each and every one of these hand screened tea towels. My Kumu 'Olelo once told me, that the beauty of our cultural lineage is that it is 'consistently inconsistent'. Which is based on a cultural belief that, "History, as anything else, is seen and understood by where a person stands on the mountain." - Tales from the Night Rainbow. So within my design, as well as the towels that have been taken from once used flour sacks, they all have their own unique character and charm, not free from humanly "imperfections".    Aloha, k

Personalized Stamped Gold or Silver Necklaces

Personalized, stamped gold or silver necklaces!
My sister Keana loves to craft as well, but her expertise is in the finer details therefore she works well with smaller "canvases"! Great gift for yourself or your loved ones. Depending on the material, the size and your personal design, these one of a kind pieces can range from $95- $155. Email me for details on how you can custom order yours necklace now!
nohodesigns@me.com


Happy Holidays,
k

New Item! 

Vintage coffee table UpCycled. Shabby Chic antiqued paint design with light green with a very light blue under coat. Original artwork inspired by the "Aloha `Oe" poster noting the composition of then, Princess Lili'iuokalani's,  famous song written and composed in 1877. 

Here is a little history shared by Wikipedia:

"Aloha ʻOe" (Farewell to Thee) is Liliʻuokalani's most famous song and a common cultural Leitmotif for Hawaii. The song was inspired by a horseback trip she took in 1877 to the windward side of Oʻahu. After visiting the Boyd ranch in Maunawili, Liliʻuokalani witnessed a farewell embrace between Colonel James Harbottle Boyd and one of the young ranch ladies.
This tender farewell set Lili`uokalani to thinking, and she began humming to herself on the homeward trip. Overhearing, Charles Wilson observed, "That sounds like The Lone Rock by the Sea," a comment with which Lili`uokalani is said to have agreed. When the party paused to rest in an orange grove on the Honolulu side of the Pali, the others joined in the hummings, and the song was completed later at Washington Place.

The top of the table displays the Queen's emblem and personal motto of "Onipa`a" which means to "Stand Firm" or to be "steadfast". She was Hawaii's last Queen and is very dear to the history and people of Hawaii Nei. 

The sides depict the text on the rest of the poster. It's an unique and fashionable piece, sure to be a conversational piece in your home. 

A light satin finish should help to protect the look of this piece of art for years to come. Check out the unique furniture details on the side legs! Fun! I love great craftsmanship. 

Price: $235

"Just remember that paying a little more now out of pocket for an upcycled piece, is a small contribution to saving our landfills and saving our precious resources!"

Aloha, 
Kamaile

Noho Designs 

"Your home is an extension of your Mana" 

Chairs! I love chairs!

Antique Chairs from late 1800's

On to my next project ... actually, I'm juggling many projects at the moment, but super psyched on these antique chairs I found at a Kailua garage sale this past Saturday! I can say "antique" because the ohana who sold them to me said that their grandfather was a fine woodworker and made beautiful furniture in his day, which I'm guesstimating at around the late 1800's to possibly the very early 1900's, which makes these chairs definitely in the "over 100 years therefore 'antique'" category! Either way I am stoked on the craftsmanship, the beautiful solid oak wood, and the design of the chair...not to mention that they had all 4 chairs! 
So wow, talk about listening to the stories of those items/people who want to share, these chairs came with some beautiful history and I plan to share their stories with you through the design! I'll keep you posted! Just wanted to show you what I was up to this week! I'm also bringing together the finishing touches for the tea towels I'm making for your kitchens! Can't wait to show you all! 

Sanding in my shop

I hope you all have a great week! If you have any questions on upcycling furniture or have a project you'd like help with, I would love to hear from you and will share all that I can. My mistakes, my triumphs, and where you can save money, and when to know when to not tackle the DYI and turn it over to a professional! I'm super stoked on Noho Designs being apart of a new society that is consciously making small efforts to improve our earth! Just remember that paying a little more now out of pocket for an upcycled piece, is a small contribution to saving our landfills and our precious resources, that feed the need for new STUFF! So, mahalo for your love and support! If you are a Hawaii based artist in the Home Decor world and would like me to feature your unique and green products, please email me at: nohodesigns@me.com Xo, k

Finding Inspiration

Finding inspiration is really an oxymoron because the root words of inspiration mean to be "in spirit" or from my perspective, to be in full awareness of the oneness that connects all of life. Hawaiians truely lived from this space, from the knowing and honoring all that surrounds us, and therefore our multitude of traditions and protocol reflect the honoring of all that is living and all that makes up our environment. So really when I "look" for inspiration, what I'm really doing is just tapping into the stories that all things and people want to share, including the furniture I upcycle. Your home, and flow within your home has a story. You have a story. The people who came before you had a story. It is not that those stories are lost when you move into a new space, it is just that the energies have shifted and now you add to those stories by creating new experiences. So...here's the million dollar question, "what would you like to experience within your environment?" "how do YOU personally want your life to reflect your inner smile?". When you can go within, and as we say 'listen to your naʻau', is where you will find YOUR inspiration. For me, one of my greatest sources of inspiration is turning to my past, our past, Hawaii's past! "Nana I ke Kumu" - Look to the source. Kumu can mean source, it can mean teacher, it can reference a tree, but in Hawaiian thought, and what is expressed here in this Noʻeau reflects the concept of looking to our ancestors who were our source of knowledge and our wisdom keepers. So I found great strength in the words on my first piece "Kūlia i ka nuʻu" - strive for the summit. Look it up, seek out the ike behind it for yourself. Find meaning that applies to you, for you, through the poetic words that our ancestors left us. Other than that, this piece is special to me because I love to see my goals and visions in front of me, and I love organization! So I see this as a working vision board, or an idea board, or a to-do list board that inspires and motivates you! I hope you love it as much as I do! Aloha, Kamaile

Completed my first project and have it in Kai Boutique in Kailua!

2'x4' Vintage Frame upcycled into a beautiful magnetic chalkboard with Hawaiian Kalo artwork and a Hawaiian No`eau "Kulia i ka nu`u - Strive for the Summit" - Queen Kapi`olani's personal motto. On sale now at Kai Boutique in Kailua on Oahu! Go check it out!
or you can email me directly at nohodesigns@me.com
Price of $249 includes -
Support of local artist; Cost of used frame; Supplies to make it pretty; Hours spent working on sanding, painting & artwork; Rent; Electricity; Employees of Shop owner; Food on my table, 2 unique upcycled magnets... and last but not least "your priceless contribution to keeping this item out of our precious landfill! - Malama Aina, Malama Pono."




Our Homes are an extension of our MANA.
 
Mahalo for your support & purchase,


kamaile

Aloha & Welcome...E komo mai.

Omg! I'm living in my truth and following my passion! I'm so excited to share with all of you, my passion for home furnishings, decor and how that can relate to health and healing within our homes! Please allow me to share my ideas, and do-it-yourself projects with you to inspire your own creativity to bring about the best possible living environment designed for you!


You are welcome to purchase the designs I have infused my Mana and Aloha into, to bring life into your spaces, or to BE inspired to create your own designs! I am here to help you facilitate that creative desire by coming up with solutions that will help you to manifest your projects. From bringing me your inspiration and piece of furniture you would like to see re-purposed and brought back to life, to creating a space where you can do the work yourself, I am here to be a vessel of creativity! Together we can make it happen! Contact me today to start your journey of creating a space that inspires health and well being!


My quote for the day 10.21.11 - Be in the creative flow of life...if who we are on the inside reflects what we are projecting on the outside...then here is a paintbrush to help you continue to create what you feel in your heart and transfer that to your surroundings!
Aloha mau,
Kamaile