I loved the Kauai Products Fair (pictured above) an open air market in Kapa'a. We bought a huge, beautiful mango wood salad bowl there ($60) as well as some smaller items. The Island Soap Company in Kileaua is great for for locally made soaps, lotions, candles, and other nice smelling things. Kilueua Bakery had some yummy-looking local honey, with mac nuts and honeycomb suspended inside for $8.50 a jar. (Unfortunately, airport security confiscated ours on the way home. Apparently you can't travel with ANY amount of a liquid substance unless you check it in. Since we only had carry-on bags, we had to abandon our honey at the airport. ) Yellowfish Trading Company in Hanalei has some gorgeous items, but is pricey. I saw a bracelet there for $16; later I saw the same one at the Kauau Products Fair for $10. Still, Yellowfish has some things that I didn't see anywhere else, and I did end up buying a few things from them despite their prices because I liked them so much. Hula Beach (also in Hanalei) is great for clothes, but also pricey. Mostly women's wear, but some men's stuff as well. They have some beautiful Hawaiian shirts, if you don't mind forking over $180. If you can afford it, this is a good place to get island-style clothing that doesn't look cheesy. If glitter is your thing and you want to buy some dresses that wouldn't look out of place on a Vegas hooker, check out Tropical Tantrum. They'll fix you up. We also looked at the Kauai Products Store in the Kukui Grove Center mall, and were unimpressed. Lots of ugly, garish clothing and a few crafts. Not nearly as good as the Kauai Products Fair. The Magic Dragon Toy and Art Supply is Princeville was a hit-- fantastic toys and a decent delection of basic art supplies. Again, not cheap-- but good stuff, and some of it is even made in Hawaii.
We saw a lot of other cool looking shops that we didn't have the time and money for. Maybe next time!
KAUAI PRODUCTS FAIR
4-1621 Kuhio Highway
Kapaa, HI 96746
Tel. (808) 246-0988
YELLOWFISH TRADING COMPANY
Hanalei Center
4504 Kukui Street
Hanalei, HI 96714
Tel. (808) 826-1227
MAGIC DRAGON TOY & ART SUPPLY
Princeville Center
Princeville, HI 96722
Tel. 808-826-9144
ISLAND SOAP & CANDLE WORKS
Kong Lung Center, Kilauea (and other locations)
http://www.islandsoap.com
2 comments:
I wish we'd checked out the Kaua'i Products Fair. It was the one time I wished we had our laptop along so I could look up on TA what it was called and where it was. I had an impossible time finding locally made gifts to bring home. Nothing says "Kaua'i" like a sea turtle carved out of wood in Indonesia.
Well, I have my doubts about how much of the products are actually made in Kauai. But they aren't things I see at home, and they are "islandy", and you really can't beat a pair of carved wood pineapple-shaped coasters for a cheesy-yet-fabulous
gift.
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