Handmade on Moloka‘i
Each of the garments made at Kealopiko’s screen-printing workshop are one-of-a-kind and tell a story.
Each of the garments made at Kealopiko’s screen printing workshop on Moloka’i are handmade, one-of-a-kind and tell a story.
“We draw on our collective years of experience as Kanaka, living in this place and observing the natural world,” says Hina Kneubuhl, one of the company’s co-owners.
Kealopiko, which sells its clothes for women and men online, has nine wāhine employees. “It’s their hands that choose the placement, how much ink to put on the screen, how hard to press, what colors to use. Everything’s hand dyed, so they mix colors that vary slightly. They really have a lot of choice and agency over how each piece is printed, so no garment is exactly the same,” says Kneubuhl.
Even the weather affects each piece. “The way it comes out might differ depending on how sunny or windy it is that day. Those elements influence how the fabric dries and dye comes through. Everything is touched by loving hands and unique in its making.”
