Ye new shoppe
Lee Kekoa—Mind Shoppe / When Lee Kekoa started gardening with a group of friends, he knew there was something bigger in store for his environmentally conscious crew. As artists and lovers of the natural world, the group decided to share the energy they were putting into the ground, and turn it into a cooperatively owned store where locals could gather and contribute their own art, services and network with other artists in a safe, open-minded environment. After months of planning, they opened the Mind Shoppe.
“Local products, local art,” says Kekoa. “A lot of people are doing things but they don’t have a place to show. That’s what we want to offer.”
Even though there’s no sign, the store is recognizable by a distinctive silver meditative figure on the front window. The artists who sell their products in the store also run it, which gives customers the opportunity to speak directly with someone involved in creating what they buy.
Paintings and prints from some of the nearly 20 artists involved with the Mind Shoppe cover the walls, and the scent of incense wafts in the air. The Shoppe also features a slew of homemade treats and beverages and a diverse selection of clothing. There’s also an impressive collection of glass art, hookahs and many shelves of donated books and records.
Kekoa turns to his philosophy on gardening as a viable model for managing the co-op.
“Thinking on a level of self-sustainability,” he says, “we apply processes we learned from gardening into the store.”
Among those processes are a commitment to local goods and labor: Products are hand-crafted and use local materials only. In addition to its variety of artwork and merchandise, the Mind Shoppe offers an array of services. From computer repair to music production, artists offer their myriad skills to customers for negotiable fees.
For all its sprawling ambitions, at its core, the Mind Shoppe is a place for likeminded artists of all talents to connect and share.
“We’re reaching out to all artists,” says Kekoa. “We love Hawaii and we support Hawaii and we understand there needs to be a crossroad point to come together. We want the Mind Shoppe to be the connection point.”
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