Guy stuff: Tees, Ukes, Lures
What a Tees
[idkwhat2wear.com]
The owners of idkwhat2wear are Karl Miyashiro and Terri Dux, who’ve been friends a long time. Their wicked sense of humor and Neanderthal sense of fashion are what make their tee shirt company amusing.
“Our personalities work well together because Karl likes listening and Terri loves talking!,” says Dux, referring to himself as the idk chatterbox.
“So what is idk?” I ask, and Dux says, “I Don’t Know?” and I realize what an idiot I am. We laugh. “I guess you’re Korean?” I ask, referring to the “Real Men Watch Korean Dramas (just don’t tell anyone)” tee, and he says “no” and for some reason we laugh again.
“We’re local,” he says. “Third and fourth generation Okinawans.”
I really don’t get it, but the humor and the quality of their products impress me.
“I’m guessing you are assuming that because we have Korean Drama t-shirts,” he says. “But we don’t even watch K-Drama. We just listen to our customers, friends and families who inspire our designs.”
“So you like what you do?” I ask.
“We like making people laugh,” he says. “We haven’t gotten rich yet, but it still feels so awesome when we see someone we don’t know wearing our shirts.”
I decided to buy a button. I wear it next to my APEC lanyard. It says, “Common sense, got an app for that?”
Four String State of Mind
Island Guitars
Located on the second floor of Ward Warehouse, Island Guitars started in 1984 and specialized in used and vintage stringed instruments. Over the years, they’ve built a certain reputation and now, they have a selection of guitars and ‘ukuleles that rivals any other instrument shop in Hawaii.
Among their Made in Hawaii instruments, are the Kamaka and Kala brand ‘ukuleles, pictured above, which are highly coveted by musicians and collectors.
“We can find [any customer] the right ‘uke for their needs,” says senior partner, Neil Shimabukuro, who has been a fixture at Island Guitars from the very beginning. “We believe in customer service, and finding an instrument for any budget.”
The Attraction of Lures
Soultrex, Inc.
Big game fishing lures, made by Meadow Lures, manufactures deep sea fishing tackle, which is used in the Pacific, Mexico, Florida, South American and parts of Asia. Their lures are engineered and designed in Waimanalo, and they’re sold at Soultrex, Inc. in Kaneohe at the Windward Mall.
“Our mission is to reconnect people with nature and the outdoors,” says Linda Awana of Soultrex. “We’re interested in getting our youth active and environmentally aware.”
Soultrex partners with Leave No Trace, which contributes one percent of their sales to the planet and assists in local programs and projects designed to keep Hawaii’s youth out of the house.
Soultrex offers Made in Hawaii photography, locally made organic bamboo shirts, and “Tribal Tat” shirts made by Fili at Tribal Edge, and as seen on Hawaii Five-O.
The owner, Jacinda Elias, is a local girl whose vision is to help others to “return to their source.”
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