Our Story
From a small island in the middle of the Pacific, Ivory grew up dreaming of traveling to faraway places and meeting new people from around the world.(*cue Moana Soundtrack here*) At 15 years old, she got her opportunity. Leaving all she had ever known behind her, Ivory moved to a mountain town, nestled just south of the Colombian border. This cultural exchange was not only a life-changing experience, but an eye-opening one that she had not expected. As she immersed herself into the Ecuadorian lifestyle and culture, she realized just how little was known of her own Polynesian culture. Everyone in her school, town, and family had their own preconceived ideas of Hawaii, which were all based on the popular 80's show, Hawaii Five-O: white sand beaches, beautiful women, and a care-free lifestyle. While this was a fun image to perpetuate, she knew this wasn’t the entire picture she wanted the world to know. Hawai’i was beautiful and complex, and she was determined to find a way to share that with the world.
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Upon returning home to Kauai, Ivory found a new passion in celebrating and protecting all that Hawaii was and is by honoring its past and working to repave its path towards a sustainable future. She quickly got into Hawaii's environmental politics scene, earning a degree in Political Science with a Minor in Spanish from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and realized that it was her time to share her knowledge and aloha with the world again. This time she left to pursue a Masters in Sustainable Development & Corporate Responsibility in Madrid, Spain. Her mission was to share the true complexities of Hawaii, while inspiring, through aloha, to bring others to care. It was during this time that Ivory realized the power of sharing her love of hula and the art of making lei across the world could inspire a greater understanding of what Hawaii truly is.
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Today, as a wife and mother, she has found an even greater purpose in life and continues to share her love for the art of lei making to inspire true aloha with locals and visitors alike.
