Jalene Kanani Hitzeman, president and creative director of NOHO HOME, says the brand's new collaboration with Honolulu Cookie Co. all started with a little manifestation — and a little help from the coconut wireless.
"We are both Hawaiʻi-grown brands that have built our businesses around a strong sense of place, quality and the desire to share aloha," she told Aloha State Daily in an email. "What excited me most was the opportunity to bring together two very different creative mediums, their iconic cookies and packaging, and my work as an artist and textile designer. I’m always interested in seeing how my artwork can live beyond its original application, whether that is on fabric, a rug, a table setting or, in this case, through a collaboration with another loved local brand."
A limited-edition fall gift box pairs Hawai‘i-inspired art from NOHO HOME with signature cookies from Honolulu Cookie Co., a recent announcement noted. It's the first collaboration between the the Native Hawaiian-owned luxury home decor brand and the Hawai‘i cookie company.
According to the announcement, the art was inspired by Hawai‘i's indigenous and native plants, and inside there are 16 cookies in seven flavors.
"The botanical inspiration connects the packaging to the landscapes of Hawaiʻi, making the design part of the experience of giving and receiving," the announcement states. "Whether brought to a gathering, shared with a host or sent to someone far from the islands, the box offers a way to share both the flavors and artistry of Hawaiʻi."
"As an artist, I’m constantly thinking about how people experience my work," Hitzeman says. "I don’t necessarily want the artwork to exist only on a wall or even only within the home. I love the idea that a pattern or visual story I create can become part of someone’s everyday life and experiences. Honolulu Cookie Co. has a strong connection to both residents and visitors, so this was an opportunity to introduce my artwork in a completely different context while still ensuring it felt authentic to who I am and what NOHO HOME represents."
Hitzeman says her creative process almost always begins "by determining the kind of experience we want to create, followed by the connection we will draw upon."
"There is a lot of discovery and conversation before the pattern language is even developed," she says. "As a Native Hawaiian artist, that practice of observation is very important to me. I often talk about kilo, observing closely enough that what you see begins to become knowledge. For this collaboration, I wanted the artwork to feel joyful and recognizable while still carrying the sophistication and visual language people associate with NOHO HOME. I wanted someone to see it and immediately feel a connection to Hawaiʻi, but perhaps experience Hawaiʻi through a slightly different artistic lens."
People sometimes overlook the idea that entrepreneurship and art can coexist, Hitzeman says.
"There is sometimes an assumption that when artwork becomes commercially successful, it somehow becomes less artistic. I see it completely differently," she told ASD. "For generations, Hawaiian creativity has been expressed through things people actually lived with and used: kapa, weaving, carving, featherwork and countless other forms. Art did not have to be separated from daily life to have meaning. That philosophy is very much a part of how I approach NOHO HOME. I want my artwork to be lived with. If someone eats dinner on a textile I designed, walks across one of my rugs every morning, sleeps beneath one of my patterns, encounters my artwork while traveling, or receives it through a collaboration with another Hawaiʻi company, the artwork becomes part of their own journey. That thought is incredibly humbling."
Local collabs
Local businesses collaborating together isn't a new phenomenon. NOHO HOME has even worked with other local brands in the past.
Last fall, for example, NOHO HOME collaborated with Zippy's Restaurants, offering a limited-edition capsule collection of four items that included a set of two tea towels in two separate colorways, a pack of five reusable chopstick sets and a foldable picnic blanket.
Zippy's, which marks its 60th anniversary this year, has also collaborated with a handful of other local businesses to celebrate the milestone.
As part of the ongoing anniversary celebration, the restaurant has so far unveiled an exclusive aloha shirt in collaboration with Kahala; partnered with Diamond Bakery to create a limited release, specially marked box of Original Hawaiian Soda Crackers; and launched a collab with Hawaiian Island Creations.
Most recently, the restaurant chain announced in August a collaboration with local brand Coopmonsters that included Zippy's-themed hair claw clips and pet gear.
"One of the things we love most about collaborating with local businesses is that every partnership tells a story and shares a perspective about Hawai‘i. Whether it's a legacy brand or an emerging entrepreneur, each collaboration is an opportunity to highlight local talent, support one another's growth and create something meaningful that neither business could achieve alone," Jessica Yamamoto, communications and social media manager for Zippy's, told Aloha State Daily in an email. "For Zippy's, these collaborations are a way to strengthen connection within our community, celebrate the diversity of local entrepreneurship and ensure that we continue reinvesting in the people and businesses that make Hawaii such a special place to call home."
Collaboration was also a key component of Kilo Summit, a collaboration and storytelling platform that launched at the 32nd annual Made in Hawai‘i Festival last month.
"We took some of our favorite brands and brands that reached out to us and what we did was we said, collaborate with someone else. It doesn't matter who," co-founder Zak Noyle told ASD ahead of the festival. "It needs to be locally owned and operated is our only caveat. If you can explain to us why, then that's good enough for us."
Noyle said then that Kilo Summit worked with 44 brands, or had 22 collaborations, each of which offered a handful of limited-edition items shoppers could only get there.
Hitzeman says that collaborations help as a business owner, designer and artist, but in different ways.
"As a business owner, collaborations allow NOHO HOME to reach audiences who may not have encountered us yet," she explained. "Someone may know and love our partners but may not know NOHO HOME. As a designer, it challenges me creatively. I’m working within another company’s history, personality and product while still ensuring the finished work carries my own artistic voice. And as an artist, the most exciting part is I get to see my work enjoyed in new dimensions, spaces and contexts. The patterns I create begin with observation, memory, cultural context, the landscape, and my own artful interpretation of Hawaiʻi. The fact that those pieces of art can then live on a pillow, a rug, packaging, a uniform, or within another brand’s world is very rewarding to me."
Hitzeman reiterated that collaborations "absolutely" help get her name and designs in front of new audiences.
"From a business standpoint, that cross-pollination of audiences is extremely valuable," she says. "But I also think there is an important distinction between exposure and meaningful exposure. The collaboration must make creative sense. When the alignment is right, both brands benefit because customers are being introduced to something new through a company they already trust."
For her, though, it's important to collaborate with other local businesses.
"Hawaiʻi businesses have a unique opportunity to strengthen one another," Hitzeman says. "We operate in a relatively small market, so collaboration can be a powerful way to build visibility, create new economic opportunities and show that Hawaiʻi brands can produce sophisticated and relevant work. I also love working with businesses that have their own history in Hawaiʻi. There is already a story there. My job as an artist is to understand it and find the intersection between their story and mine."
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
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