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Our Story
LE’A MAKAHA is a yoga wear and active wear brand originating from MAKAHA, located on the west coast of Oahu, Hawaii, nestled in the power-filled Wai’anae Mountains.
LE’A means “joy” and “happiness” in Hawaiian.
Designer
The textile design was created by a popular artist living in Makaha, and was color coordinated with Hawaiian nature as a motif.
The birth of our textile story
The story behind the birth of Lea Makaha Design In order to fulfill a long-held dream, Hawaii-based painter Shu2 embarked on a five-month voyage around the islands of the South Pacific on a small yacht in 2018.
Ports of call: Marquesas Islands – Tuamotu Islands – Society Islands – Cook Islands – Niue Island.
It was a journey that reminded me of history, tracing the route that ancient Polynesians took by canoe across the islands scattered in the Pacific Ocean in search of new lands, and reaching the faraway Hawaiian Islands in the North Pacific.
Inspired by the nature of the islands and the art of the indigenous peoples that he encountered there, he left behind many sketches during the voyage.
This piece, one of them, depicts the tropical plants that grow in clusters on the islands: breadfruit, bananas, pineapples, plumeria, and hibiscus. These plants are not depicted as harvested fruits, but rather as they are in their natural state, rooted in the earth.
The artist had originally intended to print the work he created on this trip as woodblock prints on fabrics such as pareos and stoles, but after returning to Hawaii, he met a yoga instructor and decided to offer it as a textile design for women’s yoga wear.
“I hope to support your wellness lifestyle through my textile designs and Lea Makaha healing wear.”Shu2
