By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
MK Carroll shows the many knit and crochet possibilities available through patterns in books in the Hawaii State Library system.

The culinary world is known for its wine, cheese, chocolate and cigar tastings, or tastings of whatever ingredient happens to capture the imagination.

The Hawaii Public Library’s main branch hosted a tasting of its own on Saturday, to introduce yarn afficionados to its vast collection of knit and crochet books, as well as its large craft-book section. When deciding whether to borrow or buy one’s craft books, librarians shared the wisdom of adding stitch glossary books and classic patterns to one’s collection, while borrowing some of the trendier titles with designs likely to go out of style in a few years.

Designer MK Carroll was there to introduce her favorite books, past and present, and guests were able to share information as well, such as the pitfalls of trying to recycle yarn from thrift-shop sweaters. Depending on the garment’s construction, you could a continuous strand of yarn, or hundreds of barely usable 2-foot long pieces. The audience oohed when told of recyclers who, knowing what to look for, have unwound skeins of cashmere for a mere dollar.

In addition to sharing such book titles as “Stitch’n Bitch Nation” (I borrowed this one) and “Get Hooked: Simple Steps to Crochet Cool Stuff,” staffers shared Web sites such as Ravelry.com, a social community for knitters and crocheters, and yarnstandards.com. You can also check out mkcarroll.com for the designer’s latest goings-on and Etsy sales.

Shown clockwise are some of the yarns in my “tasting.” From left is a Maui Yarns sample of its hand-dyed 100 percent Merino wool yarn; a blend of wool, soy silk, cotton and chitin made from crab and shrimp shells; a Mini Mochi ball of 80 percent Merino wool and 20 percent nylon; and Araucania 100 percent sugar-cane fiber yarn.

Of course the highlight was looking at some of the newest yarns on the market, and taking them home to see how they knit up. It’s great that crafters always see the beauty in raw materials and have the creativity and imagination to see alternative possibilities. They’ve always been green minded, so yarns incorporate chitin and unusual plant fibers that might otherwise go to waste.

When it came time to actually borrow the books, I didn’t have my library card. I don’t know why librarians always make a person feel 10 years old. It’s been a long time since I borrowed any books, and cards expire in five years so I was hoping my card had expired, but it was still good so a friend borrowed two books for me rather than pay for a replacement card. The last time I borrowed a book was when I was living in Kailua and the parking situation made it easy to go to the library. (Market forces prevail even in the free public sector.) Now I just stop off at libraries mainly to drop off (recycle) magazines. I leave some and pick some up, although the titles are limited. People tend to pick up the fashion and women’s magazines first and leave the news and finance ones, though once I hit the Mother Lode and scored a bunch of Japan fashion magazines.

At the end of the session, all were invited to join the Aloha Knitters group (crocheters and spinners are also welcome). The group meets at Mocha Java Cafe in the Ward Warehouse from 7 to 9 p.m. each Thursday. There are no dues, and it’s OK to be a newbie. As Carroll said, they just want to be able to talk to people who understand them and who don’t think it’s weird to want to spin one’s dog or rabbit hairs into yarn.

One of the knitters in the group shared one of her recent projects.

By Nadine Kam

Size 6 only

The Stuart Weitzman Ala Moana boutique just received 300 pairs of size 6 M sample shoes they will be offering beginning tomorrow, June 27, at $109 per pair. The selection was good last time they hosted a sale like this, and I know a few people who picked up three to four pairs which they justified as the price of one pair of Weitzmans at regular price.

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Good things come in threes

If you’re a fan of kimchee, hummus or jewelry, you can get your fill of all three during a jewelry sale at 928 Wailupe Place. Details above. Up for grabs will be jewelry created by Fighting Eel’s Rona Bennett, who is back to work after journeying Down Under, where she was lucky enough to hug a koala. How cool is that? That’s one more animal to hug. Someday I’d like to go to the Wolong Panda Reserve to hug one of its furry residents.

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Surf sale’s up!

Blue Hawaii Surf is hosting a tent sale featuring surf/casual apparel from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 27, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 28, at Eighty Four Kalihi, 1216 Kaumualii St., with up to 50 percent off brand name skate, surf and fashion apparel, footwear and accessories. Check out the brands and details in coupon above. Or check out the blog: http://bluehawaiisurfhome.blogspot.com/

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
What came first, the accessory or the wardrobe?

I contributed to the economic slowdown when, for a couple of months earlier this year, I failed to shop. There comes a point when the closets and dresser drawers are full, and before bringing home anything, one starts asking, “Do I really need another black dress?” Or jacket, or purse, etc.

We probably all have much more than we need (want is another story), so after a while I stopped looking. Then, I was working on this HI Luxury men’s June/July fashion spread, centered on one of summer’s best accessories, the Panama hat.

Accessories are so big now that more people are wise to the ways of stylists and how they can change up and personalize a basic wardrobe with scarves, jewelry and layering.

I can’t afford a Montecristi, but I did buy a summery straw hat (I know, I know, they don’t offer sun protection), and with the hat as inspiration, I picked up the pieces above to wear with it. All of a sudden, I was cured of shopper’s block. It was the first time — outside of print — that I tried building a wardrobe around an accessory. Usually, I fall in love with a top, skirt or dress first, and the accessories are icing. I think this economy is forcing everyone to shop and think differently. These are interesting times.

Leah Ball photo for HI Luxury
Kahi Kapololu in a Newt at the Royal fedora, $650.

Here’s a link to my long-ago opus about the Panama hat as it appears on the Web site of Hawaii’s Montecristi go-to guy, Brent Black. I’m glad he picked it up because I can’t find it on the Star-Bulletin site anymore.

By Nadine Kam

Miss Sixty photos
Some of these dresses may still be available at the boutique closeout sale at Ala Moana Center. It also applies to the men’s side of the store, Energie, where there are T-shirts and jeans on sale.

I guess it was a hippie sort of weekend. After making note of the Hippie Holiday event Friday, and due to the hot weather, I went to sleep that night with a top knot and woke up with a hippie-ish middle part.

OK, I thought, I could live with this, despite the recommendation of every hair stylist I have ever encountered (they don’t want me to have bangs either, but I think I will do that next, again.)

In that mode, I found myself at the Miss Sixty closeout sale. Sad but true. I hate to see them go because they have such cute clothes, and everything I bought there I love.

In case you want to check out what’s left, they’re having a 75 percent off original price sale, and I picked up a dress and three tops for about $156, roughly the price of one item at regular price. It helped that my hippie hair matched the pieces perfectly.

It’s all going really fast. I saw an extra small in the dress I wanted when I walked in, but when I went back to the rack later, it was gone, so I had to buy the small.

It’s funny when I look at the photos of the dresses on super tall models. Then I go, “So that’s the way that’s supposed to look!” The dresses are long on me and I had to pass on the bubble dress that doesn’t have the same cute effect when it drops below the knees.

By Nadine Kam

Michelle Ramos photos
From left, Lindsey Kemp, Samantha Silverberg and Christine Pagano dressed for Hippie Holiday tonight.

Revisit the summer of love during the first Hippie Holiday event taking place in the Honolulu Arts District from 5 to 10 p.m. today.

I was trekking through Chinatown today after lunch and ran into Lindsey Kemp (@lindseak), who, with Samantha Silverberg and Christine Pagano, was getting a headstart on the gallery stroll featuring 1960’s-inspired art and music, highlighted by the screening of “Playing for Change” — Mark Johnson’s film that starts with street musician Roger Ridley playing for change in Santa Monica — at 8 pm. at NextDoor on Hotel Street. For all the info, check out John Berger’s story in today’s HiLife.

Also spotted this flower-powered Karmann Ghia parked on Pauahi Street:

Bring the love to the Honolulu arts district tonight.

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Meanwhile, Bare Escentuals is sharing the love with 20 percent off today through June 25, online at BareEscentuals.com (use promo code “SHARE”) or print out the coupon at http://tinyurl.com/mdma7w and redeem at the Ala Moana Center boutique in the Nordstrom wing.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Emeril Lagasse addresses diners during The Essence of Emeril dinner June 12, during The Kahala Food & Wine Classic.

The foodies were out at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, where chef Emeril Lagasse was in the house Friday and Saturday for a series of demonstrations and food showcases. I was there for a Friday night dinner that included the kiawe-smoked salmon, below, served atop a Kahuku corn pancake and topped with Osetra caviar. My favorite dish of the evening was a crabmeat-stuffed moi roulade served with Kauai shrimp and a charred tomato butter sauce.

Kiawe-smoked salmon. At left is the centerpiece of roses and feathers arranged to look like a pineapple.

All this was detailed in our food editor Joleen Oshiro’s story here so I feel no need to elaborate more about food, but I did note that many of the women planned ahead so tended to wear cute and roomy sack or trapeze dresses that leave plenty of room for hiding the aftermath of a dinner like this, especially given the chef’s penchant for hearty ingredients. Two of the entrees were boudin sausage-stuffed whole quail and macadamia nut-crusted veal with white cheddar grits and andouille sausage ragout!

I thought about it when getting dressed in a pencil skirt and femme blouse that morning to meet a family of European artists. For a minute I considered changing into a dinner-friendly dress, but then decided just to eat less. I always think those bubbles, sacks and swing dresses, in being so forgiving, allow people to expand into them the way work expands to fill whatever time you have. (Given a day you’ll take all day; given two weeks, the same task will take two weeks.) Trying to stick to slim shapes can be so difficult and uncomfortable, but the alternative feels like giving in to the doesn’t-have-to-be-inevitable middle-age spread.

While there Jo McGarry also pointed out the Hermès SilkyCity tote on Lisa Higashigushi’s shoulder, that pays homage to Hermès’ scarf tradition. Her friend Allison Lohfeld, left, also has the same bag but wasn’t carrying it that evening. You can see more of the design details on the Hermès site here.

After dinner, men and women gathered around Michael Herklots, left, for a cigar tasting.

Special guests at the dinner were Fred Schrader, proprietor of Schrader Cellars, Napa Valley, and Schrader Cellars winemaker Thomas Brown, proprietor of Rivers-Marie, plus Michael Herklots, general manager of Davidoff of Geneva, New York. He laughed when I said I couldn’t remember if I smoked cigars before. I think I did when the craze began here about 14 years ago, but there are, unfortunately, many parts of my life I’ve forgotten. A while ago I was talking to a friend about not remembering if I ever saw the Foo Fighters in concert, and he said, “Yeah you did, you saw it with me!”

This car was parked up front when I arrived and when I left. Is that a Corvette?

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Hula figurines graced one of the windows at the new Kate Spade store on the mall level of Ala Moana Center, across from Bebe. The opposite window was full of yellow cabs representing the company’s origin. Kate Spade’s natural-colored Hula Ida bag looks like the skirts on the dancers. An orange version of the bag is pictured further below.

I don’t know about men, but women as consumers are pretty easy to figure out. We’re attracted to color. I could be wrong, but I think Apple was one of the first companies outside of fashion to recognize this and deliver color in objects not traditionally known for color. Before the Apple revolution, computers were gray or beige.

Kate Spade’s opening at Ala Moana Center this morning was marked by color, such that I didn’t know what to do. Talk to people or shop? It was pretty much like being in a candy store, with so many delectable looking baubles in shiny, happy yellows, oranges, magentas, pinks and blues.

The store was to look like the Waikiki store, but I was told plans changed four days ago, and the effect now is much for playful, appointed in living room furnishings and decor that add casual warmth to the room.

Although it would have been nice to think the summer collection was inspired by Hawaii, it was actually inspired by cities of Mexico and the Southwest. But the warm colors and casual, sophisticated style travel well. To capture that sentiment, the store is offering a limited-edition exclusive tot, “Hawaii Paradise Found,” for $155. It lists the distance from Hawaii to such major cities as Tokyo, L.A., and Sydney.

“Hawaii Paradise Found” exclusive bag.

A shopper wearing a preppy argyle design watch browses a tabletop covered with small wares and Kate Spade’s Hula Ida bag.

Maiko Nakano settles into a sunny yellow sofa at the front of the store which will allow tired shoppers to rest for a while, while continuing to check out small leather goods and jewelry.

Manikins show Kate Spade summer dresses and accessories.

I love the shop’s many retro living room details. Like the Waikiki store, it’s full of shelf-top sculptures, like the owl at left, and hardcover books. I bought the metallic blue version of the gold purse.

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By Nadine Kam

Shasa Emporium photos

After seven years, Shasa Emporium is moving.

No worries for those in the neighborhood watching their gas gauges; the boutique is not moving far. In fact, the store is just moving around the corner from its current location at Kahala Mall, closer to Center Stage action.

Nevertheless, no stylish woman ever wants to sweat or break a nail doing heavy lifting, so staffers are trying to lighten their load by getting rid of as much merch as possible during a moving sale, a win-win situation for all.

Sample discounts:
>> 30 to 50 percent off designer denim
>> 30 to 75 percent off apparel
>> 30 to 50 percent off handbags
>> 30 to 50 percent off assorted jewelry
>> 20percent off Pure Joy and Lynn Jean jewelry collections (through June 15 only)
>> Additional 25 percent off existing markdowns, as low as $9.99

Check out the store blog for timely info: http://shasaemporium.blogspot.com

Or follow their Twitter posts: http://twitter.com/iheartshasa

By Nadine Kam

Kate Spade graphic

Kate Spade is opening at Ala Moana Center June 17, and to mark the occasion, the company is giving away a trip to Hawaii. You can also check out the store’s hula bags, made of raffia, when the store opens:

For readers outside our islands, enter at www.katespade.com by June 12.

Here’s what the prize entails:

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Angry Little Girl Kim graces the entry of the Split Obsession boutique.

Caught up with artist/actress Lela Lee Sunday at Split Obsession, where she was showing her canvases depicting her Angry Little Girls characters and signing autographs for fans.

Boutique owners Erica Apana and Bruce Chin were kept busy all afternoon, she at the register ringing up sales of Lela’s totebags, accessories and books, and he taking photos of visitors for the shop blog.

Wish they had some of her T-shirts there, but that’ll have to be next time. She says she wants to come back every year and is entertaining thoughts of moving here.

Steve Czerniak of Alliway was there, and we both agreed that if she does move here, she’ll have plenty of fodder for her work. A lot of people are angry here and it manifests in passive/aggressive behaviors, I told her, like pedestrians walking extra slowly to block cars’ progress, or drivers speeding up when you’re crossing the Longs’ parking lot.

My interview with Lela is here. Lela’s Web site is http://www.angrylittlegirls.com/

Split Obsession has been great at bringing in cool artists, from Buff Monster to SKAFFS’ Luke Feldman to Bigfoot, as well as hosting local talent. Keep ‘em coming!

I picked up this sassy tote bag (and some equally sassy Allison Izu shorts as well) that Lela’s signing in the photo. Maybe you can read it. It may not be nice for me to use the last word in the panel, and she has a censored version of the panel as well. I thought it suited my bag fetish, but in reality, when people say, “Wow, cute bag,” I’m so happy I say, “Thank you!”

Steve Czerniak took a break from duties at his and wife Allison’s Alliway boutique to say hello and show his support for Erica, Bruce and Lela. He picked up Lee’s book “Angry Little Girls in Love,” and her “Angry Little Asian Girl” DVD, the work that started her on her path to fame. He’s certain it’ll be a collector’s item.

Steve also offered Lela the pack of gum from Alliway, which fit the Angry Girl spirit. It reads “Don’t Waste My Daytime Minutes.”

Lela with her son Spencer. It would be great if the lesson learned from her book is to be a man who doesn’t make women angry.

Joleen Oshiro with Lela and her Angry Girl tote with heart-shaped pocket.