By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer
Hawai‘i’s woodworkers have begun marking their products with a new "Hawaii’s Wood" logo that they hope will add value to both the individual works and the Hawaiian woods industry.
The Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association is pushing for the logo to be placed on tags and decals on finished work.
The tags have white lettering on a rich, brown wood-grain background. The lettering reads "Hawaii’s Wood," and a stylized image shows a chisel blade raising a curl of wood.
Graphic designer Eric Woo created the label design as part of a branding campaign supported by the HFIA, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and the U.S. Forest Service through the Hawai‘i Forestry and Communities Initiative.
The HFIA estimates $29 million and 1,000 jobs are generated by the forest industry each year. The statewide association has some 300 members.
 For more information on the branding program, see the industry Web site. |
The new brand image was launched at the association’s annual wood show last year. It is aimed at all wood products made in Hawai‘i, including those from native trees like koa and ‘¯hi‘a, Polynesian introductions like milo, and Asian and Western introductions like Norfolk Island pine, mango and silver oak.
While koa may be the Hawaiian wood that is the best known and most widely sought, the HFIA is actively promoting the use of other species as well. Its wood show includes a requirement that most products be made from non-native species grown in Hawai‘i.
The Hawaii’s Wood brand tags will be seen on bowls, musical instruments, furniture and more.
O‘ahu wood sculptor Robert Holden, whose works include koa rocking horses, said he is already out of his first batch of stickers and cards.
"I think it’s a real good idea to do that. It’s kind of a brand that says it’s made here," he said.
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