Island Style
Hello Kitty and Sanrio buddies given Island theme on apparel

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Custom Co.

Through a new licensing arrangement, Hello Kitty will appear on T-shirts as a hula dancer, under a hula moon over Diamond Head and as a Rainbow Wahine volleyball player, complete with adorable green-and-white aloha print shorts. And that's just the beginning. Her buddies Pochacco and Badtz-Maru are also Island-themed, with Pochacco as a surfer hanging ten and Badtz-Maru playing Warrior football. The designs were created by local artist Dennis Fujitake with Miki Inoue, who was sent to Honolulu by Sanrio Tokyo.

It's a business coup for Milton Ebesu and Sally Donellon, owners of The Custom Co., a Kalihi-based identity apparel company. They worked for nearly two years to obtain the license for Hello Kitty in Hawai'i. Now they're wasting no time in printing the cult classic cat on clothing.

In addition to T-shirts, aloha print fabrics with Hello Kitty themes are coming soon to be made into sundresses, shorts, capris and tops for women and keiki.

The Custom Co. is developing Hello Kitty-related products for Dole Plantation and the USS Missouri in addition to U.H. sports programs. The long-range product development plan for Hello Kitty in Hawai'i calls for expansion to Guam and the Mainland, especially the East Coast where Hello Kitty has a big following.

Hello Kitty T-shirts are available now at Hilo Hattie, Elephant Walk and McInerny.