Flag idea gives wave of hope
By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist
Elgin Onaga is pinning his hopes on the American Dream.
He is one of the thousands of people unemployed from Sept. 11. His girlfriend, Angela Geronimo, had her hours at a Waikiki nightclub drastically reduced. They're behind on their rent, behind on a car payment. They had to apply for food stamps to feed their daughter, Alia, whose third birthday is tomorrow. But rather than apply for unemployment benefits, they're looking to the flag.
It started when Onaga went to buy a flag to buoy his family's spirits. He learned that flags were in short supply, and many of the ones he found were made in China.
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For details on Onaga's company, Custom Flags, Banners and Tees, call him at 595-8618.
He got the idea for a business he and Angela could run out of their home. They started silk-screening flags out of a friend's shop, and doing the cutting and sewing in his living room. Though they are still looking for jobs, this is their way of diversifying the economy.
"Maybe this is a godsend," Onaga says. "I don't know until I try it."
The flags are 4 inches by 6 inches and meant to fly from car antennas. They're two-ply and double-stitched around the edges. Onaga and Geronimo are selling the flags for $3 retail, $2 wholesale. Onaga says, "I want to see car antenna flags on every single car in Hawai'i. That's my dream."
The events of Sept. 11 shattered another one of Onaga's cherished dreams. He and Angela had just moved out of Vancouver House, a transitional housing project, and had saved up enough money to buy a car — a used Cherokee that symbolized a new way of life for the couple.
"We worked our way up and out of it, and we were so proud. And then this happens and everything crumbles," he says. "We're like a brand-new plant. We can't take too much sunlight yet."
There are times when Onaga has to fight worries that the pressure and depression of his situation will pull him back into his old ways. He served two prison terms for theft related to drugs, though that was 10 years ago. Next month, he will be able to apply for a pardon to wipe his record clean, so he wills himself to focus on the positive.
"I like to think I'm smart enough to compete in the real world," he says.
Right now, he's trying everything he can think of to make it in the real world. He's cleaning the offices of a weekly publication in exchange for advertising space, pounding the pavement to hand out business flyers and offering bargains on small-order silk-screened T-shirts. He's had one large order for flags, but is hoping to secure more accounts with local stores.
"We're not asking for anything free. We want to work for what we need and deserve in our lives. I want to do good in this life."
Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com
