Hawai'i's newest home furnishing store edgy, hip

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sisters Shyrah Maurer, left, and Brooke Israel have opened SoHa, a home furnishings store, in the Ward retail corridor. The duo calls it their "dream store." Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

SoHa's inventory, which includes beach gear, is tailored for Hawai'i. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

SoHa 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m.-7 p.m.Sundays 1200 Ala Moana Blvd., Building 1 591-9777

SoHa, the newest kid on the block in the burgeoning Ward corridor, stands for South of Hawai'i, a spin on New York's Soho and San Francisco's South of Market, centers of home fashion on the two coasts.

SoHa is owned by Brooke Israel and Shyrah Maurer, sisters, both younger than 30, who were born and reared in Honolulu. This is their first business venture together, though Maurer has retail background as a partner in local Roxy and Quiksilver Youth stores.

Maurer said she wanted to do something she could call her own: "With Roxy and Quiksilver, everything is branded and there's nothing of you in it. I wanted to have my own baby."

Israel is right out of school. In fact, the 23-year-old passed up pursuit of a master's in fine arts in San Francisco to come home and open SoHa.

"This is our dream store," Israel said.

The sisters acted as their own architects and interior designers for the bright, sunny loft-style store. They also design the furniture, which is being manufactured in Indonesia.

SoHa's home accessories and furniture seem to belong in a chic urban apartment rather than a sprawling suburban home. The prices are in a range that's affordable for that first pied-a-terre.

The sisters seem to be genetically predisposed to eclectic, interesting, Asian taste. Their grandparents, Leo and Henrietta Israel, traveled around the world collecting furnishings and housewares for their Kahala home. And Leo Israel was a prominent and popular fabric supplier in the early days of the aloha shirt.

Dale Hope, author of "The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands," said Leo Israel was the inspiration behind many of the "best-ever Hawaiian prints."

Brooke Israel, who took several classes in interior design, found inspiration in classic furniture designs by the likes of Le Corbusier, the Eames brothers and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. To design the furniture, she sketches the concept and works with an architect in Indonesia who finalizes renderings and helps oversee the manufacturing.

While a college student in Boston, Israel would shop for furnishings for her dorm room, to no avail. So she sketched out the designs, went to the hardware store to buy the materials, and made them herself.

The sisters visit various markets in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. They simply choose what they like and what they think will work for SoHa. "Having an eye for what pieces complement each other" is how Israel describes the selection process.

There are bright fabric ottomans from Thailand for $69; interesting Thai flatware, $25 for a five-piece place setting; and bright silk throw pillows for $20.

Hand-woven water hyacinth is crafted into waste paper baskets, bowls and vases that look like cork, but cooler.

There is a complete line of linen desk accessories in earth tones and some bright — really bright — rag rugs designed to look like a heart, a strawberry and a tomato.

Lois Silverman of Kaimuki said of her SoHa shopping experience: "I like their things. They're different. They have clean lines, yet they're fresh and usable. So many things are handsome, but you don't know what to do with them. This merchandise is refreshing."

SoHa is poised to open a tea bar where they'll serve scones, cakes, tea sandwiches and crumpets (English muffins), along with hot and iced teas and desserts.

There are a few café tables and chairs, if they can keep them. Customers have been buying the tables right out from under them.

Next week, SoHa's owners plan to open a furniture warehouse at 670 Auahi St. to showcase the growing line of home furnishings.

SoHa is on the corner of Kamake'e and Auahi streets. Walk around Kaka'ako Kitchen to get to it from the Ward Centre parking lot.