Maui shopping spree

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Cheryl Tipton, a style-conscious shopper, is a Maui transplant from O'ahu who has wasted no time scouting some of the more pleasant and treasure-filled shops on the Valley Isle.

So when The Advertiser wanted advice on shopping Maui, Tipton was one of our first calls.

After a leisurely Sunday spent exploring upcountry, we discovered some real finds. Additional journeys to Lahaina and Wailea, following leads from other style-conscious friends, unearthed more gems.

Duck Soup

• In Central Maui Baseyard, not far from Mokulele Highway, near the Maui Animal Shelter and Hawaiian Cement. It's best to call for directions.
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursday and Saturdays or by appointment
• (808) 871-7875

When something comes easily, we say it's "duck soup." And, since Judy Bruder and Sandi Stoner took to retail like ducks to water, it's an appropriate name for their warehouse of Asian treasures, Duck Soup. The whole process was serendipitous, as the two friends accidentally became business partners.

During a trip to Bali on behalf of Hui No Eau, the Maui arts organization, Stoner discovered so many treasures that she sent a full container home to Maui. Two years and several trips later the container grew into a warehouse and Duck Soup was born.

While Indonesian imports are plentiful in Hawai'i, these ladies have an eye for the unusual. Duck Soup has become a popular haunt among interior designers from several islands and homeowners.

Always on the hunt, the owners travel to Indonesia often and spend a month at a time. While in Asia they stay in touch with customers via e-mail, sending photos and sharing ideas and finds.

Working closely with the people in the villages, they can have just about anything made. The Hana Hotel recently commissioned rattan boxes with their logo carved in wood on the top. No problem, or should we say "duck soup": Stoner and Bruder found craftspeople in Lambok to make them.

Combining design and import is not always a seamless process, however. "This business is not for control freaks," Bruder said. "There is no control." She mentioned the time when Buzz's Steak House in 'Aiea ordered 54 rattan chairs, half with green vinyl seats and half with blue vinyl. When they arrived, there were 27 green rattan chairs and 27 blue rattan chairs, with no vinyl seats on any of them.

Although home style is more their thing, we found some great accessories — jewelry and handbags — at incredible prices. Also some unusual paintings with a folk artsy feel.

Duck Soup is off the beaten track in a warehouse district. The location, and their lack of advertising, contribute to surprisingly low prices.

Nell

• Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel, Wailea
• 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
• (808) 875-4100, ext. 390

Barbara Cipro, the buyer for Nell, a chic boutique in the Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel, is one of those buyers you wish you could clone and place on each island. She has a great eye, good taste and a knack for choosing clothes and accessories that work for a range of ages and sizes, from young hipsters to Auntie and Tutu.

Merchandised by color in a well-lit, spacious shop, Nell stocks hot labels such as Michael Stars and Custo Barcelona T-shirts, Michael Simon and Matisse sandals, Gretchen Scott flowered bags, Brent Black hats and clothing by Citron, Nicole Miller, Harari, Sigrid Olsen and Betsey Johnson.

Nell also has iconic fragrances from Antonia's Flowers, perhaps a carryover from the sadly missed boutique where Cipro got her training, Tiger Lily.

Nell even has a few fun fashionista-related gifts. An example: pillows that say "New Shoes Cure the Blues" and "Only One Shopping Day Until Tomorrow."

The staff at Nell is schooled in how to help women put it all together. The service is helpful but unobtrusive. And, despite its location in an upscale resort hotel, there's no snobbery here.

Altitude

• 3660 Baldwin Avenue, Makawao
• 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
• (808) 573-4733

Another graduate of Tiger Lily, Jeannine de Roode, has opened her own boutique in Makawao. She is one of those French women who exude that enigmatic je ne sais quoi, a certain inexplicable understated chic that we Americans so admire.

Her little shop, Altitude (a take on the upcountry location), carries a line of bags called Hobo made of Italian leather with American ingenuity. The design details speak to the needs of the modern woman: separate pockets for all sorts of things, including a cell phone. The clasps are magnetized and the linings and outsides often contrast, pairing red and lime green, for example. Some Hobo bags come in three sizes, one tucked into the other.

Altitude also offers costume jewelry we haven't seen anywhere else in the Islands called Monies. It's by a Danish designer who works with abalone shells, mother of pearl and bone to create big (really big) bold clip earrings, bracelets and necklaces. These designs are definitely not for the timid.

Altitude's clothing lines include hot, hip Juicy Couture, James Perse, Mermaid, David Dart (for the over-30 set), Mica and Sarah Arizona.

De Roode said she has not yet found the perfect clothing line for Altitude, but she's heading to New York this fall to keep looking.

As the new kid on the block, following in the fashion-forward footsteps of Holiday & Company and The Mercantile, she said a lot of her favorite lines are already available in Makawao. She wants to find something unique to Altitude.

Alora aromatherapy (created by Honoluluan Annie Hope and featured in nearly every major magazine from Vogue to In Style last year), Indian cotton bedspreads and table cloths, Spirit linens and Beth Terry fragrances round out Altitude's offerings.

Escapade

• 3660 Baldwin Avenue, Makawao
• 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
• (808) 573-0910

Next door to Altitude is Escapade, a new kitchenware shop featuring high-end cookware from Le Creuset and Viking, as well as the most attractive collection of plastic stemware we've seen anywhere in Hawai'i.

Specialty foods from Europe and the East Coast, fanciful picnic baskets, hand-painted wood salad sets and upscale utensils share shelf space with Silpat baking mats and other handy chef's tools.

Trouvaille

• Pioneer Inn Museum & Marketplace, Hotel Street, Shops 3 & 4, Lahaina
• 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
• (808) 661-6885

It's easy to pass by Trouvaille, which is French for "finding something special," in Pioneer Plaza, next to the Pioneer Inn Museum — but don't. The fascinating merchandise represents years of travel and a plethora of life stories from Carol Wilson and Joan McKelvey.

Their penchant for the primitive arts of Asia and the Pacific is evident in every object. Like Duck Soup, Trouvaille is a labor of love from two women who share a passion for unique objects and go in search of them every chance they get.

Among the finds the day I visited: protective amulets from Mindanao, woven into geometric shapes to wear around the neck; swords from Java, Borneo and India; story boards from Palau; a Nepalese flute; Hmong basket purses from Laos; and an impressive collection of masks from Cheleluk, Bali, New Guinea and the Philippines.

In addition to objects of beauty and intrigue for the home,

McKelvey crafts jewelry from her bead collection, weaving together carnelian, lapis lazuli, Australian jade, pearls and Tibetan turquoise. She often adds a quirky pendant, such as an ethnic horn comb or belt buckle as a centerpiece.

Kula Ace Hardware

• 3100 Lower Kula Road
• 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends
• (808) 878-2551

This delightful enclave feels like an old-fashioned mom-and-pop store where everyone knows everyone else.

Locals tell us the stock changes often, but what we found was a terrific collection of plants, tools, outdoor furniture and pots.

Cheryl said their gardening clogs are the most comfortable she's ever had.

There's also a bank machine and gas pumps, a useful combo on a Sunday when you live upcountry.

Perhaps the most exciting find was a collection of yard ornaments by the husband-and-wife team of Vanessa and Zachary Baggs, who work out of Makawao. Their Pacific Garden Features are sophisticated sculptures — a far cry from the tacky little cupids and trolls seen in some garden shops. Check them out at www.pacificgardenfeatures.com.

Of course this is not a complete list of all the great shops on Maui. It's just a few of the places that caught my eye — and the sharp shopper's eye of Cheryl Tipton.