THE LEFT LANE
Downtown daycare

Advertiser Staff

So she started her own upscale daycare, the Cole Academy, which will open its doors June 1 in a historic downtown building at 36 Merchant St.

Word has spread. It already has a waiting list for infant care.

With full-time tuition ranging from $850 to $1,250 a month, it's more expensive than typical childcare. But Mangieri says it offers more, including electronic fingerprint access, infrared lavatory controls, a private outdoor playground, a music conservatory, an art loft and a multimedia center.

For information, check out www.thecoleacademy.com or call 381-4462.

Maternal melodies

Does mom need to chill out?

A Hawai'i-produced CD, "Relax a Mommy," has soothing classical and Hawaiian music for pregnancy, childbirth or everyday parenthood. The Hoko Award nominee includes songs such as "Hawaiian Lullaby" and "A Maile Lei for Your Hair."

It's $15 if ordered from producer Nancy Manali-Leonardo at 7007 Hawai'i Kai Drive, Suite D-24, Honolulu, HI 96825, and is also available at Growing Keiki or Kahala Kids shops.

Good-cluck charms

"These are pretty whimsical," she says, "And I am NOT a whimsical kind of girl."

Vienna has made custom aloha shirts under the label Jacqueline on Kaua'i for the past 29 years. At a friend's urging, she agreed to stitch up a batch of handmade Kaua'i chicks a year ago. The product flew off the shelves, so to speak. Now, she's in constant production, taking her fabric scraps and patterns wherever she goes, just to keep up with demand.

The chicks retail for $7 and are sold at Pohaku T's in Koloa, Jacqueline's store in Hanapepe and, of course, at the Koke'e Museum, where flocks of real chickens run free.