Seventy-year-old seed jeweler Lolita Ko is there, along with Wilfred "Willy" Aona Jr., 51, a koa pen maker, and his sister, Cynthia "Cindy" Aona, 47, who designs hand-painted greeting cards. So is Merry Lincicum, 45, a crafter of macrame pet necklaces and fine sterling silver jewelry, and Lori Nawaja, 46, of Deco-Wear Inc., a maker of household cloth products such as "foot mops," refrigerator handle covers and palm-sized oven mittens. All are specialists, proud of their labor-intensive work.

"It's hard to do this for income," said Nawaja, a Mililani resident who began making crafts for sale 14 years ago. "I make something and it gives me a good feeling when I can sell it. It's very much a fun thing for me, my niche in life."

Nawaja sold 8,000 foot mops last year. She sells her goods on Saturdays and Sundays, and spends the rest of the week sewing.

For Ko, a retired Liberty House cashier, the tedious work of collecting seeds, drilling holes in them and stringing them into leis, necklaces and bracelets is a way to keep close to family. Her sisters, Margaret Leong, Elsie Lee and Rose Chow, help to gather the 16 variety of seeds she uses for her jewelry. Brother George Padilla and nephew Michael Ching do most of the drilling.

Michael Ching prepares wiliwili haole seeds to be made into various kinds of jewelry. Each seed is hand-drilled in order to be strung, a tedious and time-consuming process. Ching works with his aunt, 70-year-old seed jeweler Lolita Ko, who showed her work yesterday. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Seeds such as the mustard-colored mamene found in the Big Island's volcano area are so tiny that it's hard to imagine a drilled hole in them. A mamene lei sells for $200 while a thicker one costs $300.

"Drilling takes the longest, maybe a whole day," said Ko, who estimated 19-inch leis require 350 or more seeds. Once the seeds are strung in a desired pattern for the lei, the are sprayed with a polyurethane spray to preserve their natural color, and polished.

Ko said her husband, Louis, who died last year, had a unique style of making leis that she cannot replicate. "I've been doing it for 11 years and I haven't been able to master it," Ko said.

Jewelry made from mamene and the purple-colored "velvet seed" from the mgambo tree are her high-priced items. "They're hard to find," Ko said. "The mgambo tree blooms twice a year and is the most unique seeds we have. They cut down my source recently so what I've got (a lei, necklace, bracelet and earrings) is it for me.

Seed leis come in a variety of types and colors and are handmade by Ko's Ohana, a jewelry company that makes leis, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Willy Aona, a state surveyor forced into medical retirement due to chronic arthritis, has always enjoyed woodcraft. He and his sister decided to start a business, "Art from the Heart," where they could express their creativeness — Willy's detail on small items such as key chains and pens, and Cindy's one-stroke painting on cards.

"We're not going to get rich doing this but hopefully, we can make ends meet," Willy Aona said.

Merry Lincicum, who moved back to Hawai'i from Wisconsin last year with her husband, Tom, said, "I've always enjoyed a creative challenge." For example, she also does craft items using driftwood.

For information on the next "Creations of Hawai'i" show at Ward Centre on April 16, call 735-4510, Ext. 2.