About
Growing up, I enjoyed watching my grandfather weave pāpale niu, baskets & birds from the coconut trees he grows all over his backyard in Kahaluʻu, HI. My grandfather, Richard "Dickie" Abbey, learned how to weave from the Waikiki Beach Boys of his time in the 1940s. He paid-off his school tuition & his first car by weaving and selling coconut hats on the beaches of Waikiki before he met my grandmother, Liletta Leoiki Hollinger Abbey aka "Lā." Occasionally, Papa Abbey will weave pāpale niu with me, for ohana or maybe for a luau/pāʻina.
Papa Abbey Pāpale was started in 2019 in Kahaluʻu-Kāneohe, HI. I asked my grandfather how to weave a pāpale niu & I didn't think of starting a small business from it. Learning how to ulana from my Kupuna is a special connection + gift that I will forever be grateful for. I hope to continue this legacy.
Papa Abbey Pāpale is a native Hawaiian small business. My mission is to continue to perpetuate the lost art of ulana launiu and handmade products from our natural resources. I hope to share a legacy being passed down to the next generation within our ohana.
Translation: pāpale niu- coconut hat, pāpale- hat, ulana lau niu- weaving coconut leaf, ulana- weave, luau/pāʻina- celebration(s)/party, mana- power/energy, ohana- family, Kupua- grandparent