A word from Sheri Rand

Growing up in New York City provided me with a rich background in fashion and design. Fabrics have the capacity to create a mood, to influence how and what we see. Our vintage fabrics are chosen for their quality, color and design - their capacity to create a mood - whether fun, funky, elegant or serene. We have found no contemporary barkcloth that compares to the original quality and texture of the barkcloth of the 1940’s and 1950’s. We only purchase the best around.

Hamakua Handbags is named after a region on the northeast coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. This region embodies the Spirit of Aloha. The land is green, lush, and beautiful; the ocean is breathtaking, fresh fruits abundant, and the people are warm and welcoming. In the early 1970’s I lived on the island in a small cottage by the ocean selling fruit smoothies, teaching yoga and organizing a food co-op. I returned to the big island in 2003, 30 years after I had lived there. Since then I have visited the island more than a dozen times, coming to view and experience it as my second home. For several years after I had moved back to the mainland, I would wonder why I had chosen to leave such a place. But then I would remember that I was living in Vermont, a pretty special place also.

The vibrant colors, the flowers, the plants, trees, land and the water of the big island are all present in the fabrics that we choose: whether contemporary barkcloth, 100% cotton, rayon or silk, each is chosen with aloha in mind.

-Sheri Rand