Mai kinohi - from the beginning.

Now, where to even begin? Ever since I could remember, art in its various forms, writing, drawing, painting etc, was a sanctuary for me. It truly brought me joy. It was a safe space that was all my own, free from judgment and a place to create worlds.

Then, I bought an iPad and it totally changed the game. I started creating digital pieces. My art began evolving just as I was evolving. At the time that I acquired my iPad, I was in the middle of master’s program - diving deep into the history of education in Hawaiʻi and crafting my thesis. My digital pieces began to represent life experiences. They began to serve as a space to connect with my moʻomeheu (culture) and ʻōlelo makuahine (mother language).

As I filled up my folders with drawings that reflected my life experiences, ʻike Hawaiʻi, and aloha ʻāina, creating a company came to mind. While the name, The Creative Makamae, had not formed just yet, I had gone back and forth for a couple years on launching a sticker business to start. I wanted to share some of my pieces.

Finally, I decided to just take a leap of faith. I launched The Creative Makamae in February 2021. I had no idea what I was going to get into or what to expect. All I knew was that I had to stop hesitating and just go for it. Stickers, both physical and digital, is just the beginning.

As I continue to learn and grow in my ʻike and ʻōlelo, I hope to grow and expand The Creative Makamae. Something we hope to continue to grow: more digital products! Digital products have become something near and dear to my heart. As I strive to embody aloha ʻāina in my day-to-day life, digital products have presented themselves as a way to help minimize waste as there is no delivery or packaging required, no printing, etc.

For digital products, The Creative Makamae now has digital sticker sheets live on the site (with more coming soon). Down the line, we’ll be getting our digital planner up and available for purchase.

I’m grateful to all of you for joining us on this journey as we continue to learn and grow. We are just getting started and we have so much to learn.

Me ka haʻahaʻa,
Makamae