You might think “Niihau shell lei” when you hear the company name 808 Shells, or perhaps beachy, seashell jewelry.

Nope.

It’s about mobile phone cases laser-engraved with evocative Hawaii images.

Dan O’Brien was considering about 30 names, he said. “The 808 seemed popular, but it also fit since it’s an accessory to a phone,” he said. The majority of his customers’ phones are likely to have numbers beginning with Hawaii’s 808 area code, “so it thematically fit with that, and the ‘shell’ kind of came about because I wanted to convey protection, like the honu, or turtle, shell,” he said.

It was about “the protective aspect, protecting the phone.”

The short name also lends itself to an easy social media presence for product promotion and online customer engagement, such as @808shells on Twitter, and 808 Shells Hawaii on Facebook, he said.

He started the company after a fruitless search for a case for his iPhone that had a Polynesian-style tattoo design on it, both online and in stores on Maui.

“I was surprised when I couldn’t find anything,” he said.

Well, there’s your light-bulb moment.

He had been looking for a business idea that he could be passionate about.

“I’m really kind of an Apple geek, and I love Hawaii and the two really fit well.” Add the niche he found to be unfilled, and the ingredients combined to create something about which he could be passionate for a long time, he said.

The company offers mobile phone cases for the iPhone 4, 4S and iPhone 5, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S III, at $25 each online.

808 Shells also carries aluminum “home button” stickers for the iPhone in multiple colors with Hawaii-themed designs, and accessories including stylus pens, chargers and cables, earbuds, headphones and screen protectors.

Much like local T-shirt companies buy T-shirt blanks from sources outside Hawaii, O’Brien buys his shells offshore, but, in keeping with accepted made-in-Hawaii guidelines, the designs are created and applied on Maui.

O’Brien sought out local artists to create the artwork, and he introduces Eugene Taase, Yvette Yvelle and Teddi Martinez on his website.

O’Brien works in video production for the Maui Visitor Channel, so his work on 808 Shells begins when he leaves his day job at about 5 p.m.

“I go straight to my shop where I’m engraving cases until midnight or 1 a.m.,” he said. His first experience at the Made in Hawaii Festival is coming up in a week, so he is toiling to build up his inventory. “I’m really excited about that,” he said.

He started selling the cases online Jan. 1 of last year.

He got an unfortunate lesson when one retailer expressed interest, but by the time he reconnected with them, they had already arranged to manufacture and carry their own line of cheaper, made-offshore knockoffs.

The company’s cases, covered under a one-year warranty, are available in a rainbow of colors, and the pink honu (turtle) case is the best seller. If girlie colors are not your thing, there also are black shells with subdued white designs or designs in Rastafarian red, gold and green.

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“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.