1. Add a touch of aloha to your business attire with Pineapple Palaka’s “luxury Hawaiian neckwear.” Kamehameha Schools graduate Jonathan Fong co-founded the company with Brigham Young University classmate Rick Abelmann in 2014, turning out original designs created by local artists featuring Hawaiian flora and traditional tattoo patterns along with fresh takes on more familiar symbols such as pineapples, palm trees, turtles and dolphins.
Pineapple Palaka offers more than 60 styles of ties in three different widths (plus bow ties) on its website. Prices start around $60; bow ties are $25 to $32. But to really appreciate the quality of these ties, check them out at Nordstrom Ala Moana, Accents at the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider hotels, Red Pineapple at Ward Village and Ka Makana Ali‘i in Kapolei, Mahinalani at the Polynesian Cultural Center or the BYU-Hawaii bookstore. Visit pineapplepalaka.com for more retail locations on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island.
— Jason Genegabus, Star-Advertiser
2. Novelist Barry Lancet’s Jim Brodie is back with a fourth installment in the thriller series with “The Spy Across the Table” (Simon & Schuster, $26). The latest book about Brodie, an American art dealer/security firm head/martial arts expert who was raised in Japan, lived up to my high expectations.
In the novel, the murder of two friends and a request from the president’s wife start Brodie on an investigation that gets him entangled with the yakuza, North Korean people smugglers, Japanese counterterrorism operatives, homeland security and an assortment of Chinese operatives. Among his adversaries is the high-level Chinese spy who uses the cover name Zhou, a character first introduced in a secondary role in the second book in the series, “Tokyo Kill.”
Lancet completes the book with a nonfiction chapter that reveals how much of the story is based on fact.
— John Berger, Star-Advertiser
3. The Flying Flower’s Brooke Cleveland of Honolulu comes from a large family of quilters, and her background in environmental science informs her onesies with hand-decorated appliques of local wildlife such as a Laysan albatross mother and chick, an iiwi bird and a humpback whale.
The hand-decorated, organic-cotton onesies are $30 at Sugarcane in Kaimuki, Tini Manini and Red Barn Farmstand in Haleiwa, Na Mea Hawaii at Ward Warehouse and online at etsy.com/shop/TheFlyingFlower.
— Nina Wu, Star-Advertiser
4. Honeymooners flock to Hawaii and other beach destinations, and what newlywed wouldn’t want to leave a trail of Instagram-ready slipper footprints that read “Just Married” in the sand? Hawaii Kai’s Alyssa Kauanoe designed “Just Married” slippers with deeply etched soles: The right side reads “Just,” the left side “Married.”
Pick up the slippers ($19.99, available in two sizes) and other bridal products at partyheartie.com. Use the code 808KAMAAINA on checkout for a 10 percent discount for Star-Advertiser readers through July 31.
— Donica Kaneshiro, Star-Advertiser
5. Cassava Pops provide a tasty alternative to traditional potato chips. Slices of cassava, or yucca root, are crisped using heat and pressure — no baking or frying. The chips are gluten- and GMO-free and contain about 70 percent less fat than the potato kind.
I like the spicy but delicious volcano flavor. A 0.8-ounce bag has 100 calories and 2 grams of fat, and costs $1.29 at Down to Earth.
— Nancy Arcayna, Star-Advertiser
“5 Things We Love” is a shortlist of newly discovered stuff you have got to see, hear, wear, use or eat. Please keep in mind that featured products may be in short supply and may not be available at all store locations; prices may vary. Tell us what you are loving by emailing features@staradvertiser.com.
