Thirty-five years ago Brad Harris moved from Chicago to Hawaii and went to work for the C.S. Wo &Sons furniture store. He became a friend and then like a member of the family to the Wos.
He loves Christmas. In the early years he would create holiday settings for the store — not for sale, but to provide customers with ideas on how to set a beautiful table and decorate a home. Island shoppers came to look and dream about elegant holiday decor.
The settings were lovely. For a time, those who came to the store were happy just to see the displays, but they eventually wanted more. Then in 2001 Neiman Marcus opened at Ala Moana Center. The Wo family and Al Tomonari, then vice president and general manager of Neiman Marcus, were friends. Both were in the business of elegance. The two stores became “retail friends” when they expanded on the success of the holiday-decor open house hosted at the Beretania Street C.S. Wo store. Neiman Marcus was invited to join in with items available at the department store, designing table settings that are a Christmas fantasy, all vintage toys and glittering centerpieces with table runners befitting royal place settings.
To keep the tradition fresh, Harris began to search buyers’ markets for Santa figures, ornaments and more. Only days after Christmas, he is on the road for three weeks to markets in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas and High Point, N.C. He goes to China twice a year looking for Santas and sugar plums.
Harris goes to work at
3 a.m. so he can contact markets both East and West in their respective time zones. He loves his job.
Wendell Wo, one of the store founders’ sons, also loves Christmas. He goes to holiday buyers’ markets worldwide. Between them, Wo and Harris provide enough to fill every square inch of the store with holiday magic. Visitors are welcome to marvel at the decorations without feeling obliged to buy, although many of the pieces are surprisingly affordable.
What’s hot this year? “Clear, plexiglass Christmas trees, Santas in brocade or plaid shirts, and any item that brings back a memory of Christmas past,” Harris said.
For shoppers looking for holiday bric-a-brac that could become a family heirloom, he has this advice: “Think hand-sized.”
Harris explains that “big” is harder to store and doesn’t always fit in the decor of the next generation.
More inexpensive trimmings — bows and fun stuff that goes in and out of style — can be found at craft, floral supply and home improvement stores.
Careful packing after Christmas is a good practice but not always a success. Harris recalls opening storage containers to find that critters had eaten some of his Christmas decor treasures.
“They ate right through the thick plastic boxes,” Harris said in disbelief, suggesting that boxes be checked midyear for unwelcome guests.
He also warns that putting ornaments on the side of a tree exposed to sunlight means they might be faded on one side when unpacked next year.
”With our indoor-outdoor lifestyle,” he said, “I have a two-tree tradition: small and heirloom inside and less precious on the sunny side.”
