1. It looks like your ordinary potato peeler, but Kuhn Rikon’s stainless-steel Metallic Peeler has hidden super powers: It peels mangoes like a dream. The keen, double blades have just enough swivel to follow a mango’s curves, detaching long, paper-thin strips of skin with each light, smooth stroke.
The Swiss-made peeler leaves intact 99 percent of the precious fruit. Caution: It’s razor-sharp, so keep out of children’s reach and take care not to peel toward your fingers, as both my husband and I learned when we got cut.
Find it at Compleat Kitchen at Kahala Mall for $18.
— Mindy Pennybacker, Star-Advertiser
2. For me, the gold standard in hair brushes is the Wet Brush, which is like a magic wand for detangling. I use mine on wet hair, dry hair and when blow-drying.
Now I have a miniature version, a brush on a keychain that despite its size is a whiz at brushing, while being extremely cute. I got it for $3.99 at Great Clips in Kapolei. Not all the Great Clips have them; they tend to sell out (because: cute).
They’re also available online through sallybeauty.com and Amazon.com.
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
3. Johnny Cash and his career — from his first recordings for Sun Records in 1954 through the recordings he made shortly before his death in 2003 — have been covered in great detail. With “The Man in Song” (University of Arkansas Press, $36.95; uapress.com/readers), published in April, John M. Alexander explores Cash’s life and times by dividing his recordings into categories.
For example, there are prison songs, story songs, songs Cash recorded with June Carter Cash, songs that expressed Cash’s deep Christian faith, and songs that were never hits but were among his personal favorites.
Each group provides the framework for looking at the experiences that shaped Cash as a man and an artist — from his hard-scrabble youth and first marriage to his battles with drugs and his final years as the revered “man in black.”
Alexander’s use of the term “cover” when referring to remakes is annoying but his insights and honest appreciation for Cash as an artist make the book a fascinating reference.
— John Berger, Star-Advertiser
4. The Kakaako Farmers Market at Ward Gateway Center has become a Saturday morning ritual for us, offering a bounty of locally grown produce, baked treats, flowers and food stalls.
What I didn’t expect to find there was Wasted Wood Hawaii’s finely crafted furniture made from reclaimed wood. It was love at first sight when I spied Laurent Pool’s Kamananui River Table, hewed from a yellow poinciana slab at his workshop in the Old Waialua Sugar Mill. The organic design showcases the wood’s natural textures, which are enhanced by crushed turquoise inlays and a tempered, blue glass top.
At $4,800, this one-of-a-kind piece was definitely out of my budget, but it was still beautiful to behold. (Pool says the table has since been sold, but similar works and custom orders are available.)
More affordable are his leather belts with wooden buckles starting at $50. See more at waistedwood.com.
— Christie Wilson, Star-Advertiser
“4 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.
