Waioli Leather Shoppe @ Ala Moana

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT! PERSONALIZE A LEATHER BRACELET!
I need to get out more. See new things; go off my beaten path, you know?! Experience what life has to offer a whole bit more than I am already doing which is what I absolutely love about Unilocal hehe lol So when I saw the Ala Moana Shopping Center Shop a Lea ads for drawings (to win stuff!) posted on the 3^rd/​2^nd floors nearest Macy’s & Assagio’s on the way to my hairspray store, Trade Secret, I took a quick detour — or so I thought — to the main escalators at the middle of Ala Moana Center. When I got there, the drawing entry table was indeed there but all of the mini magazines with the entry blanks were. already used! :/​Ppl?! Take your copy with ya! Ha! After consulting the person managing the drawing table, I dutifully (to myself lol) headed to the Information Office. Once there, I was able to get a magazine w/​entry blank. The clerk there said we only need submit one bc they go thru every single entry blank & discard all duplicate entries! Impressive!
My entry submitted, I headed on back to my car but on the way there — which was quite immediately — got attracted to a colorful kiosk full of small leather items. Interesting!
Must admit at first I did walk past but then when about to turn onto the escalator, that *little voice inside my head* changed my mind. These leather items sure reminded me of that wonderful time in my life when my parents took me on a US West Coast mainland trip tour that included Tijuana, a very exciting different scary place at the time. It was terrific — we traveled with a Hawaii tour group. There at the age of 10, I haggled for my first Mexican-​designed real leather purse!
Back to this place! :) I am also IN LOVE with personalized items. How can you not?! If you lose it, it can find you! Hehe If you hate it and try to lose it, it will still find you! Lol jk
On this evening, me being full of warmth & love for my parents, memories of our fun trip, & my love for creative, personalization ideas, I was immediately & completely intrigued.
There were small item bags, cases of various sized for cell phones & notebooks to pencil cases, mini sling bags, wallets & even for toothpicks & chapsticks! How clever! I want one for my lipstick so I can just hang it neatly by a key ring from my purse straps but alas, they don’t have one tall enough yet.
Note that not everything here is made of leather (pencil cases). Some pieces are made of vinyl & if you ask, they will let you know exactly which ones.
When it came down to it, what interested me most were the leather bracelets with colorful leather flowers & ones that were one-​color with a section opposite the fastener that can be personalized.
Alan the kiosk salesperson tried to help me as best he could, finding all of the flower bracelets so I could freely choose. When I began to be interested in the non-​flower ones, he was just as helpful & supportive in helping me find the right size & color.
While I was there, a young couple quickly chose a pair of white leather bracelets. They just as quickly knew what they wanted their personalization to say! Alan gracefully excused himself & went to help the couple. Apparently they already knew what they wanted! Lol Me? I was still on the hunt :)
He quickly took their order which they paid for then I got to watch Alan quickly, simply, & easily set up the leather bracelet to be engraved on the machine, enter in & adjust in the wording on his digital notebook. Then with the press of a button, off the machine went to create it’s magic. So quick!
I watched both braided bracelets (both the same shade of pretty stark white) being made & when done, the couple immediately put them on. I was so excited lol that I even asked if I could see what their personalized creations looked like on them. Looked great! The leather etching looked professionally done! Nothing shoddy about this work! Shucks, I shoulda woulda taken a photo to show you, right?! :(
I was sold. I immediately thought of my new Unilocal-​love & ventured to try a Unilocal-​red bracelet with my moniker, Jules Y. :)
Alan who now became engraver proceeded to personalize my bracelet. He made sure I had chosen the correct size (M, L, XL, XXL) then he asked what I wanted it to say & made suggestions about the spacing, & whether the characters I thought of would fit.
Did you know? Not everyone can personalize. It does take some talent recognizing what looks nice, what looks right, what doesn’t go together, & what colors & styles to choose. This is why I never pursued a career as an optician helping ppl choose eyeglass frames. But I digress, that’s another story for another review lol
Alan is GREAT at personalizing items whether using his machine or inscribing by hand (using a leather engraving tool). He has that *eye* for knowing what will look nice.
For a $ 10 bracelet, you will create a long-​lasting, beautiful leather memory.
Try something different! Give a gift! Give this place a try! :)