Island Player

So I was contacted last week by Tusi Sa'au to see if I'd be interested in letting his boy use a design I had done for Polyday 2006. I'll admit, I had a fair amount of skepticism until I saw this guy's stuff on their website and their myspace. There's some pretty amazing stuff he's got there and from the looks of it, he's only looking to expand a rapidly growing base of customers beyond the borders of California. This line, as I see it, is a nice blend of Pacific Island inspired designs with an urban edge which would grant it a larger market.
As you can see, my island girl design was printed and from what Sea (owner of Island Player) has told me, its gotten good reviews and has been selling well. Needless to say, I'm ready to do more hahaha. Although I'm not sure how well I might do with this venture, it's a foot in the door which many of us work hard to get. Yup, look out for Island Player for some fresh designs in the near future...cheeeehuuuuu!!!

Tongan proverb of the week

Ala i sia, ala i kolonga - "Skillful at the sia, skillful at the kolonga" ::: This proverb derived its meaning from the pigeon trappers’ practice of heu lupe or the snaring of pigeons. The mound on which the pigeons were trapped was called the sia, and the (temporary) huts where the hunters stayed and the captured pigeons were stored, the kolonga. Thus, the proverb, which in normal spelling should be written as: Ala ʻi sia, Ala ʻi kolonga, was phrased to honor the trapper who was not only skillful in snaring the pigeons but also skillful at storing them at the same time. Later, this proverb became applicable to individuals that have the ability to successfully function in multiple contexts, a trait kept in high esteem by early Tongans. Furthermore, it captured an element of the wisdom that was known to the early Tongans. That is, human beings have a better chance of surviving if they are adaptable, skillful and functional in more than one environment.

They were people with pride...mana...and spurrit lol

I was randomly surfing through YouTube, as most of us do, when I happened upon this small video...had me rollin for a minute! enjoy



Now cook the man bloody eggs! :)

An old faikava favorite

The faikava circle is where a large portion of Tongan social protocol and custom is observed, enforced and kept alive. Attached is a few of the old songs sung after a round of kava is served to all participants in the circle...



One word...nostalgia. I remember sitting just outside the door of the Kalapu Fa'onelua faikava hall, in Lapaha with the cousins, listening to this song and other moving compositions by the late Queen Salote and heartfelt melodies composed by the late Sir Sofele Kakala (also a product of Lapaha hehe)

With things the way they are back home, its good to know that there still exists a place where people can put aside the harsh realities of their situations, and respectfully share a nice cup of kava with their fellow countrymen...hmmm I guess a bar would qualify under that definition wouldn't it? lol