HONOLULU (HI Now) - For Malani Alameda, HomeSteady was never just a clothing brand. It was an answer.
Alameda and his wife Kayle launched HomeSteady in the summer of 2009, selling T-shirts trunk-show style at craft fairs and signature Hilo events. Its signature heHIau — short for “He Hawaiʻi Au,” meaning “I am Hawaiian” — appears on everything from T-shirts and ball caps to stickers, all carrying the same message: be proud to be Hawaiian.
The brand’s creative direction is guided by the four pillars of Hawaiian culture — food, language, hula and the canoe — a framework passed down by Uncle Boogie Kalama. As a member of the Navajo Canoe Club in Hilo, hoe waʻa is the community Alameda is most deeply connected to. He points to King Kalākaua, who celebrated his birthday with canoe regattas as much as hula, as a reminder of how a thriving canoe culture could add to the economic energy that spring festival season brings to Hilo.
Shop at homesteady-shop.fourthwall.com and follow @hehiau_official on Instagram.
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