Honolulu Magazine Article

Need DRY OFF WITH THESE LIGHT-WEIGHT, QUICK-DRYING BEACH TOWELS.

BY NATALIE SCHACK

Honolulu Magazine: Published 2017.03.15 09:07 AM

Don’t get upset, but we’re going to leave you out to dry. In fact, you should probably get pretty excited about it. After all, nobody likes a wet blanket.

Especially us, which is why we’re throwing in the towel. Well, sort of. Rather, we’re dumping the dime-a-dozen variety and reaching for a leveled-up Turkish towel from Hoa Kai.

The Kaua‘i-based, family-run company’s team was on the same soggy wavelength when it started the brand last year. After one too many trips to the beach turned their home into a mini towel-drying factory, mom Kelly Kakalia took a step back. Moldy, sand-infested, wet-forever, washing-machine space wasters were piling her out of house and home. No more.

Instead, they switched to quick-drying, lightweight Turkish towels. Finer fibers help keep grains of sand at bay, and now the Kakalias have downgraded to a single beach bag for their family of four. A perfect fit, but they also wanted to make sure it was a socially copacetic choice, so they did their research and opted for towels from a small village in Syria-bordered, southeastern Turkey made by artisan weavers—not mass-produced by giant manufacturing companies.

Next step? Share it with the world! And, because the Kakalias are in direct contact with weavers on the production side, they can work with the artisans to produce special prints that fit their (and your) tropical lifestyle. We’re loving the beauties they’ve come up with together, unique patterns that set the Hoa Kai pieces apart in the Turkish towel trend. Think deep, luscious hibiscus foliage, perky birds of paradise or, our favorite, jolly pineapples with stylized flair. Hoa Kai even has a line sporting Hawai‘i artist Heather Brown’s breezy, Island-inspired works. That means, while you’re lounging shoreside, you’ll also be treated to some perfectly on-theme art.

Pretty exciting, right? Talk about a dry seat in the house.
$32.95–$49.95 in the Hoa Kai webstore.