Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

Hawaiian Lauhala Baskets Make Popular Gift Baskets

Many people who want a Hawaiian gift basket, want the Hawaiian gifts to be in a handwoven lauhala basket. A lauhala basket has come to symbolize Hawaii because of the ancient native Hawaiian tradition of weaving (the correct word is actually plaiting but most people say weaving) lauhala into numerous useful items. The Hawaiian people wove lauhala into canoe sails, wall thatchings, window shutters, roof linings, mats, and even clothing! Today most contemporary weavers make lauahala purses, placemats, napkin holders, and of course baskets.

What is lauhala and where does it come from? Before I tell you the correct answer, I was dismayed to see several online Hawaiian gift retailers mistakenly referring to lauhala as a lauhala grass, with their description of "lauhala grass basket". Lauhala does not come from a grass, it comes from the Hawaiian Hala tree. The Hawaiian word lau simply means leaf, so lauhala translates to the leaf from the Hala tree.

The Hawaiian Hala tree is a species of Pandanus, or screwpine, because the leaves grow in a screw pattern up the trunk of the tree. It is a wide spread native tree found growing on beaches as well as the mountains through out the Hawaiian Islands. The Hala tree has numerous long aerial prop roots, and long sturdy but flexible leaves with sharp razor like teeth or thorns on the edge of the leaves. It also has fruit that resemble a pineapple--creating a visual joke that locals have been playing on tourists since probably the start of tourism. Has anyone heard of pineapples coming from the "pineapple tree"?

Weaving a lauhala basket is a labor intensive process as the hala leaves need to be prepared and cleaned properly, then stripped into uniform strips before you can even begin to make the basket. View illustrated instructions on how to weave a lauhala basket.

If you don't want to make your own lauhala gift basket, please visit us if you are ever in the need for some great Hawaiian gifts packaged in lauhala gift baskets. We also do custom lauhala gift baskets where you can choose from any of our Hawaiian gifts to create a unique gift basket.

Ethanol Biofuel Raises Food Prices AND Soy Candle Prices Nationwide

A lesser known casualty of the ethanol debate about how the production of biofuels is causing the United States food prices to soar, is the fact that soy wax made from soybeans has also increased dramatically in price. This is effecting candlemakers across America and many candle companies are passing on their increased material price to the consumer--our company Double Brush is the exception. We are absorbing the price increase so our customers can still afford our Hawaiian handmade soy candles.

Three years ago our natural wax candle & gift company bought a palette of soy wax for $2068.00 and paid 501.00 in freight charges from the mainland to the Big Island, Hawaii. Today we had another shipment of soy wax delivered to us, and this time the palette of soy wax cost us $4,400.00 plus 632.00 in freight, more than double in cost, or more than a 100% increase in price!!

Our supplier told us that the prices across the board for all waxes, natural wax and paraffin wax (derived from Petroleum) increase in price every other day.

The reasons for the rising cost of soy wax are many and complex. I have spent hours researching online about this problem and I'm still trying to make sense of it all. I thought if I could present some of the information I have found, you could add your comments so we can figure this all out together.

Yesterday ABC news published an article "Food Scientist Say Stop Biofuels to Fight World Hunger--Scientists say stop biofuels to cut food prices and fight hunger, while President Bush calls for more ethanol production."

Some top international food scientists Tuesday recommended halting the use of food-based biofuels, such as ethanol, saying it would cut corn prices by 20 percent during a world food crisis.

But even as the scientists were calling for a moratorium, President Bush urged the opposite. He declared the United States should increase ethanol use because of national energy security and high gas prices.

The conflicting messages Tuesday highlighted the ongoing debate over food and fuel needs...

A World Bank study has estimated that corn prices "rose by over 60 percent from 2005-07, largely because of the U.S. ethanol program" combined with market forces...

Scientists say the diversion of corn and soybeans for fuel helps force prices higher, and removes farm land from food production. Ethanol supporters say the corn used for fuels is the type only fed to livestock. However, other experts say it leads to higher livestock feed prices, thus higher food prices.

The following is from another recent article published by MSNBC "Why your food is costing more money--Wheat, corn, and soybean prices are surging; is ethanol to blame?"

Food prices increased at a compound annual rate of 4.7 percent for the three months ending in February, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That increase was far less than the 7.6 percent jump in energy prices for the same period, but it occurred in a financial environment in which investors have been fleeing declining dollar-denominated assets such as U.S. stocks and bonds. Instead, they've been investing in commodities, such as wheat, corn, and soybeans — and it's driving up their prices.

World financial markets may seem remote from you; far away from from that turkey sandwich in your hands.

But chew this over before you swallow: seventy percent of the cost of raising that turkey in your sandwich was the food it ate. And turkeys eat corn and soybean meal...

As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke explained to the Senate Banking Committee last month, “a significant portion of the corn crop is being diverted to ethanol, which raises corn prices.”

And he added, there are “knock-on effects. For example, some soybean acreage has been moved to corn production, which probably has some effect on soybean prices. So there is some price effect on foodstuffs coming through the conversion to energy use.”...

Sen. Ben Nelson, D- Neb., said, “I think this (food price inflation) is a short-term phenomenon,” because farmers will bring more land into production, causing supply to increase and prices to fall.

He also cited the costs of oil and transportation as contributors to higher food prices. “It’s just not right and it’s unfair to say it’s all about corn-based ethanol,” Nelson said.

Personally I support finding ways of becoming free from the use of oil and gas or "dirty energy", but ethanol is not the answer. There are many other alternatives being studied and developed that are sources of "clean energy" and would not impact the world's food supply. I have read and watched tv reports about making fuel from algae, seaweed, agricultural waste products, even garbage!!

As a small candle making business, we support the planet by producing environmentally friendly candles made from soy wax, a renewable resource.

We thank all of our customers who believe in what we do and buy our natural wax candles.

Soy Candles Featured on Oprah's Earth Day TV Show

The Oprah Show today celebrated Earth Day with guests Julie Roberts, Al Gore, and Sandra Bullock. However, it was Sandra Bullock's new line of soy candles that she was promoting that caught my eye.

A lifelong commitment to healthy living inspired Sandra to eliminate as many chemicals from her home as possible, including those found in her favorite candles. "I [had] a house full of candles, and one day I noticed brown soot," she says. "I started researching, and you find out about lead wicks and chemicals in your candles."

Instead of continuing to inhale harmful fumes, Sandra took action and started her own line of soy wax candles called Bessence. "They're soy-based. They're hand-poured. Everything, even the boxes, are recycled," she says. "Even the black spray that goes on the outside of [the box] is organic."

The Oprah Show

Three years ago our company Double Brush changed from using paraffin wax (which is made from petroleum crude oil or fossil fuel) to an all natural soy wax made from American raised soybeans! Our company was already heading into a more all natural products direction with our natural soap, natural solid perfumes, and other natural bath and body products, so we really wanted to make the switch. Read our post about harmful chemicals to avoid in your bath and body care products.

Our 100% natural wax candles are made from soybean wax, and a little palm wax which is made from the oil of coconuts! It's non toxic FDA approved food grade wax, kosher, vegan (no animal products of any kind), 100 percent bio-degradable, and is good for the environment because it is a renewable resource, unlike paraffin wax. Our soy candles are hand poured by us in small batches to insure the quality of our work.

The majority of candles are made from paraffin wax, a by-product of the petroleum industry’s crude oil refining process - other products include diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene & asphalt. All of these products may be manufactured from foreign oil and contributes to the dependency on crude oil. Also if your candle does not say 100 percent natural wax, or if it says "soy based", it is most likely a blend of a natural wax and paraffin wax.

Besides the quality of our natural wax, our candles are scented throughout the soy wax with the highest quality of soy oil based fragrance oils with little to no additives. Most fragrance oils have solvents, mineral oil or dipropylene glycol in them. So just because someone advertises a soy candle, it doesn't mean it is petrochemical free like ours are. We also use non-metal core natural hemp fiber wicks. (Foreign imported candles may still use dangerous lead core wicks.)

There are many brands of soy candles on the market that vary greatly in quality and price. We believe as do many of our customers, that our earth friendly high quality soy candles are the best value for your money.

Our Hawaiian Perfumes are Featured Nationally in Nails Magazine

When I was first approached by Nails Magazine to be considered for a feature article on roll on and solid perfumes, I have to confess that I had never even heard of that magazine before, and didn't know that it is really was all about nails--finger nails and toe nails to be precise, and everything that is needed to groom and adorn them.

Nails Magazine has actually been around for a long time; 25 years which is considered eons in the magazine business. It is a magazine that caters to the nail salon and nail boutique owners who racked up more than 6 billion dollars last year alone!

Our natural Hawaiian solid perfumes are featured along with 5 other companies in this month's April 2008 issue. The editor was kind enough to mail me a hard copy but page 72 which we are listed on is not part of their online Nails Magazine site.

As for myself, I keep my nails clean and trimmed but have not worn nail polish since high school--I won't tell you how many decades ago that was! The reason is that as an artist, my hands are always covered in paint or stuff, and are always active. The nail polish would get chipped and ragged looking in no time so I just stopped painting them all together. However, I think painted toe nails are cute and may go back to doing that--especially since I live in Hawaii and wear nice slippers most of the time:)

Please take part in my unofficial poll. Do you wear nail polish and do you do it yourself or go to a salon?

Easily Buy Hawaiian Flowers Online to Send to the Mainland

Did you know that you can easily buy Hawaiian flowers online to send to the mainland? It is a great gift to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, holiday (with Mother's Day being the most popular flower giving time), or to congratulate someone graduating, giving birth, moving into a new home or office. Exotic tropical flower bouquets from Hawaii also make a stunning statement when decorating a room, or add an authentic festive flair to a luau, Hawaiian themed party or Hawaiian wedding.

Hawaiian flowers are considered good value for your money because they are long lasting--with flowers lasting weeks instead of days, have a wonderful variety in color and size, and most Hawaii flowers that are shipped do not cause allergic symptoms for people allergic to highly fragranced flowers. Flowers such as anthurium, dendrobium orchids, red ginger, heliconia, and protea do not have a scent. Hospitals also appreciate these tropical flowers because they do not bother other patients. (I have not seen scented tropical flowers online except shipped as leis and 99 percent of them are actually grown and made into leis in Singapore or Thailand, shipped to Hawaii, and re-shipped to customers on the mainland.)

The majority of Hawaiian flowers are grown on the East side of the Big Island where we live. The photograph above was taken in our rainforest art studio home. This fresh tropical Hawaiian flower assortment is our most popular bouquet. The heart shaped flowers are called anthuriums and come in different shades of red, pink, white, orange, and green. Anthuriums also come in mini sizes about 2 inches across, to gigantic flowers over a foot long! Anthuriums are solid colored, or the rarer two and three blended colored flowers with droopy heart shapes are called "obake anthuriums."

The Hawaiinan ginger flowers are the red ones made up of multi bracted petals in a torch like shape. There are other varieties of interesting gingers as well such as the seasonal yellow orange "beehive" ginger in the center or the flower arrangement.

The spray of small white and purple or lavender flowers are called dendrobium orchids. These are also popular as leis and loose orchid flowers to decorate cakes, drinks, tables, or for guests to wear a flower behind their ear showing off their single or married status.

The smaller orange red spear like flowers are a type of heliconia. Heliconia flowers are fascinating as they come in small to large sizes and are upright or hanging. We also offer other bouquets with different heliconia flowers.

Last but not least is the exotic array of tropical foliage that is included with our Hawaiian flower bouquets to set and frame the flowers in your arrangement. These include good luck "Ti" leaves, areca palm fan leaves, and green and beige striped lauhala leaves as shown.

Next time you need a flower bouquet, try an exotic Hawaiian flowers bouquet!

Appear Younger to Men by Wearing Grapefruit Scented Perfume

Without doing anything drastic such as botox or cosmetic surgery, you could easily appear younger to men just by changing your perfume to one with grapefruit fragrance in it. In a study conducted a couple years ago scientist discovered that when men viewed photographs of women while smelling pink grapefruit, they took six years off of the woman's age as opposed to viewing the photograph without any fragrance.

When I heard of this grapefruit scent makes you look younger study back then, it was just in time to start my new line of natural based solid perfumes. I came up with a grapefruit perfume with a Hawaiian twist--juicy Pink Grapefruit blended with the delicate floral fragrance of Pikake(Jasmine), a favorite flower in Hawaii.

If you don't know what solid perfume or perfume glace is, it is perfume in a solid base instead of alcohol (as in cologne) which is very drying for your skin and can cause irritation, burning, and itching. Our natural solid perfume is made from high quality fragrance oils and essential oils blended into an organic base of sweet almond oil, kukui nut oil, pure beeswax, and vitamin E. Our solid perfume is mild, moisturizing, and contains naturally occuring vitamins and minerals that is good for your skin. Read the ingredient labels before buying any perfume product. Many solid perfumes use a cheap greasy un-natural vasaline (petro chemical) base.

Our Hawaiian solid perfumes are handmade in small batches to insure a high quality of product, at our rainforest art studio on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Besides Pikake-Grapefruit fragrance perfume, we offer Plumeria fragrance perfume, Island Mango fragrance perfume, and Gardenia fragrance perfume.

What is the Most Popular Hawaiian Fragrance?

What is the most popular Hawaiian fragrance? From exotic flowery scents such as Gardenia, Pikake (Jasmine), and Plumeria, to woodsy Sandalwood, and tropical fruits like Mango, Pineapple, and Coconut--there are so many wonderful fragrances to choose from.

However, from years of selling our handmade Hawaiian products, we can say without a doubt that the Plumeria flower fragrance is the most popular. We offer Plumeria candles, Plumeria soaps, and Plumeria perfume glace. Whether it is from people buying our products in Hawaii stores that we wholesale to, or customers buying directly from us through our retail website, Plumeria (or Frangipani as it is known in some parts of the world) has always been our best selling Hawaiian fragrance. Customers also tell us that Plumeria is their favorite fragrance.

Our most popular candle used for Hawaiian wedding favors and Hawaiian party favors or luau favors is the plumeria scented soy candle wrapped in handmade mango and banana fiber paper, that is stamped and embossed with an elegant plumeria flower design.

Plumeria or otherwise, what is your favorite Hawaiian fragrance?

Unique Handmade Hawaiian Wedding Favors and Hawaiian Party Favors

For your next Hawaii themed event such as a Hawaiian wedding, Hawaiian party, or Hawaiian luau, consider our handmade unique Hawaiian wedding favors and Hawaiian party favors. Make a statement with your Hawaiian favors as a momento of your special day, that show your guests how unique and original you are.

A large internet company that specializes in selling wedding favors, said that most brides want to spend $3.00 for each wedding favor. This is fine for people who don't mind having the same favors as those of many other brides, and favors that are predominately made in China or other foreign countries using cheaper or sometimes inferior materials, with unknown labor conditions.

At our company "Double Brush" on the Big Island of Hawaii, we design and produce by hand our own natural soy wax candles, beeswax candles, and natural soap for Hawaiian party favors and Hawaiian wedding favors. Our prices range from $3.50 to $5.50 which is reasonable for the quality of workmanship and materials that we use. We also specialize in excellent personalized customer service.

If you decide to order favors from us, another huge plus is that because of our limited production, most likely your guests will not have already received your wedding favors (or party favors) at another wedding party!

Made in China Candles Recall Next?

With the recent and continuing toy recalls from Mattel for toys tainted with lead paint, and Walmart recalling dog treats, you can't help but wonder what product made in China will be recalled -- in a large way -- next.

Though not as publicized, there has already been many recalls for candles made in China because China has been manufacturing candles with wicks that contain lead. (Metal cored wicks have a piece of thin metal in the middle of the wick to help it stand up in melting candle wax.) We also do not know if many of the novelty type candles with paint on them may contain lead, especially the cheap candles.

It is illegal for manufacturers of candles in the United States to use lead core wicks, but other countries still allow lead wicked candles to be made. Sadly, many of these foreign candles are imported to the United States and end up on American store shelves and online stores.

Protect yourself by knowing exactly what you are buying, and purchasing candles made in the United States. Be careful about buying US brand candles that are manufactured in a different country. For example the majority of Hawaii gift and souvenir companies sell made in China candles.

Our company "Double Brush", has been producing handmade in Hawaii candles since 1996. We have never used lead core wicks and our company's direction is towards more natural products. A few years ago we switched from paraffin wax which is a by-product of the petroleum industry, to all natural soy wax. We also changed to hemp fiber wicks with no metal core.

We have received rave response from our customers for our cleaner burning and environmentally friendly candles. We invite you to try some the next time you are in the mood to buy some candles.

Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts Can Help You With Your Diet

It sounds too good to be true but Hawaiian Macadamia nuts can actually help with your diet. Macadamia nuts are an all natural low carb snack, and adhere strictly to the Atkins diet. It is cholesterol free and high in monounsaturated "good fat" at 80%, higher than olive oil at 74%, and canola oil at 58%. Research now suggests that monounsaturated fat helps reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, by lowering harmful LDL cholesterol levels.

Dr. Oz from the Oprah Show said that nuts are his special favorite food because they are rich in healthy oils, have some fiber and lots of energy. "A half-hour before dinner, I'll throw some nuts in my mouth to drive my ghrelin levels down. Ghrelin is the body chemical that makes your stomach turn, and by toning that down you can avoid being famished at dinner and overeating." (Healthy Living Magazine volume 11 number 3)

The hardest part about eating delicious and fresh tasting macadamia nuts while on a diet is portion control. Our handy macadamia nut snack packs are already pre measured at .5 ounces, so you will not have an excuse to over indulge. They are small and light so pack a couple in your purse, briefcase, desk drawer or somewhere convenient for you. By doing this you will always have a quality snack on hand and not be tempted to grab the nearest junk food.

When I feel hungry in the afternoon, I open a snack pack of our macadamia nuts and eat the nuts slowly savoring each bite -- I find it takes the edge off of my hunger. In the picture above, the amount of nuts on the plate is what came out of one bag. (Click on the photo to enlarge.)

Save on Hawaiian Macadamia nut snack packs when you buy it by the case at our site Big Island Hawaiian Gifts, Candles and Soap by Double Brush.