SERVICES

What is “Lei Palekana?”

Lei Palekana comes from the street my mom grew up on in La’ie, HI: Palekana St., meaning “safe and sound.”

After my grandfather moved his family to Hawai’i from Samoa, he turned to entrepreneurship in lei-making. He took his daughters to the beach and scoured their backyard in La’ie for shell and flower to make and sell lei to tourists.

With lei-making, in addition to being one of Kahuku’s school bus drivers, he was able to provide for his family of 12.

How did you start making lei?

I was first inspired to make lei po’o and lei after our house was filled with flowers following my grandma’s funeral in April 2025. I turned to lei-making as a way to cope with her passing, and more than a year later, it has turned into a small business.

Do you make lei or take photos?

Both! I was briefly an amateur photographer before lei-making. I dabbled in maternity shoots, weddings, couples, cake smash, etc. You name it.



It just wasn’t fulfilling, but I learned plenty skills as a photographer. I kept it in my back pocket for whenever I needed it again.

A few failures later, I found lei-making and I fused the two together as a lei-maker and my own brand’s photographer.

What do I call you?

My real name is Bryanna.

My family calls me “Princess.”

My nieces and nephews call me “Aunty P,” but

I go by Pwin (1 syllable) or Pwinny (2 syllables).

Sis or aunty is fine too.