Sending Aloha Abroad with ‘Local Kine Cards’

You might have picked up on a few Hawaiian words during your stay in Hawaii. Mahalo, for thank you; aloha, for hello/good-bye. And hopefully by now, you’re an expert at using it! So much so, that you’re eager to share some of the aloha with family and friends via local “kine” greeting cards made by a local “kine” family.Send an island-style thank you note to loved ones abroad.

Over a decade ago, the Isono family slapped these local sayings on some paper, added a few humorous illustrations, and before they knew it, they became a niche within a niche. They sell local cards within the Hawaiian card genre at more than 70 stores statewide, including Longs Drugs, Don Quijote and Wal-Mart.

The colorful, action-packed cartoon drawings really make these cards stand out on any store’s rack. They show local people doing local things – from the child eating a rainbow shave ice to a tanned man wearing rubber slippers. The photo above shows a doormat with multiple slippers surrounding it, suggesting that the get-together was a hit because so many people showed up.

Send a card with a Hawaii postage stamp and a little local flare for almost any occasion – birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Girl’s Day, Boy’s Day and Christmas. There’s even a line of cards making fun of Hawaii residents’ favorite vacationing spot – Las Vegas.

Local Kine Cards has done a nice job in depicting the “local kine” culture in Hawaii. The “local kine” culture is a conglomeration of the different cultures in the islands, which help to make Hawaii such a unique place to live and to visit. In Hawaii, “kine” is used in the same way as “kind” (the noun), except more loosely. It’s paired up at the end of certain words, like “funny kine,” “small kine” or “da kine.” I want to say it’s almost similar to the “ish” we often add to the end of words, “small-ish.”

While a few of these cards have sayings or illustrations that maybe only locals understand, the majority of them is pretty general. But the more you visit the islands, the sooner you’ll catch on to such inside jokes and become a local at heart yourself.

LOCAL KINE CARDS • Buy them at almost any Hawaii grocery store • 808-753-5853

Posted by: Bruce Fisher on Jan 14, 2012