Pursuits Archives - Honolulu Magazine

John Signor Sets the Stage for Cirque du Soleil: ‘Auana With a Hawaiian Nose Flute

Mari Taketa — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 10:00:58 +0000

Photo: Courtesy of Cirque du Soleil: ‘Auana

If you’ve seen ‘Auana, Cirque du Soleil’s new Waikīkī production, you know it’s superlative. World-class acrobatics, circus antics, wondrous artistry: For 80 minutes, the show dazzles.

But in the quiet before it starts, as the audience fills the small theater, a lone guitarist plucks the notes of “He Mele Lāhui Hawai‘i”—Queen Lili‘uokalani’s anthem for her kingdom—then picks up a Hawaiian nose flute. “People may not be aware of what they’re listening to, but it’s a way of acknowledging and honoring where we are,” says musician John Signor, who’s also the show’s musical director. “It allows me an intimate moment with the audience to welcome them into our space with loving intention.”

Born and raised in ‘Ewa Beach, Signor at 65 is the senior among the local cast, which includes hula dancers, singers and other musicians. It’s not his first time in the role—he was also musical director for the visitor show Waikīkī Nei and before that, ‘Ulalena in Lahaina, Maui. A music professor on leave from Leeward Community College, he leads ‘Auana’s musical energy. It’s an all-in role because the music, by turns energizing and lyrical, is an enveloping presence that helps drive the dazzling totality. In the lineup with the band, Signor twists and bobs on his acoustic guitar. You’d never guess his favorite instrument is the nose flute.

“It’s as if I’m in the backyard and I’m just playing to relax,” says Signor about the moments before the show. Once it revs up to high energy, “It’s so much fun, and the music and lyrics are amazing. It just clicks.”

The Art of Dying: Jonathan Pascual Defies Terminal Cancer as a Triathlete

Diane Seo — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 18:30:28 +0000

Last fall, on an excruciatingly humid day in Kona, Jonathan Pascual joined fellow Ironman competitors to attempt what most people couldn’t even imagine: a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile run. Some 16 hours later, the UH Mānoa graduate made international news not just for finishing the world championship race, but for doing so with Stage 4 cancer.

There’s no cure for the rare mediastinal paraganglioma that has spread to Pascual’s lungs and bones. Knowing that, the 50-year-old traveled from his current home in the San Francisco Bay Area to fulfill his towering goal. By doing so, he sent a message to other terminal patients about the power of believing in yourself and resilience. “You don’t know what you are capable of—just give yourself the chance,” he says.

After all, he wasn’t a natural athlete; he describes himself as that “scrawny kid with asthma, made fun of by other kids.” He started running in elementary school, then took up swimming. After moving to Honolulu from the Philippines as a teenager, he completed the Waikīkī Roughwater Swim, the Great Aloha Run, the Honolulu Marathon and the Tinman Triathlon.

He was diagnosed with cancer in March 2022, and faced with a grim prognosis, considered quitting his job as a nurse practitioner and slowing down. But that made him feel weaker. “My body is used to moving, so I never really stopped,” he says.

Pascual now practices what he calls the “art of dying,” which he sees as carrying on with life—and giving back. “There are many people with cancer, some who are close to me, and I race for them,” he says. “I want to challenge the notion that Stage 4 cancer is a death sentence. Life does not end with the diagnosis. You can have a renewed life with meaning and purpose.”

For however long he has, he wants to be a force for good, spreading hope and inspiration to those tackling whatever seems impossible. He has plans for more triathlons, even an ultramarathon, and he’ll continue to work, helping lung transplant patients at a San Francisco hospital.

“I know my light will soon cease,” he says. “That may sound dramatic, but all I need is another fracture in my spine, and I’m done. Cancer is eating away at my bones, but I’ve accepted that and made the choice to keep going until I can’t. My modus operandi is defiance.”

Pursuits: A Touch of Glass

Brie Thalmann — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 10:00:08 +0000

Photos: Ijfke Ridgley

Polka-dotted highball glasses discovered in Diamond Head. Flamingo pink Champagne coupes unearthed in Mexico City. Smoky green crystal snifters brought over from Japan.

“I probably have a couple hundred pieces at this point,” local interior designer Dominica Rizzo says of her vintage glassware collection, which extends to a handful of covetable punch bowls. Though culled from across the globe, most of her treasures were found in Hawai‘i. “I get everything from estate sales, thrift stores or vintage shops,” she says.

The styles span decades, but Rizzo has a penchant for the midcentury aesthetic—think atomic age patterns, metallic overlays and sculptural silhouettes. “That’s when they started making really fun cocktails, and the glassware from that period is so colorful, funky and different,” she says. “Each piece was usually handblown or handmade.”

They’re also primed for stylish soirées, which Rizzo has been known to throw. “I like to make it feel like you’re going to a party in the ’60s, and you’re getting this cute cocktail in this cute glass.”

Pursuits: Gregory Pai Is a Messenger for Compassion

Mari Taketa — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:00:20 +0000

In the quiet green of deep Pālolo Valley, amid dove calls and rustling leaves, Gregory Pai’s voice rises and falls. He’s talking about the interconnectedness of all humans, and how much we resemble trees. “A tree is not an object. A tree is a miraculous creation of photosynthesis, which is a growing biological organism. But then we have coconut trees, banyan trees, maple trees, chestnut trees,” he says. “They are different kinds of trees, but in fact, they’re all the same organism. People are the same. We grow up in all kinds of different conditions and environments. We look at each other as different, but we’re all the same. We’re human beings.”

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Pai is a teacher. Every Saturday afternoon, he sits cross-legged near the altar at Mu-Ryang-Sa, a jade-and-vermillion Korean Buddhist temple nearly 2 miles into the valley, and talks about mindfulness, how to ease stress and strife, and the 16 stages of awakening. In front of him in the open-air hall are two or three dozen people of all ages, from all over the city. Some are regulars, some newbies.

Pai says they come for the calm of the one-hour guided meditation that he starts at 4, followed by a reading and dharma talk that guide them toward better, kinder interactions. The practice of mindfulness meditation also “allows people to realize their true gifts,” he says, “and begin to live lives that are more in alignment with their fundamental aspirations.”

“It’s fundamentally a practice about compassion, loving kindness, and learning to accept other people and ourselves as being fundamentally the same.”

— Gregory Pai

These are Buddhist teachings, but Pai is no priest or academic. He’s a former chief economist at First Hawaiian Bank and adviser to Govs. John Waihe‘e and Benjamin Cayetano. Throughout, he practiced meditation, and when he retired, he headed to Myanmar to deepen his practice at rainy season Vipassana retreats—sitting and walking meditation from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m., in absolute silence every day for three months. He did this three years in a row.

Pai gifts what he learned, relating ancient wisdom and practices to everyday life 2,500 years later. Once a year, he runs a five-day retreat with three hours of sitting and walking meditation in the morning and three in the afternoon; every month, there’s also a half-day retreat. Like his Saturday guided meditations and talks—which Pai uploads at brokenridgetemple.com—it’s all free: People contribute what they can, if they can.

“It’s fundamentally a practice about compassion, loving kindness, and learning to accept other people and ourselves as being fundamentally the same. We can accept each other as brothers and sisters in humanity and not be defined by our differences,” he says. “You start to realize that we are, in fact, all the same. But we’ve forgotten that. This message is a very powerful message. I think the more people that understand that, the more we can have a shift in consciousness that can allow us to be more compassionate and humane toward other people.”

Mu-Ryang-Sa Korean Buddhist Temple

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Pursuits: The Light and Dark in Joey Chiarello’s Ceramic Sculptures

James Nakamura — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 10:00:05 +0000

The ceramic creations that artist Joey Chiarello posts on his Instagram, @demonsinmytea, may look intimidating, but in a way, they’re only human. At age 5, Chiarello’s older sister told him he was adopted, and Chinese—both untrue, but he believed it for a year. Growing up in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, he was far removed from Eastern culture, but after stumbling on a Japanese woodblock print book at a local library, he felt an immediate connection. He delved deep into Japanese culture, Buddhism and Shintoism, even declaring himself Japanese.

Though he no longer identifies that way, his childhood explorations ignited a lifelong passion for Japanese folklore and its creatures that are now reflected in his ceramic creations. “This one is based on my brother; he’s not with us anymore,” he says of the tiger featured above. Much of his art depicts an acceptance of struggle and gratitude for life. “We all have our humanness, and yes, we are emotion factories. But we’re all OK, that’s just the way it is.”

etsy.com/shop/demonsinmytea

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Photo: Courtesy of Joey Chiarello

Pursuits: Meet the Women Carrying on Trophy House’s Legacy

Brie Thalmann — Sun, 01 Sep 2024 10:00:00 +0000

“I’ve probably done thousands,” Trophy House owner Tammy Carson says of the number of plaques and other awards she’s made since starting at the 73-year-old business on South King Street in 1982. Back then, she was a graphic design student at UH Mānoa and took the gig because the shop belonged to her aunt and uncle, Clarysse and Peter Crane, who acquired it the year prior.

“Gradually, I fell in love with it,” says Carson, who took over ownership in 1990. “I really love working with my hands, so I like the engraving and putting trophies and plaques together.” Carson even met her husband at Trophy House: “He came in to order trophies for a hang-gliding event.”

The same month that Carson started, manager Loving Farias came on board to run the front of house, her gregariousness the perfect balance to Carson’s self-admitted shyness. In the four decades since (Carmon took over the business in 1990), the duo have helped countless locals celebrate life’s biggest milestones and victories.

A few things have changed over the years—according to Farias, “fantasy football trophies and recently pickleball awards” have become popular. But the joy they’ve experienced has remained steadfast. “It’s very rewarding,” Carson says. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”

Open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1301 S King St., trophy-house.com

Pursuits: Snap Happy

Brie Thalmann — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 10:00:26 +0000

This print, “Isn’t She Lovely,” depicts sunset at Queen’s Surf in Waikīkī, Loiterton’s favorite surf break to shoot. Photo: Credit Jess Loiterton

Photo: Courtesy of Jess Loiterton

“Pretty” isn’t a word often used to describe surf photography, yet it’s an apt description for the work of Jess Loiterton, an Aussie shutterbug who captures dreamy portrayals of local breaks. In a sea of action shots, almost always focused on the biggest barrels and gnarliest rides, Loiterton’s photos celebrate the downbeats, the quiet moments between sets, when the water is calm and glassy enough to reflect gorgeous peach and cotton candy hues.

“I really wanted to recreate the colors that I saw in my head,” she says. A surfer since she was 7, the Sydney transplant (who now calls Waikīkī home) fell in love with the unique way drone photography captures surfing. “I hope when people view my work, they experience a sense of peace and relaxation and feel a connection that unites us all.”

adventuresofjess.studio, @adventures_ofjess

Pursuits: Dream Colors

James Nakamura — Wed, 01 May 2024 10:00:30 +0000

It’s all about precision and details for hairstylist Jamie Keiko, who owns the Mika Haus salon on South King Street. Clients like Chanel Shigeta-Engleman (below) turn to her to transform their locks with dramatic, head-turning colors. And what they’re asking for has changed a lot since Mika Haus first opened in the middle of the pandemic.

Photos: Aaron K. Yoshino

SEE ALSO: Pursuits: Ink Master Steven Lam

“During COVID, [clients wanted] natural colors—nothing really crazy,” Keiko says. “I was doing some really low-maintenance browns, and women that I hadn’t seen in a while wanted to become all gray and let it be all natural.”

But with the lockdowns behind us, her customers are now opting for vivid shades. It took six hours for Shigeta-Engleman’s hair to go from jet black to a brilliant fuchsia using techniques Keiko acquired in Japan.

“It’s a very intimate and rewarding experience. I see such a change in their posture and demeanor,” Keiko says, “a confidence that maybe wasn’t there from when they first came in. It’s the most rewarding and gratifying feeling.”

Pursuits: Butterflies Are Free

Diane Seo — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:00:50 +0000

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Darlene Loo-McDowell’s business, Sharing the Butterfly Experience, does just that, allowing people to purchase stunning butterflies to release at weddings, celebrations of life, birthdays, after the birth of a baby or for any occasion. Loo-McDowell, who raises the butterflies at her Makakilo home, says the colorful insects that transform from caterpillars are symbolic of a fresh start.

“Butterflies go through a metamorphosis, much like we do in life,” she says. “It’s new beginnings—the time when you are ready to turn the page to the next step in life.”

SEE ALSO: 40 Amazing Things to Do

Loo-McDowell’s endeavor started with her just being curious about whether butterflies would come to her garden if she had a milkweed plant. She bought one, and before long, caterpillars began feasting on it. After the chrysalis stage, the caterpillars blossomed into gorgeous monarch butterflies, which now flutter around her yard year-round. Since 2016, she’s been raising thousands of butterflies every year, a passion she says is as therapeutic for her as it is for those who set them free.

sharingthebutterflyexperience.com, @sharingthebutterflyexperience

Pursuits: Ink Master Steven Lam

James Nakamura — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 10:00:51 +0000

Steven Lam is regarded as one of Honolulu’s best and most sought-after tattoo artists. For the debut of Pursuits, a new series that offers a glimpse into our work lives, we visited Lam’s Working Class Tattoo on the second floor of a corner Wai‘alae Avenue building in Kaimukī.

His detailed work, displayed on the walls, is a clear testament to his talents and dedication to his craft. Over his career, Lam has inked some 4,000 tattoos, often larger Japanese designs with delicately shaded dragons, cranes and Hokusai-style waves.

“My mentor told me that the parlor is like a stage, and you are the host of the show,” says Lam, who learned from premier tattoo artists in San Francisco before setting up shop here. “You have to control the flow of the appointment. People are waiting for a directive, and you’re the expert. You have to ask the right questions, loosen people up so they feel more comfortable telling you what they want.”

Steven Lam in his studio Working Class Tattoo. Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Q&A With Steven Lam

What inspired you to become a tattoo artist?

The first time I saw a Japanese tattoo was in the movie Rising Sun with Sean Connery. There was a scene where they were fully covered in tattoos, and that was the first time I’ve ever seen Japanese tattooing. Before that, it was like, your friend or your neighbor uncle had the Hawaiian tribal. And I was just like, whoa. After seeing that, my mind was blown. And I just went to go look it up and enter the world of Japanese-style tattooing. And I was like, man, that’s what I want to do. So Japanese-style tattooing for sure.

And what has kept you in this arena for so many years?

Tattooing, technically, is pretty difficult. I think every time you tattoo, you try to do the tattoo better than the last time, and with Instagram now and all these people doing amazing stuff—makes you want to just keep up with everybody else.

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

So how would you characterize your genre of tattoo art?

I do primarily bigger Japanese work, like covering backs and arms and legs. But I pretty much do everything because I’m by myself, so I kind of have to do everything. So I do black and gray Japanese, American traditional. American traditional is what I learned how to do first because that’s the shop I used to work at in San Francisco, Goldfields.

How many tattoos do you think you’ve done in your career?

That’s a long way back. People ask me that all the time. It’s been almost 20 years, and if you were to say I did 200 a year, maybe more a year, that’s a lot. That’s…

4,000?

If not more.

Photos: Aaron K. Yoshino

Do you have a tattoo that is most meaningful to you?

Yeah, I have a tattoo on my shoulder by my mentor, Dean Dennis. And he tattooed that on me right before I left San Francisco. He passed away shortly after I left. It’s a book with a bookmark that says SF on it. A bookmark in my life. So he did that for me.

What about a tattoo that you’ve given somebody?

That’s a hard question. Maybe not necessarily the tattoo itself, but more of the people. You know, like, a lot of the clients that I talk to a lot have become my friends outside of the shop.

How would you describe your clients? Have you seen demographic shifts over the years?

Yeah, if they’re young, they’re getting small tattoos, people in their 20s. But then I started to put on bigger work, like big Japanese stuff. And most of the time, it’s people that are in their 30s and 40s and they have a career and the financial means and they’re established in what they do so they can commit to getting tattoos. They’re not afraid of getting tattoos on their arms because they’re like, I gotta get a job someday.

What are the more popular kinds of tattoos you see? Do certain things get requested more than other stuff?

Japanese style tattooing in Hawai‘i has been pretty steady and popular. But the new trends are a lot of fine lines. Small, fine, delicate, usually just linear graphic styles. I don’t like that shit, but you know, I think where it started is in LA, Hollywood, celebrities started getting super tiny stuff. And then people saw photos and then they’re like, oh, I want to get that. It just blew up. And now that’s like a genre, fine line tattoo.

Do you think tattoos have gone mainstream?

Yes. You see the movies all the time. And you know, there are no boundaries anymore. It used to be… I don’t want to say bikers, but people who were in a nonprofessional world. But now I’m tattooing doctors, police officers, firemen, lawyers. I’ve probably tattooed every profession. I just had this woman come in, right before you guys did, when she just turned 80. And she wants her first step. She wants an infinity symbol.

So, yeah, as far as mainstream, it’s definitely not as taboo anymore. It stopped being taboo a long time ago. I think it’s getting more accepted in a lot of the cultures that were not accepting of tattoos.

Asian cultures tend to have these stigmas attached to tattoos. Did your parents question the path?

Yeah, they did, especially because my parents are traditional Chinese. I don’t think they wanted me to become a tattooer. But I’ve never really listened to my parents. I did it anyway, actually kept it from them because I didn’t live in Hawai‘i. And so for a long time, they thought I was working as a carpenter. And when they came up to visit, I was like, “Oh, I’ve been working at this place.”

And they came up to the studio, and I think they were surprised that the people I worked with were normal people, and they were kind and polite, and they got to see firsthand people getting tattooed. They met all my guys. I guess whatever discrimination that they had was out the door. And it was a real job. I made a good living doing it, and they were more stoked that I was actually surviving tattooing and not necessarily doing art.

Was art questionable too?

Yeah, even when I was doing graphic design, my mom would tell her friends, oh, he’s doing computers. That’s as far as she really wanted to talk about it. You know, I’m lucky that tattoos are popular. And now people pay good money to get tattoos. And that’s where they stand now. They’re proud of me. I have a full-time job. I have taken care of my family.

Working Class Tattoo, 3454 Wai‘alae Ave., workingclasstattoos808.com, @steventattoos