For years, Bob Hurley, who is the founder of Hurley and former CEO, had been doing business in Hawai’i. As far back even, while he was with Billabong USA.
Back in 2014, Hurley collaborated with Sig Zane and his son Kuha’o for the Lo’i Kalo collaboration line and they would collaborate again for the Wailehua line.
For those who are not familiar with Sig Zane, Sig Zane is a legendary craftsman in Hawai’i. Known for his patterns based off of the native flora and fauna of Hawaii, his work conveys deep historic storytelling through its aesthetic.
As for the Wailehua, In Hawai’i, the native forests collect rain, filling the aquifiers with nourishing water. The Ohi’a trees, with its lehua blossoms, are one of the more important trees in this water cycle. Blooming in red, yellow, or orange, the flowers are a representation of the islands volcanic energy and our hula goddess Pele. Wailehua, depicts both the life giving rain and this famous flower.
There is a story about how the Hawaiian fire goddess Pele was attracted to a man named Ohia, but Ohia was attracted to Lehua and she liked him. Angered that she could not have Ohia, Pele turned Ohia to a twisted tree. Lehua begged for the spell to be reversed but Goddess Pele refused and as Lehua asked the Gods to intervene, they came with a compromise by transforming Lehua into a beautiful flower on the Ohia tree.
For those who want to see what the ohia lehua flower looks like, please click here.
Unfortunately, the Ohia tree is becoming extinct because of “Rapid Ohia Death” due to an invasive fungi. There is no cure and the alarming thing is that the tree is being taken out by this disease. And right now, there is an official website on how to prevent the disease from spreading.
I mention this because for those who are interested in Lehua blossoms and are planning to visit Hawaii, please read the guidelines and don’t go picking off Lehua or touching the Ohia tree.
