Style: Local Designer Meleana
It all started with one stitch. And then another and another. And then Meleana Blaich finished sewing her first bag and without knowing it at the time, she found her new calling.
The inspiration for sewing came from a trip she made to Australia. While there, she visited the open markets where people would sell shirts and other clothing items that they had made out of different fabrics. “I started liking those random things that I got at those markets much more than the normal clothes that you could buy in stores and so I wanted to start sewing my own clothes.” says Meleana, “I started taking a sewing class.”
Meleana had just graduated from Boston College with a degree in Human Development and was back in Hawaii getting ready for graduate school. But it was sewing that became her passion. “I honestly fell in love the sewing.” says Meleana. She designed a bag for a trip to LA in February 2002 that was made with handles bought at Punahou’s White Elephant Sale and an odd vintage muumuu. While carrying it around, she got lots of compliments and her first order for multiple bags from Show Pony, a store in the LA area. The inspiration for Meleana’s bags comes from a love of Hawaii and vintage fabrics, “I think one of the things that I love so much about sewing is I just love finding different vintage fabrics.” says Meleana. “I love going to thrift stores and I want to deconstruct all the vintage things that I buy.”
Making bags expanded into making all her own clothes, but Meleana wanted to learn more, like how to make her own patterns. So in August 2003 her life took a turn and she ended up at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York to pursue a career in fashion. “It’s fun,” says Meleana. “But it’s really hard to be a student in New York, because obviously you have to work, and I’m a waitress, and I also have my handbags that I started doing and it’s just so hard to balance everything.” When Meleana first moved to New York, her handbag line was still small scale (mostly made for herself) but she continued making bags and always got a lot of compliments. When carrying her bags out, they continued to get more positive reaction. Meleana ageain was asked to put her bags in a New York store, Some Odd Rubies. A few things sold and Meleana once again got the exciting feeling of making a sale to someone that she didn’t know.
With the guidance of an established local bag designer in New York, Bliss Lau, Meleana was able to show her first collection at the end of last year at a young designers show. In less than two months, Meleana had to get her samples and create her line for the young designers show. Now, after the great response, she has her bags in over 10 stores nationwide.
All this and Meleana is still a student. There were times when Meleana felt she couldn’t balance it all, but she continues to take classes (Bliss, a Parsons graduate, supports continuing school). Although her bag line is fun right now (she gets to do what she loves – hunt for vintage fabrics), Meleana knows there is so much more ahead. “I really do want to go into dresses and more and design things for the Hawaii girl later on.” says Meleana. “I hope to learn more and more because I want to come back here and do something.”
“Having your own line here seems out of the question for a lot of people, but I don’t think that.” says Meleana. “It’s kind of my dream, whatever I do, to return home and bring all the influences back with me. “In the meantime, check out my bags at meleana.com.”
Featured Meleana bags: Nui Loa & Le‘ale‘a
Smart Magazine :: April 2005
