Kailua's Muumuu Heaven prepares to sew it all up
A shop that for eight years has been a place where old muumuu and aloha shirts have gone to be reborn will close its doors at the end of February.
Unable to reach lease terms with A&B Properties Inc., Kailua's largest landowner, Muumuu Heaven will go out with a bang, hosting two special events this month.
More on that in a moment.
An automated voice on TheBus alerts passengers out front that they have reached "the Muumuu Heaven bus stop," said co-owner and chief sewing officer Deb Mascia. "I need a recording of that," she laughed.
The dresses, personal accessories, pillows and home decorations she designs and makes all are created from old aloha wear or other vintage fabric. The selection represents a rainbow of colors and a trove of textile textures.
Not a scrap of fabric "goes into the rubbish," she said. She makes dresses, pillow covers with pockets, and tote bags, and turns sleeves or other semilarge pieces into zippered pouches or stuffed animals. Smaller scraps are used to make decorative strands of puffy hearts, or fish, or other shapes strung together and accented with, say, kukui nuts from deconstructed lei, for instance.
Scraps that are smaller still are used to cover rounded magnets, and the tiniest scraps get used as stuffing.
In addition to Mascia's own creations, Muumuu Heaven sells items made by some two dozen local artisans. Products include several lines of new jewelry handcrafted from vintage jewelry; a line of can-koozies, belts and dog leashes made from old fire hoses; doorway panels to track kids' growth made from recycled wood by a woman in Manoa; and on and on.
Among its support of several nonprofit organizations, Muumuu Heaven has facilitated fundraising for autistic children in the WINGS program. The store sells decorative flowers and greeting cards the children make, and gives proceeds to the nonprofit to fund outings for the kids.
Mascia famously created, for President Barack Obama's inauguration, a cummerbund for the POTUS and dresses for Michelle, Malia and Sasha, from his tutu Madelyn Dunham's collection of old muumuu. She had died Nov. 2, 2008, two days before her grandson was elected president of the United States.
When Mascia received the garments, "they still smelled of tutu," she recalled. She also made handkerchiefs so the first family could hold them close during the event and thereafter.
The emotion of it all had her "bawling" as she was sewing, she said, and it only intensified when she saw her creations being worn and used on television.
Mascia is not taking on any more custom work, given the store's impending closure.
Before A&B Properties there was Kaneohe Ranch, and before Muumuu Heaven was a retail store, Mascia ran the business out of her home.
Kaneohe Ranch executive Kimo Steinwascher found out about her and sought out Mascia to persuade her to lease space.
She set up in a small, narrow space at the back of the building and furnished it with side-of-the-road discoveries that she refurbished and repurposed.
A year after Century 21 vacated the adjoining space, Kaneohe Ranch persuaded Mascia and her husband and business partner, Eric, to expand forward so the store would have some street-frontage. In came more recycled, repurposed store fixtures.
Because she'd amassed a number of garments along the way that were too fabulous to cut up and repurpose, she opened a second shop, called Hana Hou Vintage, at 35 Kainehe St., which is steps away from Muumuu Heaven and has a different landlord.
Mascia employs 33 people between the two shops, a warehouse and contractors who sew for her, and to keep as many employed as possible, she will sell some Muumuu Heaven merchandise out of Hana Hou. However, the latter space is tiny, nowhere near the 3,400 square feet that will be vacated at the end of next month.
The first of two pre-closing parties will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 6, and will be an exhibit of underwater treasures by bodysurfer and lifeguard Mark Cunningham.
A Feb. 21 event also will run from 5 to 8 p.m. and will feature live entertainment, special guests and pupu.
The store's last day open to the public will be Feb. 26.
A&B Properties would not disclose specifics regarding arrangements with tenants, but Senior Vice President of Leasing David Haverly said in an email, "We're sorry Muumuu Heaven will no longer be our tenant. They were a good tenant and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors."
Mascia said she looks forward to taking time off to travel with her family.
"I've made 18,000 individual dresses, 30,000 farmers market bags and millions of friends along the way. I feel lucky, not sad."
