Hawaiian lifestyle brand Noho Home has clinched a deal to provide in-flight amenities kits and soft goods to business class passengers on Hawaiian Airlines’ long-haul international flights and flights between Hawai’i and New York, Boston and Austin starting from November 6. Packaged in a recycled plastic canvas bag, the kits include a sleeping mask and toiletry products, with an assortment of additional amenities available a la carte to minimize waste. The design of the kits was in
ts was inspired by Hawaiian Airlines’ new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner premium cabin, the Leihōkū Suites, which refers to a lei or wreath of stars, and is meant to bring a sense of comfort to passengers as they embark on their journey.
In addition to the amenity kits, business class seats will also feature a plush quilt and mattress pad made out of recycled plastic, while guests in the extra comfort and main cabin sections will receive an alternate amenity kit.
The partnership will also see Hawaiian Airlines and Noho Home launch a collection of home goods that will be available for purchase onboard select Hawaiian Airlines flights, or directly through Noho Home.
The collection will include a range of items from dining and kitchenware products like chopsticks, to bedroom items such as duvets and comforters, as well as various travel and personal care items. The collection price range starts at $20 and extends to around $250.
“Our collaboration with Noho Home was born out of the shared desire to create a sense of place and establish a connection to home while we bring our guests to their destination. We are very proud of the creativity behind these designs and can’t wait for our guests to receive them,” Hawaiian Airlines’ senior director of brand and community and cultural relations Alisa Onishi stated.
A gap in the market
Noho Home, which means “to be, to dwell, or to come from” in the indigenous Hawaiian language, was founded in 2018 by Jalene Kanani Bell, who combined her experience in textile design and manufacturing with her native Hawaiian background to create luxury homewares that felt authentic to her culture.
While consulting for other home goods manufacturers, Bell would often receive inquiries from “aunties” — as she affectionately referred to them — to create rugs, pillows and other items featuring Hawaiian-inspired patterns.
Doing so on an individual basis would have been cost-prohibitive, but it helped Bell to identify a gap in the luxury homewares market for decor items that spoke to the history of Hawai’i.
While there is no shortage of Hawaiian-inspired design, much of it has been misappropriated by larger brands with no connection to Hawaiian culture, or mixed up with motifs from the West Indies.
“We created Noho Home so that people could experience authentic storytelling, from a native Hawaiian perspective to a global audience,” Bell told Inside Retail.
“It’s my vehicle to share our stories and our Aloha in a more authentic and meaningful way. Hollywood’s been telling our stories for a while and now we’re able to tell you about things that are important to us and that are meaningful for the community.”
In addition to Noho Home’s e-commerce site, consumers can find the brand’s products via retailers like HomeWorld Furniture and Bloomingdale’s. The company also has a dedicated website for business customers ordering custom designs, such as luxury hotel decor for the Four Seasons resort on Oahu.
Noho Home also opened its first physical location on October 1 via a pop-up shop at Ala Moana Center, the largest open-air shopping center in the world.
All about community
Community is one of the key pillars of Bell’s work and underpins many of Noho Home’s initiatives.
In response to the devastating damage caused by the Maui wildfires in August, Noho Home launched a special-edition “Maui Strong” print to support those who were affected.
The pattern is made from a combination of 13 Noho Home prints, which Bell curated for their values, sentiments, and intentions for healing and rebuilding the Maui community.
One hundred per cent of profits from the sale or licensing of any product with the “Maui Strong” print will, for the next five years, be donated to the community, and at this time over $50,000 has been raised.