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'Iolani Furniture

Wow! Leather woven seat chair restoration!

Shanna Arthur 'Iolani Furniture Furniture Leather Leathertouchupdye.com rattan Stain

Wow! Leather woven seat chair restoration!

These rattan and leather seats were cracking and breaking. We were able to replace them with strong and pliable leather straps and stain them to match the existing back straps. The original leather was sprayed with a shellac or oil-based clear coat which caused much of the hardening and cracking.  These seats have a finish coat that protects the leather without hardening it.  

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Vintage Hawaiiana Dress Inspires A Dresser

Shanna Arthur distress distressed Mineral Spirits Polyshade Relief Design Vintage Hawaiian Dress Vintage Hawaiian Dresser Vintage Hawaiian Fabric

Vintage Hawaiiana Dress Inspires A Dresser

Once upon a time there was a dresser. This dresser was simple, neutral, and beat. When a friend came in and asked me to style it up, she gave me a few guidelines. She loved vintage Hawaiiana and wanted a "distressed"  look to the dresser. There was a piece of a dress on a cushion in the shop that she loved.  Originally, the fabric was going to be glued onto the top of the dresser, but after I started designing the artwork for the drawers, the fabric didn't seem to match anymore.  After sharing my thoughts with Heather, she agreed...

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Reclaiming Hawaii's Furniture

Shanna Arthur 'Iolani Furniture 'Iolani Palace Blog First Blog Furniture Iolani translation

Reclaiming Hawaii's Furniture

Hello cyber world!  Here we are, a little used furniture store in a small bay town named Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i.  This is our first post, so I would like to take a moment to discuss our name.  As Matt and I were choosing names for our youngest daughter, we looked up Hawaiian translations for our last name, Arthur, which is 'Iolani in Hawaiian.  The word, 'iolani, means "heavenly hawk."   I loved the connection and iconography of the name, so I jumped into marketing and legalizing it, but when I typed 'Iolani furniture into a search...

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