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 engine, there were many discussions on the furniture that was stolen from the Royal 'Iolani Palace in Oahu. I contemplated whether I had done the right thing.
Then I thought about the mission of my company, which is to restore Hawaii's furniture. Keep Hawaii green, Buy Used. It was a calling for me. A need to help. Not only 'Iolani palace, but my home, our home, Hawaii. We throw so much furniture into our landfill, that if we can save one piece, it makes a difference.
So it was that 'Iolani Furniture began.