Treasure Island

It was Linda Naea's former boss, the owner of a chain of jewelry stores, who inspired in her the dream of owning a gift store. Though her mentor has passed away, she credits him with helping her realize her goal when she took over a 1,200-square-foot former coffee shop and bookstore in Kapaa, on Hawaii's Kauai island. The retail space she found had been unoccupied for three years, but with neighbors such as a Waldenbooks and popular restaurants, it presented a dream location for Naea's dream store.

However, with all of the old fixtures intact, the space needed plenty of remodeling. To create Life's Treasures, the gift, home decor, and art shop she had in mind, everything had to be removed and replaced in just three months to meet the deadline she had set for the store's opening, October 1, 2001. Because they were on a tight budget, Linda and her husband, Mark, handled most of the demolition and reconstruction themselves. Deli cases, service counters, slatwall, and linoleum had to be removed, and a take-out window in the back wall of the shop had to be altered.

Several problems developed when the counters were removed. Gaps appeared in the walls and pipes that emptied into open drains were exposed. The Naeas had to cut and cap the pipes, and replace the old drywall. Then came priming and painting.

The floor presented its own set of problems. After the old linoleum was pulled out, the Naeas arranged to install a combination of carpet and slate flooring. However, a mix-up by the slate installer required about a third of the material to be chiseled out and replaced. The messy repair work covered the newly painted walls and the fabric-covered ceiling with a fine gray dust.

The ceiling then had to be replaced with new tiles that had to be flown in from the island of Oahu, as did all of the lighting fixtures. But in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the islands' airports were closed and shipping was backlogged. The wiring work had to wait for the arrival of the fixtures, which finally were delivered less than a week before the planned opening. After long days and nights of work, construction was completed on September 30, and Life's Treasures opened on schedule — just barely.

The biggest challenge was to turn the store's narrow 20-by-40-foot space into a welcoming retail environment. To draw shoppers in, the Naeas outfitted Life's Treasures with an attention-getting Oriental gateway and a teak footbridge. The floor beneath the bridge combines carpeting and slate installed in curvilinear shapes to resemble flowing water. In addition, Naea painted the interior walls a warm shade of peach, and custom-designed display pieces — including a unique curved shelf unit — that finish the naturalistic theme while maintaining focus on the merchandise.

The naturalistic design theme continues with several water features, including two 4-foot hammered-copper fountains, wall fountains, and Oriental style celadon fountains. A variety of wind chimes, activated by fans, add a sensual, almost sylvan appeal to the store, and an eclectic mix of merchandise encompasses both local products and resources from around the world. Tibetan wall hangings, crystals, music, stationery, jewelry, and feng shui products are showcased.

To their surprise, the Naeas found that the majority of their customers are not tourists. Rather, 75 percent are locals, with visitors mostly brought by residents of the island. And Life's Treasures has developed a loyal following among tourists who return for subsequent vacations.

Because it is located on a small island, the store's most effective promotions are word of mouth and mailings. The unique location has other benefits as well. Naea says that she gets a good sense of changing trends and tastes from well traveled customers. "People come to Hawaii from all over the world, so we can see where our customers are going and what their interests are."

That information aids her buying, as do trade shows and magazines. Besides the small Hawaii Gift Show, Naea attends Los Angeles' California Gift Show and the San Francisco International Gift Fair, and intends to add the Denver Gift Show and the Tucson Gem Show as well. Since few sales reps cover her area, she primarily works directly with the owners and managers of smaller companies: About 60 vendors provide her approximately 2,000 SKUs.

Has all the hard work paid off? Linda Naea certainly thinks so. "Everything we've done has worked out well," she explains. "The business is growing really quickly." Life's Treasures has experienced double digit sales increases every month since its opening, and in a business where fourth quarter sales commonly represent well over half the year's income, the shop's March 2002 sales were only 9 percent less than December 2001. Total sales for the first year could reach $300,000. Linda Naea's mentor would be proud.