LIHU‘E — Judy Camara and her son, Adam, came all the way from Fresno, Calif., yesterday, hot, tired, but just glad to have won a free trip to Kaua‘i, courtesy of Island Soap & Candle Works in Kilauea. They’re the
LIHU‘E — Judy Camara and her son, Adam, came all the way from Fresno, Calif., yesterday, hot, tired, but just glad to have won a free trip to Kaua‘i, courtesy of Island Soap & Candle Works in Kilauea.
They’re the winners of the Fourth Annual “Tell a Friend” contest, and the Kaua‘i-based company paid for round-trip airfare from Oakland, a week’s stay at the Aloha Beach Resort, a gift package of products, discounts at their Koloa and Kilauea stores, and a tour of their factory in Kapa‘a.
Sounds kind of like “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” doesn’t it? Only this trip is real — worth at least $1,700.
“The breeze feels so good out here,” said a relieved Judy Camara, who touched down at cool Lihu‘e Airport direct from Oakland via Aloha Airlines. Adam said he’s hitting the waves on a surfboard as soon as they get settled in their digs, while the other kids said they’re going surfing and horseback riding.
But the fantasy trip almost didn’t happen, explained Steve Mitchell of Island Soap & Candle.
“I e-mailed to first announce it to her and after a no-response I followed with a phone call,” Mitchell said. “After a lot of assurance that she had really won and (I) was not trying to sell her something or a gimmick, she finally believed me and was very excited.”
The two are being accompanied by their Fresno friends, the Burnetts, who didn’t want to miss out on the Kaua‘i trip, which they paid for themselves.
Visitors to the Kaua‘i-based company’s Web site, www.islandsoap.com, enter various friends’ names, giving the company word-of-mouth advertising. In exchange, online shoppers get a shot at a trip to paradise.
“She had recently visited Kaua‘i last year, and never expected to be returning so soon,” Mitchell said.
Island Soap & Candle is one of Kaua‘i’s true success stories.
Started in 1984, the company began out in Kekaha, moved to Kilauea, began producing en masse from their Kapa‘a factory, and later opened a store in Koloa. Word got out and, soon, demand for the fragrant line of soaps, candles and lotions forced them to open shops on Maui and in O‘ahu’s Ward Center.
The business was established with the intention of re-creating the ancient art of soap making, Mitchell said. They now manufacture a full line of natural Hawaiian botanical products, beeswax candles and other gift items — all made on Kaua‘i and found in sundry and fine gift shops throughout Hawai‘i.
Workers at Island Soap & Candle Works make traditional South Pacific soap using pure coconut oil, and a line of specialty soaps, adding coconut oil, olive, palm, macadamia and kukui-nut oils combined with herbs and essential oils. All their soaps are made entirely of vegetable oils. Unlike most of the machine-made soap on store shelves today, the glycerin which is naturally produced with saponification is left in Island Soap products, making it more beneficial to the skin, Mitchell explained.
Wholesale products are available at ABC stores, Hilo Hattie, Longs, and over 300 smaller stores throughout the islands.
Phil Hayworth, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or phayworth@pulitzer.net.
