Editor’s note: This is an ongoing weekly feature in The Garden Island. It focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today. “It is hard to look at him and his smile and
Editor’s note: This is an ongoing weekly feature in The Garden Island. It focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today.
“It is hard to look at him and his smile and not smile yourself,” said Joanna Carolan when talking about Skot Barrelle, studio manager at the Kilauea location of her Banana Patch Studio, “The sense of aloha he brings is catching.”
Barrelle’s genuine appreciation of Kauai and its natural beauty began almost a decade ago.
“I fell madly in love with Kauai. The coastline was breathtaking,” he recalled about his first approach to the Lihue airport. “I think it was the first time I ever really saw color. All the reds and peaches and yellows were so vibrant and alive.”
Compared to where he’d grown up in Lancaster, Pa., Kauai was a newfound tropical paradise. From there the experience of sharing his passion for hospitality eventually took him to the Accents Store at the Princeville St. Regis Hotel, where he worked as a sales associate.
“My job there was so much more than ringing up Coca Cola and making sure people got their sun block,” he said. “I’d read somewhere that some CEO said you can sell toilets or anything you want as long as you are connected to the humanity of society. That is the most important thing.”
Taking the CEO’s advice to heart, Barrelle quickly started racking up positive customer feedback. Several of his customers were mentioning him by name on Travelocity reviews online with comments like, “Check out a guy named Skot. He was the highlight of our vacation.”
Since moving into a management position at the Banana Patch Studio where he sells made in Kauai art and ceramics, the compliments just keep coming. A customer returned to the studio after her lunch to say, “If I had an award to give you, it would be for the kindest person I’ve ever met.”
Barrelle said he uses a simple golden rule, “Always be kind to others.”
“It is hard to look at him and his smile and not smile yourself,” said Joanna Carolan when talking about Skot Barrelle, studio manager at the Kilauea location of her Banana Patch Studio, “The sense of aloha he brings is catching.”
That kindness was not always shown to him while growing up. His artistic, creative flair made others see him as different, he remembers.
He vowed as an adult to have compassion for all walks of life and firmly believes hatred and intolerance are taught personality traits, not natural inclinations.
“Whatever energy I give out each day, comes back to me, it really does,” said Barrelle. “It’s a cycle. If you consciously work at treating people with kindness every day, you’ll notice how it comes back to you in money and in friendships. It really does. I see it happen all the time.”
Barrelle’s fans come in all sizes. Recently, a 7-year-old girl visiting from Mexico took notice of Barrelle’s essence. She simply pointed at him and his striking silver white hair as he stood inside the studio and said, “You look like an angel.”
If you know a person you would like to see featured in The Garden Island, who is lokomaikai, email Lisa Ann Capozzi at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
