LIHU‘E — Rainbeau Jo’s said on Saturday that the concept of thrifting is very popular on the mainland.
“It’s starting to catch on in Honolulu, too,” said Raiden Pagatpatan of Ukay Vintage. “We were lucky that Rainbeau Jo’s allowed us to do a pop-up in his back parking lot.”
Pagatpatan, a Kaua‘i High School graduate from the Class of 2019, said he’s been practicing thrifting for a couple of months. Saturday’s pop-up was the first time he’s been out in the community because Rainbeau Jo’s allowed him to set up behind the coffee shop.
“This is new,” he said. “But everything in here has a history. It’s been used. The good part about thrifting is the people you meet, both as contributors and buyers, and hearing the stories about the clothes.”
“Ukay” means “thrift” in Tagalog, the young man said. “In Filipino, we usually say it twice, ‘Ukay ukay.’ But, it’s OK to just say it once, ‘Ukay’ to mean ‘thrift.’”
Pagatpatan’s merchandise offering spanned the gamut of T-shirts, aloha shirts that other vendors market as “gently-used,” baseball caps and more.
Rainbeau Jo’s likes the idea because it is sustainable, finds new life for items that would otherwise end up in the landfill, and the company is owned by a young entrepreneur who is bringing a new (to Kaua‘i) concept of marketing to the island.
Relying on social media, lukayvtg@, Pagatpatan said the easiest way for people to contact him is through email at rpagatpatan14@gmail.com. Another method is through an app, depop.com/vtg_ukay.
