Island Style Shopping

If you love vacation shopping, Maui will oblige you. There are chic resort boutiques, funky knick-knack shops, elegant galleries, trendy tropical clothing stores, and weekend crafts fairs.

You’ll be impressed by the fine arts and crafts of local artists, many of whom are well-known in international art circles. The island seems to draw artists of all kinds, painters, sculptors, ceramists, woodworkers, and jewelers, and there are plenty of galleries eager to display their work.

Shopping is fun and varied around the island. You can purchase your requisite T-shirts at a dozen different stores along Front Street in Lahaina; peruse the quirky gift shops of Paia and Makawao; or find yourself the latest, hottest bikini in a Wailea resort boutique.

The locals, of course, would like you to look for products that are “Made on Maui” and have labeled them with a logo of Haleakala. Following are some Maui-made products to look for:

• Clothing: You’ll find aloha shirts, mu’umu’u, and sundresses, as well as men’s sportswear with that special island flair.
• Fine art: There are so many fine galleries, you could spend an entire vacation looking at artwork. Local artists and artisans are talented and friendly and love to talk to you about their work.
• Wooden bowls, carvings, and furniture: Rich, luminous koa wood is a favorite of Hawaiian carvers, but you can find sculptures and furniture made of many types of tropical hardwoods.
• Flowers: Upcountry flower farms specialize in protea, exotic flowers which come in many sizes and colors. They can be sent to the Mainland fresh or dried and make unusual souvenirs and gifts. A fresh, fragrant lei is also a wonderful gift and a luxury to wear — treat yourself often!
• Food items: Maui entrepreneurs have created dozens of Maui-made food products for snacking and carrying (or sending) back home — pineapples, papayas, Maui onions, potato chips, taro chips, sweet bread, cookies, macadamia nuts, jams, jellies, chutneys, salad dressings, coffee, herb teas, and more.
• Other souvenirs: There are also many Maui-made skin products, suntan lotions, perfumes, essential oils, soaps, and shampoos. Their tropical scents will remind you of the island long after you’ve left.