Plus Sizes in Paradise?!
CEO - KimPublished August 25, 2010 at 4:39 pm 2 Comments
At this moment, I’m sitting poolside with the resort’s Wi-Fi in full use. Yup – I’m on our annual family vacation in Maui. I try to turn off work as much as possible and be fully into swimming, building sand castles, and just well…relaxing. And I have! Well kind of….
Yesterday we went to a funky restaurant located right on the beach called Cheeseburger in Paradise. (No need to guess we had for dinner!) With a breathtaking view of Lahaina, the restaurant inside was decked out with interesting license plates from across the US. On the inside cover of the menu was the story of how this unique restaurant ,now one of 8, came to be. As an entrepreneur who loves a good start-up story and would love to soak up some inspiration anytime and anywhere, this was a must read.
In a nutshell, back in the days of Aqua Net and leg warmers (1980s), two girlfriends were making custom frames and selling them on the weekends at a local swap meet. Together, they took a vacation to Maui and after so many days of fish tacos, they realized that they would love a good ol’ fashion gooey cheeseburger. After getting back to reality and making some more frames, they basically decided to just do it. They borrowed half a million, made every mistake in the book and now have a total of 8 locations – as they say, the rest is history!
Wow – I love that story! Why? Because I can relate. At 22, my best girlfriend (a curvy 18) and I were on vacation and I noticed that many of the clothes she packed didn’t have labels. When she told me her mom actually made some of her clothes because there was nothing stylish in plus-sizes in the stores, I had my light bulb (or for the sake of this blog…cheeseburger) moment! I borrowed money, made way too many mistakes, and the stylish plus size Kiyonna line can now be found online in 100+ boutiques and in dozens of stores internationally.
But, as far as Paradise? I’m noticing we don’t have too much of a presence here. I’ll be working on that when I come back. Promise. But for now, it’s back to this reality. The pool is calling.
Aloha.
At this moment, I’m sitting poolside with the resort’s Wi-Fi in full use. Yup – I’m on our annual family vacation in Maui. I try to turn off work as much as possible and be fully into swimming, building sand castles, and just well…relaxing. And I have! Well kind of….
Yesterday we went to a funky restaurant located right on the beach called Cheeseburger in Paradise. (No need to guess we had for dinner!) With a breathtaking view of Lahaina, the restaurant inside was decked out with interesting license plates from across the US. On the inside cover of the menu was the story of how this unique restaurant (now one of 
came to be. As an entrepreneur who loves a good start-up story and would love to soak up some inspiration anytime and anywhere, this was a must read.
came to be. As an entrepreneur who loves a good start-up story and would love to soak up some inspiration anytime and anywhere, this was a must read.In a nutshell, back in the days of Aqua Net and leg warmers (1980s), two girlfriends were making custom frames and selling them on the weekends at a local swap meet. Together, they took a vacation to Maui and after so many days of fish tacos, they realized that they would love a good ol’ fashion gooey cheeseburger. After getting back to reality and making some more frames, they basically decided to just do it. They borrowed half a million, made every mistake in the book and now have a total of 8 locations – as they say, the rest is history!
Wow – I love that story! Why? Because I can relate. At 22, my best girlfriend (a curvy 18) and I were on vacation and I noticed that many of the clothes she packed didn’t have labels. When she told me her mom actually made some of her clothes because there was nothing stylish in plus-sizes in the stores, I had my light bulb (or for the sake of this blog…cheeseburger) moment! I borrowed money, made way too many mistakes, and the stylish plus size Kiyonna line can now be found online in 100+ boutiques and in dozens of stores internationally.
But, as far as Paradise? I’m noticing we don’t have too much of a presence here. I’ll be working on that when I come back. Promise. But for now, it’s back to this reality. The pool is calling.
Aloha.
Yes!!
Finally….I am a resident of Hawaii and have been waiting to hear that Kiyonna will be getting out this way…There is a HUGE Plus size population in Hawaii. I find I always have to order via mail to Kiyonna when I want the latest fashions and style..Can’t wait for it to happen. Mahalo Kiyonna!
YES PLEASE! The only quality plus size clothing I’ve been able to find here on Maui is at Macy’s… It’s either bedazzled beyond belief or fits like a box. I’m a 0X-1X so most INC clothes, even the 0X are way too big and the XL is too small! I would LOVE to see your clothing in a shop here.