The Fashionable Frequent Flyers

Hands down, the ultimate Hawaiian accessory (next to a flower lei) is a flower crown, which is called Lei’Po’o or Haku lei. You can wear it all-natural or even synthetic, although I highly recommend going natural (less plastic). Being adorned with the beautiful tropical flowers of Hawaii is an experience in itself! The traditional art of lei’po’o making has been practiced for hundreds of years and has been passed down from generation to generation. Personally, I’ve always admired lei’po’os. Something about having a crown made of beautifully curated flowers makes me happy! No lie, every time I wear a lei’po’o I’m in a good mood and I refuse to have a bad day while rocking a flower crown. On a serious note, I truly believe that the beloved lei’po’o is much more than an accessory-it goes deeper than that.

To learn more about the art form, I participated in a lei’po’o-making workshop hosted by @eco_mindful_lei, where we learned how to create gorgeous lei’po’os sustainably (free of plastics, wiring, ribbon, or tape). By doing so we were mindfully creating with nature and later (when we dispose of the lei) returned it to nature. All of the flowers and leaves were collected and sourced from Gina’s beautiful tropical garden, not to mention, before we began working on our leis, we meditated and set our intentions so that we can flow our aloha energy into the lei’po’o. In the end, I was pretty satisfied with the final result, I choose big and bright flowers mixed with ti and Indian song leaves. I stored it in my fridge for a few weeks before throwing it back into the ocean. A few months later, I ended up making another lei’po’o with my good friend Yomi using only ti leaves. This time around I decided to hang them up in my apt, where the leaves eventually dried out-home decor goals for real! If you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend making a lei’po’o, it is therapeutic and helps you stretch your creativity!