We’re Hooked on Chinatown’s New Leather Goods Store Hook and Hide
The leather specialty boutique not only stocks wallets, belts, bags and lei but also fish leather products.
A love of leatherwork brought handbag designer Samantha Hook and Michael Bluth together in 2021, when Hook reached out in search of a local leather source. The following year, Bluth picked up Hook’s Tidal Theory line for Open Sea Leather, his small accessories shop in Chinatown. Now, the two have joined forces at Hook and Hide, their spacious new boutique on the corner of Nu‘uanu Avenue and Smith Street.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Bluth offers his hand-stitched wallets in 20 designs, while Hook has introduced gorgeous leather lei made in collaboration with Luka Naeole. The store boasts its own in-house line featuring custom belts, footwear, bags and more. There are also finds from local indie labels, such as OTM MTN vintage alohawear, El Dorado Casting Lab jewelry and Heavenly apparel. “It was important to us to create a space that showcases different Chinatown artists,” Hook says.
Perhaps the most exciting development is the store’s deep dive into fish leather. We’re talking everything from kanpachi and salmon to ‘ahi, ta‘ape and ‘ōpakaka, hand-dyed in the most beautiful colors.
Hook and Bluth are also in the early stages of creating a fish tannery in partnership with nonprofit Conservation International Hawai‘i (the shop currently carries its ta‘ape sneakers, made with P448 and Chef Hui). “We’ll be focusing on postconsumer waste from Hawaiian fish, mainly mahi and kanpachi, caught and farmed for food,” Bluth explains. Currently, they’re part of an incubator program and plan to crowdfund to get the project started. If everything shakes out, it will be Hawai‘i’s first fish tannery and only the second in the U.S.
1136 Nu‘uanu Ave., Chinatown, hookandhide.com, @hookandhidehawaii
SEE ALSO: Craft Your Own Leather Bag at Open Sea Leather Co.
Brie Thalmann is managing style editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
