Kaua‘i Dry Goods’ Charming Paper Products

This Garden Isle gal’s got some serious cute-making skills.

The big city is really starting to get to us. The hustle and bustle are driving us mad, the noise is making us wince and, as for pau hana traffic? Talk about hell on earth. We seriously need to get away.

We’re a little short on Hawaiian miles and vacation hours, though, so we’re having a mini staycation with our shopping tastes instead. Take a virtual trip with us to The Garden Isle, the hometown of Kaua‘i Dry Goods’ Ashlee Fujimoto, who is whipping up some downright charming paper goods that are making us totally forget our inner city woes. Plus, this outer island artist—who is a civil engineer by day!—has got a pretty exciting lineup of projects in the works that will bring even more of her work to us in the metropolitan center, no bag-packing required.

Check out her fly little greeting cards that have a children’s-book-illustrations-meets-local-flair feel we are loving. From the beautifully painted “I love you like a mango” card to a thank you option tiled with sliced liliko‘i to a festive pau hana piece lined with cocktails and beers, her work is making us want to book a flight to Kaua‘i ASAP. Fortunately, Fujimoto, who is now based in Honolulu, has projects now in Owen’s and Co. and SoHA Living so that won’t be necessary. She also has an Etsy shop stocked with even more goodies, such as art prints and notecards. Plus, look out for a collab with Wrappily in the near future.

But Fujimoto’s into more than just chasing paper. You can also her buy her ultra-adorable fabric, sporting stylized pineapples, leaves, heliconia and more, on Spoonflower, and she just collaborated with local kids' brand Naturally Young at Heart with a sweet pineapple-covered romper and other wearable treats for your kiddos. Oh, and did we mention you’ll be able to scope out her illustration prowess in the June issue of HONOLULU Magazine?

One-way trip to cuteness, here we come.