Aloha and welcome back to my workstation today.

Today, I am still working on my March custom orders. This pair of earrings is a custom order from a customer from my Etsy shop. She purchased the same style and color of earrings back in September 2025 and has been waiting all this time to place another order. I am truly grateful for her patience, and today I am working on her earrings.

Kipona style is such a fun style to work with, as it allows different types of shells and techniques to come together in one design. This pair is based on her original design — she requested the same colors and pattern from her first order, so today I will be gently finding the right shell colors to recreate this piece for her.

Finding the Right Momi Shells — Size and Color

Because I have created this pair of earrings before, I already know what colors of shells and how many I will need. So I go back to my shell collection and begin looking for those same colors again. The easiest way for me to do this is to take a handful of shells, so it feels more comfortable to go through them one by one.

Since this design flows together with Pikake and a four-strand Poepoe, I know the base needs to feel a little bit larger, so I look for M-L size Momi shells that carry that soft red waha.

First, I look for clean shells — no color, no striping — in M-L size. Once I find one, I gently flip each shell back and forth, checking to make sure it is the color I am looking for and that it has that beautiful red waha. When it feels right, I set it aside and continue. I keep going slowly, because I need to find enough in good quantity so they will pair and match nicely in size, color, and shape.

 

After sorting through my Momi shells collection, this is what I found for this custom order — soft white Momi shells with a gentle touch of red waha.

Finding Kahelelani Shells Color

For this pair of earrings, I will need Kahelelani shells in red, pink flower, and deep red burgundy tones. So, the first thing I do is decide what size I want to use, and at the same time, check what sizes I have in all these colors. Because the center of the earrings will be created in a four-strand Poepoe style, I take a little time to make sure everything will come together nicely.

Red Kahelelani shells are a rare color, so it takes me some time to find the right ones. I go through my collection slowly, and little by little, I begin to see the colors come together. It looks like I have found enough in all three colors and quantity to create this custom pair of earrings.

The red burgundy Kahelelani shells have some of the most beautiful luster among all the colors. In my experience, they are also the hardest to poke because they are so slippery.

Beautiful pink flower Kahelelani shells add a soft, gentle look, and this is one of the colors that can be harder to find.

My next stage is poking. This part takes a little more time, as I carefully prepare each shell before I can begin stringing them together. Now I have all the colors of Kahelelani and Momi shells I need to create these earrings, and I will be working on poking next.

If you would like to see how the earrings turn out, please check back next time — I will share how I go through the poking and stringing to bring this beautiful custom pair of earrings together.

Much aloha for stopping by my workstation today. I hope to see you again next time.

Janjira