Kapa Curious loves to support other local artisans and practioners in Hawaii. Click here to shop some of their unique kūpeʻe jewelry.

A Kūpeʻes Song…

Kūpe’e (Nerita polita) are prized by the Hawaiian people for itʻs beauty, color, and patterns. It was once used, and still used today, for food, earrings, bracelets, and lei. The rarer the color the more coveted it was for the aliʻi (chiefs). The kūpeʻe can only be found during the darkest nights as they crawl out of the sand and into the rocks to eat limu. The colors and designs vary depending on the temperature of the water and the amount of sunlight it is exposed to.

Kaiu collects her kūpeʻe from all over Hawaii. One of our favorite things about working with Kawainohia Collections is seeing and hearing the stories people share with Kaiu about their kūpeʻe and offering to gift or sell their shells to her.

Once Kaiu has obtained sufficient amount of shells her ʻohana and her begin the long and laborious task of cleaning, polishing, and matching the kūpeʻe shells. The sound of the shells meeting each other in the bowl as they are washed and as they clink together when being sorted creates a beautiful song unlike any other.

Check out some of Kawainohiaʻs unique kūpeʻe jewelry here.