Special Order Shoes

Ahi's been working hard on his tattoos and reinvesting in his t-shirts, so he doesn't do many shoes anymore, but he'll still do special orders. Hit him up through Facebook or email.

Here's last night's work on Justin Hirae's gift from Jenna Aina: the phoenix and koi - free hand on old-school black Converses

O'ahu tattoo session

Ahi was in Honolulu for the Bruno Mars concert and hooked up with his cousin Josh Ah Sing to do Josh's leg piece. Next Oahu trip: spring break.

The Ah Sing Sisters

For thanksgiving, my cousins from Oahu came to the Big Island to enjoy the simpler life, a nice vacation from the hustle and bustle that the city brings. Two of my cousins that I am particularly close with, Lacey and Hope Ah Sing, decided to get tattooed while they were here. Due to certain circumstances out of any of our control, these tattoos had to take place at night. So we got to the house at about 9:30 p.m and began the brainstorming process of what to do as a tattoo. It was only then that we realized, "wow, we have no idea what we're going to do." the funny part to this story is that Lacey and I were planning this tattoo for a couple months in advance but due to sheer laziness, there were no official sketches done before hand.
So after about an hour an a half or so of going back and forth on designs and placement, we finally decided on a tattoo. First up, was Lacey, because at first, Lacey was the only one scheduled to be tattooed. We drew out the design on to her foot and we were off and 30 minutes later, the first tattoo was completed with very little whimpering or commotion.
This is about the time when Hope(the one with the ideas) decided that she wanted to get the same tattoo done but differently. Hope said the the tiare was in fact HER favorite flower and if her sister could handle, so could she.
So, with the second verse the same as the first, we began the adventure which was tattooing Hope. Unlike her kaikuaana, Hope was a little more apprehensive to the needle and as soon as the Machine began, so did the torture. This marathon of both pain and laughter consisted of a half and hour session with breaks ever two minutes or so with one great cramp towards the end. When all was said and done however, the out come was well worth the endeavor resulting in two beautiful tattoos, two sisters bonded by ink, and one unforgettable night.

Congratulations Lacey and Hope!

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Getting ready for the Kamahalo Craft Fair in Volcano. We know itʻs far, but Kamahalo is actually run by our family (grandma Hughes), so weʻll brave the cold. Kamahalo is one of our kupuna from Molokaʻi.

There are also lots of artists in Volcano Village who open up their studios for thanksgiving weekend. Come by if youʻre in the neighborhood. Weʻve got black Friday specials on our newest wahine t - Maluhia because this is the season for peace. The shirts are fitted for curves, but we also have some xl loose for the more modest gals.

We'll also be bringing our trucker hats. Remember, everything is original so if you like it, get it. No one else will ever have the same hat as you.

It's been a while...

Yea, so it's been a while since this blog has even been touched but I promise to make up for it. Here are some updates of what 808 iD has been up to lately.

So first off as you all know, I have gotten into tattooing and have slowly been working on making my work better and and stronger each time. The first is a good friend of mine, Britney who has been so generous as to be my "Japanese-style tattoo testing dummy". Luck for her, it actually went better than expected resulting in a beautiful mash-up of a koi, lotus, sakura, and her kanji "Naka-Yama". Next of with her we're going to try and tackle some Thai style lettering to represent her moms side of the family...wish me luck on that one.

Next up we have one of the cool kids from my high school hangout spot, Amanda Panda....not Panda is not really her last name.  This tattoo by far was the most fun and technically challenging tattoos i've done to date, in one session no less. Girl took it like a champ and the mana'o behind this piece is the reason I began tattooing.

Last up, the Kamahalo Christmas craft fair is soon approaching, Nov. 26-27, at the Cooper Center in Volcano. There will be a special sale for everyone who comes on Black Friday only. Details will be posted up on this blog as well as the facebook page on thursday.

The real deal

Let me just start off by saying that this tattoo was one of the most roller-coaster like tattoo i've ever done. The first session was on a whim, the second session was totally frustrating and discouraging, and the final session was one of the best ever.
Now that I got that out of the way, this tattoo was a powerful stepping stone in both the life of the recipient as well as my own. This is the first real tattoo of size that I have completely finished on my own from start to pau.

O ka pueo ka hoailona

In Hawaii there are legends told of powerful Pele, magestic 'aumakua, and mystical hoailona. The pueo is both one of the many 'aumakua protecting and watching over the people of Hawaii nei but also one of the most powerful and beautiful hoailona or "signs". The pueo represents protection and knowledge, traits similar to the bird itself. Many people look to it in times of uncertainty and struggle with hopes that the pueo will guide them through.
This pueo once finished will do the same for it's wearer with designs that incorporate family and strength through this new chapter in his life.

Kau i ke kukulu

"Kau i ke kukulu" Roughly translates to building on the foundation. This phrase best describes my personal journey through tattoos. My first tattoo I received was when I graduated high school and was on my shoulder. That tattoo for me represented my family, my transition into a new stage of life as well as the mo'o. The mo'o or lizard was one of the many 'aumakua worshiped throughout the islands and one of the most famous lived not too far from where I live now. Panaewa(the mo'o) was famous his epic battles against Pele and Hi'iaka. However, mo'o as a word was a very important one to the Hawaiians. Mo'o, besides meaning lizard, was also a prefix to a lot of powerful hua'olelo. For example Mo'olelo, Mo'okuauhau, Mo'opuna, and so on. The basic gist of this is that it represents lineal movement through time, generations, and stories. This mo'o was the beginning of my tattoo journey.

The newest work is something a little different. It's Traditional Hawaiian designs with a little bit of asian flow to it. It is also the next step in my journey. The first part(on my shoulder) was to represent my family and to know that I have a strong foundation in them. This next step is for protection as I set forth on my own journey as a young man. My journey through life is nowhere near being done...and neither is my tattoo journey!

All about progression

The aftermath of session number two on the pe'a. We stuck with the sort of Filipino feel with the turtle shell pattern but we also started putting in the Samoan designs as well. This is definitely a more modern version of the traditional pe'a. The part the goes from his back and on to his hip is a representation of the lashing that was used to bind the houses together. The part on his lower back(i call it his "tramp stamp" haha) is the kawa bowl with different patterns represented in the lashing of the houses. *The Kawa bowl design was done by my mentor, Uncle Ni

The road to manhood

In Samoa,when a boy was to become a man, he was put to the ultimate test, the pe'a. The pe'a traditionally, was tattooed on a boy when he was ready to become a man and was done to test and push the boys pain tolerance. It was also to protect the boy for his life as a man. Each design was significant and were based off of different things in nature that inflicted pain.

For this Pe'a that I started on a friend of mine with the help of my mentor, Rodney Powell, the meaning for it is the same but the designs are a little different. Traditionally, the pe'a is tattooed from top to bottom so that is what we did as well. The first element is always the wa'a which represents the journey. This wa'a is based off of the Hawaiian style wa'a with traditional Filipino designs incorporated with in it.

This tattoo is and will be symbolic for the both of us because it is his first tattoo as well as my first tattoo of this magnitude. Malo Kupaianaha! Congratulations on the beginning of your journey.

Mommy's new tattoo

So my mom and I were talking about finishing up her back that our tattoo artist had started but I had to decline the offer because it wasn't my project. Instead of that, we decided to do something for the youngest of the three boys, Pono. When My mom got her tattoos for me and my older brother, it was for graduation but she decided to get this one a little sooner, just in case when the time comes around he might not want to get one. However, this tattoo is much more that just a tattoo of the youngest in our family, it's also to represent the completion of our family. The he'e design along the outside of it represents Pono, and how hes a little more reserved and to himself that the rest of us but he always had a good grasp on things just like the octopus. He also has the eye for seeing he'e while diving which any local knows, is hard. The four Iwa represent the four men in my moms life, my dad, my older brother, me, and pono. And the lauhala pattern on symbolizes her family strength and unity. And the "Kapua'i" design between the lauhala represent the steps of her kupuna.

Alyssa ice cream cone

Alyssa, my homie from back in Nelly's Trig class, has been my so called "go-to" friend when I ever wanted to talk about art or more recently, tattoos. She has a couple of tattoos herself and was nice enough to let me practice new tattooing techniques on her. Keep in mind, this design was totally spur of the moment after about an hour long session of catching up and trying to think of a design. Finally, from a design I had tucked a way in one of my sketchbooks, we decided to do this ice cream cone. This was my first experience with color and I think it went well regardless of the fact that I had to mix most of my colors. It was a fun session and hopefully we'll be have more spontaneous tattoos in the near future.

works in progress

Being a new tattoo artist, I knew it was crazy to expect that I'd be able to take on every tattoo with the ability as a veteran but I figured if I go a bit at a time, the pieces will get better as we go along and will show the progress i make with each new tattoo. Here are two projects I started, one on my friend Britney, and the other on my brother Isaac. These are the first attempts in their respective styles but will definitely not be the last. As an artist I try not to confine myself to specific styles but I will say that these two styles are my main focuses.  

Brits Back Piece


Isaacs Back Piece

Jennas Pueo

Just did this the other day on my good friend Jenna Pang-ching. Her aumakua are both the pueo(owl) and the puhi(eel). So to combine the two I put the features of the pueo along with its feathers and incorporated it into a design in the shape of the puhi's body. Both aumakua are protectors in the two realms in which they reside, the pueo in Wao ka lani(the sky) and the puhi in kai 'akea(the ocean). This tattoo will serve as protection as well as her own "808 iD" as she travels to Portland Oregon to attend College.

Papale Pulelehua

So I've been working on butterflies lately because I'm working on a tattoo for a friend. So when I finished all of the butterflies she asked for, I decided to make just one more while the idea was still fresh in my mind. So this is Papale Pulelehua or "Butterfly hat"...yeah that's all I can think of, oh well.

808 iD blog Button

So here at 808 iD we just a got a little bit more tech smart in the past couple months and we are excited to present our 808 iD button. This button can be posted on any html formatted website and will link viewers to this site here. So please support 808 iD by posting this button on your myspace(if anyone still uses it), blogs, tumblrs, and anything else you can think of! Get the word out


Copy the code below and paste it on to your sites. Mahalo nui loa for the continued support!

<center><a href="http://www.808id.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4778946780_61bce6a9e4_m.jpg" /></a></center>

Summer Project

So it's been a while since I posted what I have been up to. So this summer, besides working on hats, tattoos, and new graphics, I decided to start a "home improvement" project. Below are some pics of the wall that I've been painting in my soon to be studio.

Masking up my lines before I begin painting

first coats of paint

Everyone needs an assistant

Almost done, just have to fill in the white spaces and we're good

close-up of the right side that I did

Close-up of the left side that Jenna did "Pauole Ka Uhane"

July 4 Inventory (so far)

Chocolate Brown Truckers

Not done yet, but trying a more subtle look for the chocolate brown trucker. What do you think?

Hat blanks are in

Ua Mau t's

A modern take on Kauikeaouli's, Kamehameha III's, proclamation spoken on July 31, 1843. This was the day that sovereignty was restored to Hawaii by proclamation of Queen Victoria following a five-month-long rogue British occupation. The motto appears on the coat of arms of the kingdom of Hawaii and was adopted in May 1845.

It is popularly translated as "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness," but based on the context of the original proclamation, we prefer to say, "the sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

We have white men's t-shirts and black with pink wahine tanks. If you're interested and don't want to wait until the Volcano 4th of July craft fair, e-mail Ahi (808idesign@gmail.com) or comment on the blog or Facebook.

Mother's Day Crocs

My mother's day shoes. It's becoming a tradition that for mother's day I get shoes from Ahi. I actually had these red ballet shoe Crocs, then he started making a tiare design, changed his mind, erased what he did (ancient Pake secret), then came up with this multi-layer design.

Art is music. Music is art.

So I found an old Suzuki guitar(yea, I've never heard of that either) at my grandmas house like a year ago and it was in pretty bad shape. The varnish on the body was all cracked and blistered so I decided to sand it all down and hook it up, 808 iD style. Here at 808 iD we tattoo just about anything we can get our hands on and this guitar was no different. I drew inspiration from more Samoan motifs, because that's just the mood I was in, but I also threw a clef note in there with a little tribal twist after talking to one of my friends about a tattoo he saw including the treble clef. Hopefully, this is the first of more to come, If the next couple ones I have lined up work out, I might just start taking orders and add guitars to my product list as well.

Now I just need to learn how to play.

Wahine o ke kai

Special order for Anake Sunny. She's giving it as a gift :-)!

Women's Tennis hats

Anake Dianne's hibiscus tennis hat

Seen em da arare

Mahalo to Uncle Kinohi of Hawnmade who wore the 808iD Kawili T at his "Feed My Tummy" show! You're the first "Seen em da arare" star.

Kāwili shirts now available in black and ice gray

Kāwili - blend - these 808iD originals blend traditional ohe kapala designs with modern tattoo styles. It's all about "know your roots, know yourself."

Interested? Email me (808idesign@gmail.com) or comment with your email. 
S - XL =  $15
XXL = $17
If you're in Hilo, free pickup. All others, $5 shipping.

Mahalo!

kukui hele po

kukui hele po
Originally uploaded by 808iD

"Kukui Hele Po" or lantern is the first piece I painted for my Next Generation art show happening this thursday along side with Kiki Campbells art of fashion showcase. Check it out at the Kammehameha high school chapel(William Charles Lunalilo Center) on 4/22 3p.m to 5

Buy One, Get One Free Jamba

Don't you hate those commercials for food with the fine print that says "not available in Hawaii." This one is good in Hawaii. Go to the link,  http://www.jambajuice.com/20thcoupon/index.html print out the coupon and head over to the Prince Kuhio Mall jamba or the one near you.
Now - 4/25.

YIN YANG battle

YIN YANG battle- Final
Originally uploaded by 808iD

Now that Merrie Monarch is over I have time to get back to my other roots and do some practice work before I begin rep for next year. This weeks sunday sketch took a little longer than usual and actually took Sunday AND Monday night to finish due to all of the shading. I did this as a concept pice for ma boy Charlie. We were talking about dope tattoo ideas and this came up. The story is that the dragon and the tiger represent Yin and Yang who are constantly in battle but wouldn't be complete without each other.

8ish hours total of sketching, outlining, and shading...shading took the longest obviously

enjoy