01Our Story
A handmade welcome from someone who actually lives here.
Pier & Palm started with a laser cutter, a stack of scrap koa, and a simple wish: that no one leaves Maui having only seen the inside of a souvenir shop.
02How it began
A few years ago I watched a cruise ship unload two thousand people who all walked the same three blocks, bought the same imported keychains, and boarded again by three o'clock having never met a single person who calls this island home. That felt like a missed chance — for them, and for us.
So I began cutting little wooden turtles — honu — one at a time on my laser cutter, sanding and oiling each by hand. I'd meet folks at the pier, hand one over, and point them toward the beach my family actually swims at, the fruit stand my neighbor runs, the loco moco that isn't on any tour brochure.
The magnets are always free. There's no upsell, no timeshare pitch, no catch. They're a small, honest way of saying welcome — and a reminder to visit the makers, cooks and guides who keep this island's culture alive.
03The Mission
Every magnet is a doorway to a real Maui.
Pier & Palm isn't a store — it's a welcome hub. The free guidebook, the pier meetups and the marketplace all point the same direction: toward the people who live and make here. When a visitor buys a pair of shell earrings or books a taro-farm walk through us, that money stays on-island with the family who earned it.
We keep the recommendations honest by only listing businesses we'd send our own relatives to. No paid placements dressed up as favorites. If it's here, we've eaten there, worn it, or walked it ourselves.
04Become a Maker
Make something on Maui? Let's put it in front of the ships.
We're building a small, carefully curated marketplace of local jewelers, woodworkers, and craftspeople. Here's how joining works.
Say hello
Email us a few photos of your work and where on Maui you make it. We read every message ourselves — no application portal, no fees to apply.
We shoot it right
Because photography is what sells a handmade piece, we help style and shoot your products in honest natural light — the same way we shoot the turtle magnets.
You get listed & paid
Your pieces go into the marketplace and in front of thousands of arriving cruise passengers. You set your prices; the earnings stay with you.
When you carry a piece of Maui home, carry one a real person made.Kai · Founder, Pier & Palm
05Come say aloha
Let me hand you a turtle at the pier.
Tell me which ship you're on and I'll set aside a handmade honu magnet with your name on it. Free, always — just come find me.