Visit to Kanile'a was great!

ukunuke

ukunuke

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
334
Reaction score
0
Location
Richland, WA USA
I'm lucky enough to be on Oahu visiting again, and today had the pleasure of visiting Joe and Kristen Souza and their staff at Kanile'a Ukulele. In addition to adding strap buttons to my tenor, Joe gave me the tour. I learned the history, the process and got to see for myself how these wonderful instruments are made. Kristen showed me around the brand new showroom, and I had the honor of being their first customer in the new space. I was quite impressed with their stand on renewable and eco-friendly production practices. More importantly, I was so impressed with the kindness and warmth of the Kanile'a staff. i was plenty happy with my Islands tenor before today - now I've had the pleasure of meeting the people responsible for it. This is a must-see visit if you're on Oahu. Mahalo to Kristen, Joe and the guys at Kanile'a.
 
great people, nice tour, I had a great time visiting them a couple of years ago, they told me about the history of the wood in my custom tenor, very cool
 
nice to hear -- when I get to the island I'll check them out and take a tour. I bought a used Kanile'a super concert on ebay not too long ago (originally set up by MGM I think), and I've really enjoyed the instrument. it's beautiful and sounds great even in a beginner's hands!
 
I too would very much like to visit their factory. I think that they are a wonderfully inovative company that have established themselves among a very select group of makers right at the top of the tree.
 
Joe and Kristen are incredibly sweet people. I did the tour a while back and he added a strap button on my Kanilea at the time as well. They are wonderful, glad you enjoyed it.
 
Visiting Kanile'a was one of the things I wanted to do on Oahu that I didn't get to do when I was there last month. It may be time for another Hawai'i trip. Glad you enjoyed your visit!
 
Kauai808 said:
Where are all the pics of the eye candy?
Click to expand...

LOL! Oh, I have 'em. It's just that I'm traveling with my iPad so I haven't done the upload yet! I made sure to take a few at Kamaka and Ko'aloha yesterday as well. I'm feeling pretty adult today, having been ot mecca and not succumbing to UAS. -m
 
Better man than me! I just got back from Oahu last week and it was pretty much- take a tour, buy a uke. Came back with two. Although my wife still thinks it's more like- wake up, buy a uke.

Looking forward to visiting Kanile'a (and my next uke) next trip.
 
When I was on Oahu in January, I toured the factory and had a similarly pleasant experience. The next day at the Denny's next to my hotel, I told the waitress about being a player. She said, "Oh I wish I had known, I would have sent you over to my brother's place. Joe-Boy is a ukulele builder here on the island." Great, I thought, just what I wanted -- to visit Joe-Boy's Ukulele shop.

Turns out it was Joe Souza's (head of Kanile'a) sister working at the Denny's. She's very proud of her kid brother. "Joe-Boy's Ukes". heh Still cracks me up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
TUS goes to Java ,'Oli Ukulele Factory Visit w Kalei Gamiao
Replies
2
Views
229
DJ Mango
D
badhabits
Oli factory visit
Replies
4
Views
342
hands_on_lanzon
hands_on_lanzon
K
Going to NAMM? Invite to visit KinnardUkes Shop.
Replies
3
Views
312
Kenn2018
Kenn2018
Jerryc41
Visit to the Magic Fluke
Replies
5
Views
341
ksiegel
ksiegel
D
Ohana Visit - Checking Out the New Custom Shop!
Replies
2
Views
314
keenonuke
K
Top Bottom