The combination of art and technology can take many forms, but for Ziv Memran it’s all about putting great artwork and photography into people’s hands via cases for their smartphones or iPads.

Memran is owner and president of 3RDi Galleries and 3RDi Publishing (pronounced "third eye"). The company name refers to "seeing above what you can see with your own two eyes," he said.

In addition to cases for mobile devices, 3RDi also sells matted and unmatted prints, as well as so-called aluminated prints, which is artwork printed in high definition on aluminum. The result is so luminous it practically glows. Prints sell for $35 to $85 on the company website.

The company has done customized cases for local businesses, including Matsumoto Shave Ice, and has created, in collaboration with one of its artists, a T-shirt for the Haleiwa Art Festival. Other custom work is available.

For the retail market, Memran’s aim was to connect people with art that spoke to them (no pun intended) in an affordable manner, hence the phone and iPad cases.

It also was only natural to do slightly larger versions for people who might not have the budget to hang original artwork on their walls.

Phone cases range in price from $10 to $39, while iPad cases cost from $10 to $69, depending on the style of iPad to be covered.

The company has cases for iPhone models including the 4 and 4s, and has some 400 designs for iPhone 5 models and more than 200 designs for the iPhone 6.

It also carries cases for the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4.

Many of the cases are blinged out with crystals, and 3RDi warranties and will repair the cases should any of the crystals fall off, said company buyer Lior Chahar.

Memran is at his happiest, he said, when he sees people walking around with a piece of 3RDi artist’s work up to their ears, and he has experienced that not just in Honolulu, but on the mainland, he said.

Part of that happiness was spurred by Chahar, who persuaded him to add Hawaii designs to the collection. "She is my right hand," he said.

He wasn’t interested in cheap-looking, tacky, touristy designs.

"I don’t like to do anything halfway," he said. Instead, the company found unique, high-quality art in various genres, created by local artists and photographers.

The company has featured art by as many as 22 local artisans and now has 17, including marine life artist Robert Wyland, Hawaiian seascape artist Walfrido, tropical and surf artist Colleen Wilcox, Brook Kapukuniahi Parker, and traditional and contemporary Japanese artist Hisashi Otsuka, among others. In an exclusive licensing deal, Memran also has the rights to market Pink Floyd-related cases.

Punaluu-based Lance Fairly happened by the second-floor Ala Moana kiosk Wednesday.

Teaming up with 3RDi has been great for his art business, he said, and not just because it makes him additional money.

The foot traffic at Ala Moana gives his work far more exposure to local residents and visitors than his Windward gallery receives, and sales of his various art titles give him insight into consumer preferences.

"As an artist, you create something and think it’s great, but you don’t know until they say it’s great," he said.

3RDi gives each customer a biographical card about the artist behind the design and lists the artist’s website, where applicable.

There is at least one customer who collects all of Wilcox’s work, Chahar said, adding that a significant percentage of sales is to returning customers.

All 3RDi printed cases, prints and other products are created in Hawaii, by Hawaii residents, in space adjacent to Ala Moana Center.

Memran feels strongly about keeping the business local. It would be easy to do huge orders of cases with local designs that are made in China, which would bring his costs down some 70 to 80 percent, he said. However, keeping the production here allows 3RDi to create small orders as demand dictates, allows for a greater variety of designs and, perhaps most crucial to him, enables him to maintain hands-on quality control standards.

The nimble small business is working to expand its wholesale reach and landed some new accounts during the vendor preview at the Made in Hawaii Festival in August, its second time there. It also will expand its custom work with artists, as well as logo and other custom work for companies that want their logo on device cases or other merchandise, Chahar said.

The company’s first kiosk at Ala Moana Center, set up about six years ago, was in a spot that wasn’t working out. After about a month and a half, it moved and "everything was better," Memran said. It now has two large kiosks on two different levels, one right outside Macy’s and Shirokiya on the second floor, and another right between the AT&T store and Lupicia. The kiosks get a great deal of traffic from the Apple store, Chahar said.

One huge fact that sets 3RDi apart from other kiosk operators is its policy against accosting mall customers, as happens with many other kiosks. "We never stop customers," Chahar said.

CORRECTION:  Ziv Memran is the 3RDi owner and president. He was misidentified as
Mor Elkeslassy in photo captions in an earlier version of this story.

WHERE TO BUY

3RDi Galleries

Phone: 947-0066

www.3rdigalleries.com

Ala Moana Center Kiosks

>> Ground floor between AT&T and Lupicia

>> Second floor fronting Macy’s and Shi­ro­kiya

Other retailers:

>> NEX Mall, 4725 Bougainville Drive (open to public)

>> Flight Deck, Hono­lulu Airport

>> Wy’s Galleries, Hale­iwa

>> Global Village, Kai­lua

>> Nectar Creations, Paia, Maui

>> Taj Beach Co., Kapaa, Kauai

“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.