The son whose birth made Diane Masumura decide to become a stay-at-home mom is now 26 years old, but she still maintains her dawn-to-midnight schedule of Hawaiian feather lei making.

She has become so well known in the decade and a half since starting Weslyn’s Creative Feathers on Kauai that companies contract with her for large projects, including the more than 200 lei she is hand-tying for rooms at a Marriott property on Kauai.

She ships bundles of lei to a woodworker who is creating shadow boxes for the garlands for display in each hotel room.

Her work can be seen in the presidential suite at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina and in the Ritz-Carlton on Maui, to name a few.

In addition to keeping an ancient aspect of traditional Hawaiian culture alive by making hand-tied feather lei in different styles, she also makes a range of other products from hatbands to headbands, necklaces to brooches and earrings.

"I have shops that are waiting, and I don’t know what I’m going to have for Made in Hawaii," she said, sounding just a tad stressed.

The 20th annual Made in Hawaii Festival will be held at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall and Arena Aug. 15 to 17. Masumura has been a vendor at the festival since its inception in 1994.

"I’ve been there since the beginning, and I’ve stayed in the same spot, so when clients give me a call, I can tell them, ‘No problem, I’ll be in the same spot,’" she said.

Coming to Oahu for the annual Hawaiian food and product showcase is easier now that her son lives in Honolulu. He stores the display fixtures and accents she uses for her booth, and she can stay with him instead of booking a hotel room.

Masumura also gets to visit her parents in Ewa Beach. "I have my own bedroom there," she chuckled.

How long her post-festival downtime lasts, though, depends on the number of orders she receives during the three-day event.

Retail buyers regularly stop at her booth and place orders for Christmas, which she must start working on promptly.

Her huge current project has kept her busy from morning till midnight, but that is pretty much her life even without a large order from one company.

The goose feathers she uses are dyed in traditional Hawaiian colors by a company in New York, and Masumura buys "poundage," she said.

The feathers arrive in 3-foot strands, which she washes to rid them of excess dye and then dries.

Only the top inch of each feather can be used for her products, so in addition to help from her husband, she has hired three women to do all the cutting.

"From there I do all the tying," she said.

Her lei are done in traditional Hawaiian styles, such as the wili poepoe lei seen in a famous image of Princess Kaiulani and the smooth, round kamoe style pictured in 2003 coverage of her business in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

She also designs her own feather work when adhering to tradition is not necessary.

Making hand-tied feather lei, hand-stitched feather headbands and hatbands, and hand-making other accessories out of feathers is a painstaking process, but Masumura said she loves it from beginning to end.

"I love designing. That’s the best part," she said.

"I’ve always loved creating and designing. That’s what I wanted to do ever since I was little," she said, whether it was sewing, knitting or crocheting, or drafting and making her own prom dresses.

"I did all of that," she said.

She also will perform patching and repairs on feather work that has seen better days, she said.

In one case, however, Masumura could not rework a feathered band that had been handed down through generations.

"It had been sewn on Hawaiian newspaper," she said. The paper had deteriorated over time, making it impossible for her to repair it without causing more damage. She advised the bearer to take action to preserve the treasure. "You need to get it cured and sealed" and put on display, she said.

WHERE TO BUY

Weslyn’s Creative Feathers
245-3025
email: weslyns.creative.feathers@hotmail.com

Oahu

>> Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii, Ward Centers

>> Hawaiian Accessories Inc.

Maui

>> Native Intelligence, Wailuku

>> Totally Hawaiian Gift Gallery, Lahaina

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