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Samantha Howard, Melody Torres and Becky Dosh – this is the powerhouse trio that started Wings Hawaii more than 20 years ago at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. These visionaries were way ahead of their time, using upcycled materials to hand-craft unique clothing and jewelry. “This was before the handmade movement that’s gained popularity in the last 10 years or so,” says Melody. “Back then, we would sometimes hear that our products ‘looked homemade.’ But we knew we were onto something special with our handcrafted, one-of-a-kind items.” Indeed they were. From those early days of campus sales, through the thriving...

At Wings Hawaii, “for real life mermaids” isn’t just our tagline, it’s our whoooole actual lifestyle. Take Tara Timpone, for example, our assistant jeweler and in-house photographer. When we asked her what a real-life mermaid means to her, Tara replied: “Someone who loves and appreciates the ocean, and cares about preserving and protecting it, and all the creatures that call it home.”

That perfectly describes Tara, a lifelong waterwoman and animal lover who calls the ocean her happy place. An avid freediver, longboarder, and kayaker, Tara has also been photographing and swimming with whales since 2019, with treks to Tahiti, Tonga, and the Cook Islands to do so.