Off Lunapule Road, there is a shared shop corner holding two boutiques run by long-time friends. Just entering the storefront you might not even realize it isn’t one cohesive store, but Amy Sheffield, of Pueo Boutique, and Hannah (Price) Carpenter, of Quill & Feather, have been sharing crafting space, tools, and their retail location since 2015.
These women met working at Big Island Jewelers with Flint Carpenter (Hannah’s uncle-in-law) in 2009 while both were developing their skills and starting families. It was Amy who branched out first to start Pueo in 2010, so named because of the owl’s role as the ʻaumākua – or family protector – in her partner’s Hawaiian tradition.
At the time of its opening, both women were pregnant with their first children and when Hannah was ready to move out of her backyard shop in 2015, they had little ones running around. This was one of the main reasons for them deciding to share the space in Kona Beach Plaza. Originally, it was meant to be a dedicated studio space for their individual jewelry brands, but once they saw the location, they knew it would be the perfect storefront as well.
That was when Quill & Feather was born. Early in her jewelry-making journey, Hannah had loved experimenting and crafting with African porcupine quills. For the name, she knew she wanted to contrast them with a feather to represent the duality of the fierce and the feminine. Her brand Hannah Price Jewelry is meant to show how things can be both, sharp and soft, edgy and beautiful.
While starting up new businesses as young moms might seem overwhelming to some, Hannah explained that looking back, “it’s kind of wild to think about, but it all felt organic at the time.” For them, motherhood was simply another part of their journey and friendship. A duality, like two stores in one shop, or like a quill and a feather, their creative and business success went hand in hand with having families.
The two didn’t stop there, either. Taking a cue from Pueo’s other locations, they also feature creations of all kinds from female artisans around the Islands, highlighting and supporting these women’s talent and businesses. In addition, Pueo Boutique donates to the Hawai’i Wildlife Center.
Of course, being creative peers and business “roommates” doesn’t mean their relationship is always perfect. Amy and Hannah must communicate constantly and be open to compromise in their shared space. They openly admit to how different they are in personality: Amy the meticulous planner and Hannah the decisive action taker; a definite yin and yang situation.
The things that help them to keep cohesiveness in this arrangement are one, separate income streams – many a friendship has been ruined over money – and two, trusting that the other always has the best interest of their shared space in mind. Amy has other Pueo locations to manage as well, so gives over a lot of the creative freedom of the space to Hannah, allowing them to both work there in harmony.
Another reason this “two shops in one” seems to work for them is their very distinct artistic styles. Much of Amy’s inspiration for her jewelry comes from her love of gemstones and pearls, cultivated during her time working with Flint Carpenter, who had an extensive collection and a deep love for them. You can clearly see in her pieces an affinity for working with natural pearls.
Hannah on the other hand loves working with stones and natural elements other than the typical gemstones. Nature is her biggest inspiration, and she loves highlighting the beauty in the seeming “imperfections” found there. Often it’s the stones themselves that inspire her designs.
So, though you wouldn’t immediately think it was two separate shops, one look around makes their different jewelry brands stand apart, in the specific aesthetics of each woman’s art.
As for the future, while still sustaining Quill & Feather, at the moment Hannah feels she’s at the threshold of expanding Hannah Price Jewelry to begin selling it in third-party locations. Amy simply wants Pueo to stick around. After surviving COVID with the amazing support of their customers, she hopes for it to remain a long-standing part of the community and maybe to hand the business down to her daughter someday.
Maybe she will and maybe someday we’ll get to see both these women recognized beyond their wildest dreams, but in the meantime, we get to support them and be a part of the journey they are living right now.
Learn more at QuillAndFeatherJewelry.com and PueoBoutique.com.
It’s kind of wild to think about, but it all felt organic at the time.
