Lapel Pins

Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll is perhaps the best known name in 20th century music and entertainment.  During his 23 year career Elvis would craft music that would sell over 600 million albums, and star in 31 feature films.  During his illustrious career Hawaii would become almost a second home to Elvis, who would not only film 3 of his movies on The Islands, but also made it one of his favorite vacation spots.  In addition to filming Blue Hawaii, Girls! Girls! Girls! and Paradise, Hawaiian Style, he would also perform several concerts in Hawaii, including his famous 1973 TV concert special, Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii. 

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

In 1957 Half Moon Bay Airport became one of racing’s fastest, most attractive quarter-mile drag strips. Located just outside of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay Dragstrip, became the largest drag strip in Northern California offering bleachers, concession stands, a safety net, and a timing tower constructed from a bread van, to its many fans. Big name racers, including “Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, attracted enthusiasts from across the United States to witness the historical race in which Garlits pulled off an unexpected win though Prudhomme’s name had been etched into the trophy even before the race took place. Although racing stopped in 1969, the nostalgic memories of Sunday morning’s roaring engines, wild cheering, and buzz of adrenaline-fueled excitement live on in the tales of drag racing.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

The three-fingered Shaka greeting widely used today among Hawaiians and others in the surfing community originated from a multitude of stories sharing a common theme: warmth and welcome when greeting another. One story says a man named Hamana Kalili, who worked at the sugar plantation, was involved in an unfortunate accident which severed his three middle fingers. Another legend tells of Tutu Hamana, a great Ali’i (chief) in the court and a man filled with aloha and kindness. When the guest would leave, Tutu Hamana would wave goodbye with his old, bent hand and the people, out of aloha, would wave back just like he did, with their 3 middle fingers down like shaka.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

Believe it or not, Hawaii does, indeed, have an interstate highway. Now, you ask, how can an island have an interstate highway? Well, U.S. law states that federal highway funds can be used as long as the proposed highway connects military bases. Oahu’s Honolulu Highway, known to locals as  “H1,” connects Pearl Harbor with Diamond Head, which used to be home to Fort Ruger. The first portions of the H1 opened in 1953, and over a half century later, H1 still enables locals and visitors alike to explore the beautiful island of Oahu. There are also interstates H2 and H3, which completed in 1997, has arguably some of the most beautiful views of any US highway.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

In 1961 Floyd Smith, a surfboard manufacturer based in San Diego, California, began printing his company logo on white shirts local surfers brought into Gordon & Smith Surfboards, and the surfer t-shirt was born. By the end of the year, the emerging market in silk-screen printing allowed printing of five-color O’Neill Surf Shop t-shirts and single-color Makaha International Surfing Championships t-shirts. After three years, surf company t-shirts were being produced by the tens of thousands as the market widely expanded to include surf industry team t-shirts and competitor t-shirts for entrants in surf competitions. During the mid-70s, surfer shirts by the California T-Shirts company were available in department stores throughout America and, by 2002, the production of surfer t-shirts had swelled to 300 million shirts annually. Their popularity skyrocketed as the entertainment industry modeled them through Mackenzie Phillips in American Graffiti and Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now. Today, surfer t-shirts continue to thrive worldwide and remind people of the rich history and blessing of surfing.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

Though unofficial, it’s universally accepted on the Islands that Hawaii’s state fish is the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. How on earth do you say that?! Well, it’s really quite easy: HOO-moo-HOO-moo-NEW-coo-NEW-coo-AH-poo-AH-ah. Now, try saying that three times fast. If that’s too hard to say, you might just want to call it by its other name, the Hawaiian Trigger Fish. Whew, much easier. Roughly, its name means, fish with a pig-nosed face, which is appropriate given the fact that these funny fishes also grunt.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

In 1999 the Irwindale Speedway emerged, quickly followed by the opening of the ⅛-mile drag racing strip in 2001. Located in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, the Irwindale Dragstrip hosts legal drag races for cars, trucks, and motorcycles. A firm believer in abiding by street-legal automobiles, the drag strip proudly rejects the “nowhere else to go” notion practiced by illegal street racers. From 2003 to 2010, the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown competed on Irwindale Speedway’s ½-mile oval. This televised race included the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro series and the top 40 drivers in the NASCAR Whelen All-American series, attracting many car racing enthusiasts to what was known as the “best-of-the-best” race. Irwindale Speedway continues to be home to a diverse variety of car races from the Turkey Night Grand Prix to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown to the Formula D Championship Series.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

Street racing burned rubber through Los Angeles, California during the 1950s drawing fans of all ages with raucous noise and adrenaline thrills to this all-American sport. Opening its gates in October 1955, Lions Drag Strip welcomed 15,000 people to witness cars race in the Wilmington district of sunny L.A. The Lions Club International sponsored the beloved track, hosting a variety of races licensed by the American Hot Rod Association. After consistently holding races every Sunday for the next two years, Mickey Thompson, the strip manager, proposed Saturday night racing, leading to a rapid escalation of young fans in attendance. The drag strip thrived until 1972 when it was torn down to allow space for shipping cargo containers overseas. The memory of Lions Drag Strip cruises on today being honored through pop culture with comedians paying tribute to announcer Larry Huffman’s wired announcing style, in television series like The Munsters and MadMen , and Brad Pitt’s character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood wearing a Lions Drag Strip t-shirt.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

Originally established in 1968 and founded by shaper Dave Garner, Plastic Fantastic Surfboards began a history that would span five decades, over half a dozen owners, and factories in 3 states. The name Plastic Fantastic  was inspired by the Jefferson Airplane song “Plastic Fantastic Lover.”  The original home for Plastic Fantastic was in Haleiwa, Hawaii from 1968 to 1970, followed by two more years of production at a different location on the North Shore.  At the same time, Garner and Danny Calohan would open shop in Huntington Beach, California, and the company would employ a stable of gifted shapers through the years, including Skip Frye, Jock Sutherland, Robert August, Bruce Jones, and Barry Kanaiaupuni.  From 1968 to 2003 it is estimated that Plastic Fantastic produced approximately 55,000 surfboards.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

The Strong Current Surf Shop has been a staple on the North Shore since 1989. The shop was founded by the husband-and-wife team of Johnny and Bonnie Moore, who left New Jersey for a slice of Hawaiian heaven. Originally the shop sold surfboards, surfboard accessories and apparel, but it quickly became evident that their apparel, which they were screen printing upstairs from their shop, was the big draw. In 1993 the shop also became the home for the Hale'iwa Surf Museum. A surf museum in an apparel store, what a crazy idea, right?

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) soared to the skies in 1949 quickly becoming California’s favorite way to fly. With its famously low fares, bold personality and signature “smile” painted on every plane, PSA air travel was fun and accessible. Nicknamed “The World’s FriendliestAirline,” PSA was a trailblazer in low-cost air travel long before Southwest, leading the way withjet service, widebody aircraft and even a short-lived international route to Mexico. The airline expanded its fleet over the years, introducing jets like the Boeing 727 and briefly operating widebody Lockheed L-1011 TriStars. PSA merged with USAir in 1986 and was fully absorbed by 1988, leaving a legacy as a trailblazer in affordable air travel.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening

In 1879 Hawaiian ukulele design and production was changed forever with the emigration of Manuel Nunes from Madeira to Hawaii, for he became known as the “Inventor of the Original Ukulele,” as listed in the 1916 city directory. Upon arrival, although the Portugese Consul General in Hawaii recorded Nunes as a laborer due to a few years of plantation work, in 1889, Nunes became listed as a guitar maker, beginning his mission to popularize the instrument known as the ukulele. In 1910, Manuel Nunes established M. Nunes and Sons with Leonardo and Julius Nunes, who eventually used the skills they inherited in their apprenticeship to start their own ukulele manufacturing businesses. Nunes constructed a ukulele empire that stayed in business for more than 40 years, manufacturing handmade instruments with the label “M. Nunes, Inventor of the Ukulele and Taro Patch Fiddles in Honolulu in 1879.” While Julius returned to work at the company with his father, Leonardo moved to Los Angeles, introducing the Hawaiian ukulele to new mainland customers. In 1922, Manuel Nunes died at the age of 79, leaving behind an enduring mark on Hawaiian culture with the soulful, resonant music strummed on the Hawaiian ukulele.

1” X 1” METAL VINTAGE LAPEL PIN

• Made with sturdy die cast metal
• Decorated with colorfast hard enamel
• Heavy duty back post and claps for secure fastening