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Californians win free trip to Kaua‘i
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Island Soap & Candle Works' Heather
McIntyre and Steve Mitchell pose with Judy Camara (right) and
son Adam Camara, 11. Judy and Adam are the big winners in the
company's Fourth Annual "Tell a Friend" contest that rewards winners
a trip to Kaua‘i. They were accompanied on their trip by friends
Gena Burnett, and daughters, Danielle, 9, and Genna, 13, all of
Fresno. |
By Phil Hayworth - The Garden Island
Posted: Tuesday, Jul
27, 2004 - 01:59:34 am HST
LIHU‘E — Judy Camara and her son, Adam, came all
the way from Fresno, Calif., yesterday, hot, tired, but just glad to
have won a free trip to Kaua‘i, courtesy of Island Soap & Candle Works
in Kilauea.
They're the winners of the Fourth Annual "Tell a Friend" contest, and
the Kaua‘i-based company paid for round-trip airfare from Oakland, a
week's stay at the Aloha Beach Resort, a gift package of products,
discounts at their Koloa and Kilauea stores, and a tour of their factory
in Kapa‘a.
Sounds kind of like
"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," doesn't it? Only this trip is
real — worth at least $1,700.
"The breeze feels so good out here," said a relieved Judy Camara, who
touched down at cool Lihu‘e Airport direct from Oakland via Aloha
Airlines. Adam said he's hitting the waves on a surfboard as soon as
they get settled in their digs, while the other kids said they're going
surfing and horseback riding.
But the fantasy trip almost didn't happen, explained Steve Mitchell of
Island Soap & Candle.
"I e-mailed to first announce it to her and after a no-response I
followed with a phone call," Mitchell said. "After a lot of assurance
that she had really won and (I) was not trying to sell her something or
a gimmick, she finally believed me and was very excited."
The two are being accompanied by their Fresno friends, the Burnetts, who
didn't want to miss out on the Kaua‘i trip, which they paid for
themselves.
Visitors to the Kaua‘i-based company's Web site, www.islandsoap.com,
enter various friends' names, giving the company word-of-mouth
advertising. In exchange, online shoppers get a shot at a trip to
paradise.
"She had recently visited Kaua‘i last year, and never expected to be
returning so soon," Mitchell said.
Island Soap & Candle is one of Kaua‘i's true success stories.
Started in 1984, the company began out in Kekaha, moved to Kilauea,
began producing en masse from their Kapa‘a factory, and later opened a
store in Koloa. Word got out and, soon, demand for the fragrant line of
soaps, candles and lotions forced them to open shops on Maui and in
O‘ahu's Ward Center.
The business was established with the intention of re-creating the
ancient art of soap making, Mitchell said. They now manufacture a full
line of natural Hawaiian botanical products, beeswax candles and other
gift items — all made on Kaua‘i and found in sundry and fine gift shops
throughout Hawai‘i.
Workers at Island Soap & Candle Works make traditional South Pacific
soap using pure coconut oil, and a line of specialty soaps, adding
coconut oil, olive, palm, macadamia and kukui-nut oils combined with
herbs and essential oils. All their soaps are made entirely of vegetable
oils. Unlike most of the machine-made soap on store shelves today, the
glycerin which is naturally produced with saponification is left in
Island Soap products, making it more beneficial to the skin, Mitchell
explained.
Wholesale products are available at ABC stores, Hilo Hattie, Longs, and
over 300 smaller stores throughout the islands.
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