Come April 1, Kona Bay Fabrics will move our Honolulu offices and consolidate all our administrative and shipping operations in our Redmond, Washington location. We are excited about the fun, new opportunities this will allow us.
Hawaii has been my home since 1974. Starting Kona Bay Fabrics kept me busy growing a business and a family in a place many (myself included!) call paradise. It didn’t take me long to realize, though, that shipping our fabric from the printers in Japan to our warehouse in Honolulu and then on to our customers on the mainland was not the best business strategy. Since 1993, we have had our warehouse on the mainland. However, the bulk of our administrative operations remained in Honolulu along with my family and myself.
Now, the company is all grown up (along with my lovely daughter who attends UCLA) and we’re ready to expand. Kristina, our VP, is thrilled about the new adventure. She and her husband visited Washington last week and started setting up their new home in Kirkland. And yes, they were even excited about the snow!
I’ll maintain my home in Honolulu (the kitties at the golf course depend on my regular visits for their feedings) and make trips back and forth as I always have. But, my office will be right there at the top of the stairs in our new Redmond office. This move will more easily allow us to expand and streamline our operations. We have some fun ideas and look forward to being physically closer to our customers.
I have always loved the Pacific Northwest—the weather, the scenery, the activities and the people. I even took up kayaking last year and started my own oyster farm! As I sit here in the Redmond office today, I’m watching it snow, drinking a cup of Starbucks and smiling at the thought of a future so bright I’ll need to remember to pack my shades.
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