3424 Wai‘alae Ave,
Honolulu, Hawai‘i

You can email us anytime at smallkinegift@gmail.com. You can also DM us on Instagram @smallkinegift. We do not have a phone.

We love to visit gift shops and bookstores when traveling, and after thinking about it for a few years, decided to try building our own ideal version here at home. Though we have no prior retail experience, we're figuring it out and it's going okay so far.

Hawai‘i has a special sense of kindness and hospitality: every gathering turns into a potluck, every suitcase home packed with omiyage, everyone is “aunty” or “uncle” regardless of age or relationship. This shop is for our favorite type of gifts to give, not a big ticket item with high expectations, but a little something that just makes you happy.

SMALL KINE GIFT isn’t for everyone, but the girls that get it, get it. Thanks for being a part of this experiment with us.

Short answer:

Small kine gift = "A little something"

(Pronunciation: rhymes with "mine")

Long answer from Wikipedia:

Da kine (/də ˈkaɪn/) is an expression in Hawaiian Pidgin (Hawaii Creole English), probably derived from "that kind", that usually functions grammatically as a placeholder word (compare to English "whatsit" and "whatchamacallit").[1] It can also take the role of a verb, adjective, or adverb. Unlike other placeholder words in English, however, which usually refer specifically to a device ("gizmo" or "widget"), person ("so-and-so"), or place ("Anytown, USA"), "da kine" is general in usage and could refer to anything, any being, object or concept. It can be used to refer to something nonspecific, or given enough context (especially when used in conversation between native speakers of the dialect) to something very specific. As such, it appears to be unique among English dialects, at least in its centrality to everyday speech.

"Da kine" is probably the most identifying characteristic of spoken Hawaiian Pidgin, and certainly the most versatile.[2] The humorous illustrated dictionary Pidgin to Da Max defines "da kine" as: "the keystone of pidgin. You can use it anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Very convenient."[3] A surfing dictionary lists da kine as "the word you use when you don't use the word."[4]

"Da kine" is used as shorthand when it is likely the listener will understand what is meant from context or a combination of context and body language. One definition (in mixed Pidgin) is: "Can have any kine connotation depends on how you say um and who you say um wit."[5]

"Da kine" may be related to the word "kine", which is used variously as an intensifier, short for "kind of" in the sense of "type of", and for many other purposes (perhaps almost as much variety as "da kine"). However, it may not be entirely accurate to analyze it as a phrase consisting of "da" (the Pidgin definite article) and "kine", as "kine" by itself does not have the same meaning. One possible analysis is that "da" in "da kine" is a clitic, as phrases such as "da odda kine" (other kind) or "all kine" (all kinds) are commonly used.[6]

The simplest explanation of its origin comes from the simple context of its use. "Da Kine" comes from "the kind" or "the thing" and is used as an extremely vague, yet simple explanation of an action or object when something's specific name is unknown or cannot come to mind. (I talked on my 'da kine' = I talked on 'the thing you use to talk to people' = I talked on my 'phone') (I wen fo one da kine las night = I went for a 'the thing you do when you move your legs' last night = I went for a 'run' last night) A pidgin speaker who uses "da kine" for its true purpose (not local slang) will often repeat "da kine" several times and attempt to explain what it is to fully get the idea across.

Shopping for little stuff is so much fun and we enjoy following our impulses when it comes to things we love!

We source gifts, books, candy, toys, and trinkets from a wide range of vendors, often hunting for one particular item (a childhood memory, maybe) and then digging through product catalogs to see what else they've got (to hit order minimums or bundle because shipping to Hawai‘i is expensive).

A few favorites:

• ONE-TON Chips and Cookies from Maebo Noodle Factory (Hilo)
• Stickers from Okuyama & Co. (Tokyo)
• Artist publications from Tropic Editions (Honolulu)
• Hair clips from Gentle Thrills (Los Angeles)
• Chattering teeth and finger traps from Rhode Island Novelty (Fall River, MA)
• Apparel from Moon Collective (San Francisco)
• Postcards by Li Frei (Honolulu)
• Artist editions from Third Drawer Down (Melbourne)

We're also proud to carry a lot of original merchandise that you can't get anywhere else, designed by us and our creative friends.

Because e-commerce is hard. It requires photos and copywriting, tighter inventory management, and lots of hidden costs for packaging and shipping.

Do you really want to pay $10 shipping on a $15 book you weren't able to flip through? Can we truly replicate the in-store experience on a website? Is it even that fun to shop online anymore?

SMALL KINE GIFT exists as a beautifully tactile creative business designed, in part, to unplug from being so online. Please help me avoid the computer by coming to visit in person!

You can share your art, products, or brand with us via email at smallkinegift@gmail.com any time. We do our best to reply to all submissions.

We can be picky/specific in our taste, but we bookmark artist emails and may reach out again in the future if we have a good fit or special project for you!

If your product uses A.I. generated artwork please close your computer and go touch grass.

We do not like to receive unsolicited physical samples. Do not mail or drop off samples unless we've discussed beforehand.

Maybe. Try ask.