Meet Olena Heu

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Olena Heu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Olena, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

The Made in Hawai‘i Festival celebrates 30 years this year. Our resilience truly and unequivocally comes from our community. We would not be where we are today without the vendors, crafters, artisans and entrepreneurs from across the state who help our island home thrive.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

The Made in Hawai‘i Festival serves as a hub and incubator for locally made products in Hawai‘i. We are focused on promoting creativity, stewardship and providing opportunities for local people. This year we hosted more than 550 vendors and more than 700 vendor booths at the festival for local businesses from across the state. This was the biggest and best year yet with approximately 70,000 attendees, compared to 50,000 last year.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Main qualities that result in a successful event are marketing, organization and a positive spirit. Marketing is very important to get the word out and foster excitement for the event. Organization is vital because there are so many moving parts, so many people, so many hands and making it all work together in harmony takes skill from dozens of others assisting. And a positive spirit is was drives the event. There may be issues with small things like parking, getting through lines and maybe some other issues like shipping or manpower, but at the end of the day if you are positive, supportive and encouraging we can all work together to create a successful event. In Hawai‘i we also call this the aloha spirit, always welcoming, engaging and supportive.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

We are always open to collaborations, that is how we grow. Luckily, our vendors are very good about engaging and collaborating with us. Opening the door to new people and new businesses to collaborate with us is part of what makes this festival exciting each year. People want to see the new thing, the new products and the new people onsite. For folks who want to be a part of it the application process begins in Q1 and we are always eager to get to know you and collaborate.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photo Courtesy: Made in Hawai‘i Festival

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Ignoring the Naysayers

Almost everything that’s changed the world in a positive way has been an unreasonable idea.

Mental Health
Thriving Through Adversity & Overcoming Mental Health Challenges

“After every storm, there is a rainbow. If you have eyes, you will find it.

Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of