Nadine Kam photos
Marissa Selders at Quince Home.

If you're stopping by Honolulu Night Market today, check out Quince Home next to the Pinch of Salt pop-up shops.

That's where owner Marissa Selders merges her retail and interior design background to offer a few of her favorite ideas and objects for the home, full of color and whimsy.

While there I also ran into Jenny Cao-Wu, who launched the website Freshionable.com, catering to an underserved market in Hawaii, career women who want to balance the need to be professionally conservative, but personally edgy, not dowdy.

Although Jenny offers clothing from across the nation, at the Night Market, her focus will be apparel by local designers Allison Izu, Umee, and 19th & Whimsy.

The events are centered around 683 Auahi St., from 6 to 11 p.m., with an "I Love Kakaako" fashion show at 8.

This ensemble from Darling is among the designs featured at Jenny Cao-Wu's online shopping site, Freshionable.com, highlighting career wear from emerging designers.

Tabletop treats at Quince.

On the bookshelf.

Colorful cupboards.

Decorative woodblocks.

Even Quince's mascot is colorful. He hangs out by the door so don't step on him.

A beautiful selection of bath bars.

Nadine Kam photos
Island Slipper owner John Carpenter is surrounded by some of his employees, next to Dorothy Kohashi in mu'umu'u. She is the daughter of Island Slipper founders Takizo and Misao Motonaga .

May 10 was a holiday for employees of Island Slipper, whose only obligation to the company that day was to show up in time for a bus ride to the grand opening of the company's new store at the Royal Hawaiian Center, before heading to lunch courtesy of boss John Carpenter, at Tsukiji Fish Market and Restaurant at Ala Moana Center.

The new store was designed in the nostalgic spirit of the beach homes that existed before the concrete and hotels that now line Waikiki. Located on the center's second floor, the shop's exterior stands out in its seafoam color, with warm wood interior.

Where most slipper shops are crammed into a small footprint, with wares simply lined wall to wall, Island Slipper has the luxury of 2,000 square feet, with lots of open space and retro displays paying homage to the company's 67-year history.

"We had to bring our game up because Waikiki is a different market," Carpenter said, adding, "Our desire was to create a fun place to shop where our customers feel at home."

Showcased are Island Slipper's signature floral-designed footwear, as well as women's designs incorporating beads, raffia and pyramid studs, and men's designs in leather and suede.

I was a little late to the opening, and walked in to find a surprise waiting for me. In 2011, I'd attended the grand reopening of Island Slipper's Ward Warehouse store and was impressed enough to write a feature story about the company. I happen to have Cinderella size feet, so the slippers didn't fit me. So I suggested to John that he add children's styles so I might be able to fit. He explained it wasn't that simple, so I figured the time wasn't right.

Children's slippers have yet to materialize, but in the meantime, he searched the globe for a smaller women's last and created a prototype size 4 for li'l ole me me, and, it fit! Oh happy day, it is so hard to find size 4s, much less my actual size, a 3! So I will be wearing my new white floral slippers around, and definitely will be kicking around New York streets in my Island Slippers in a few weeks!

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Island Slipper stores are at Ward Warehouse (593-8229) and Royal Hawaiian Center Buiding A, Level 2 (923-2222).
Online: www.islandslipper.com

The exterior of Island Slipper recreates the ambience of a beach house.

A pune'e adds to the beach house feel.

Vintage Island Slippers on display.

Featured from left are recent collaboration designs created for J. Crew,  Japan fashion designer Tsumori Chisato, and Barney's New York.

Additional accessories capture Island Slippers island style.

One of many posters inviting shoppers to consider their sense of island lifestyle.

The Male'ana collection of honeymooner slippers, with examples above and below, allow couples to match without being matchy-matchy.

As company owner, John Carpenter can do what he wants and created the only existing pair of studded white "Elvis" slippers just for himself. (more...)

Nadine Kam photos
Jewelry designer Sheryl Lowe dropped into Neiman Marcus for a Mother's Day trunk show.

For all the gem lovers who turned up at Neiman Marcus May 4, jewelry from Sheryl Lowe Designs was just one of the main attractions for Mother's Day shopping. The other was the chance opportunity of also meeting Sheryl's husband, actor Rob Lowe.

Sheryl was slated to be on the jewelry floor from noon, though Rob was flying in that day and wasn't due at the store until about 2 p.m. I didn't arrive until about 2:30 because I was working on a feature on Gatsby-style hair to coincide with the opening of Baz Luhrmann's "The Greaty Gatsby," and creating the look is not a quick process.

By then, the Lowes had headed to lunch, which meant I had some time to check out Sheryl's designs before they were due back.

Sheryl has been a Hollywood makeup artist for more than 20 years, and married to Rob just as long.

Sheryl's multi-colored, multi-textured collections are versatile enough to be mixed, matched, worn singly or stacked.

In 2007, inspired by her world travels—and years of acquiring treasures from the Seychelles, North Africa, India and the Middle East—she created jewelry for a small group of friends. Due to the enthusiastic response and advice from longtime friend Maria Shriver, she formalized her jewelry line, Sheryl Lowe Designs, donating a portion of sales to women's and children's charities.

On her return from her lunch break, Sheryl said she loves the idea of mixing metals with earth, "the texturing, the layering, the mixing of color with metal. I just love the mix."

There is such a wide range of materials incorporated into her designs, that at first, it's overwhelming to see an array of Yemen black coral beads, next to displays of rose-cut diamonds from India, sandalwood beads, baroque pearls, and even bracelets and necklaces strung with discs of upcycled, colored vinyl records.

And yet, as a busy woman herself, she said the pieces are designed to be versatile and stackable, so a woman can buy one piece this year, add a totally different piece next year, wear them day or evening, together or separately, and have them mesh well.

In person, Kami Jennings, one of Sheryl's assistants dressed in her jewelry, is a ringer for Jennifer Lawrence, which she hears all the time.

"It's all one story," she said, though for her, the story is more involved.

"The jewelry remind me of where I went, of the topography of the land, the colors and what women wore. When I think of Sardinia, I think of the blues, the corals and greens. In London, gray, and in Paris, the golds."

Prior to starting her business, the beads sat at home in bowls around the house, and Sheryl said it was never a problem because Rob also appreciated them. Among her collections is a men's line simply called Rob. All her collections are named after her friends.

"He loves that I'm passionate about creating. He wears my designs all the time and he has a great eye. He especially loves the sandalwood and Yemen coral."

Although Rob didn't go back to the jewelry counter, some people insisted I go and stalk him in the men's department, where he was doing some shopping. As it happened, he was coming down the escalator while I was going up, so he graciously agreed to a photo. He's holding a batch of his wife's jewelry, from the Rob collection created for men, but just as easily worn by women.

Antique Yemen black coral beads, studded with silver inlays, can pair with many a contemporary outfit.

These colorful bracelet discs are cut from old vinyl records.

Cameron Diaz owns one of Sheryl Lowe's ohm meditative necklaces.

One of Sheryl's collaborations is the Her collection of leather bracelets incorporating leather from Hermès.

If I were ordering a Vara, I'd probably choose this neutral Bisque with a pop of Ruby, but they don't have my size.

With customization in the zeitgeist, Salvatore Ferragamo is marking the 35th anniversary of its Vara shoe by giving clients the opportunity to design their own pair of Vara or Varina shoes by choosing the material, color, grosgrain bow and hardware. There are 63 possible combinations, and the offer will be available for a year, with new color introductions to accompany each new season.

The original Vara is a midheel shoe with grosgrain bow. The Varina is a ballet flat version of the shoe introduced in 2007.

The cost of the shoes, including a metal plate on the bottom bearing the wearer's initials, and shipping anywhere in the United States, is $550.

Visit www.ferragamo.com to try your hand at design. To see how some tastemakers wear their Varas and Varinas, visit icona.ferragamo.com, which will post photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank's portraits of 21 women over 21 days this month.

Of course, it's hard to pick just one pair, so this Powder Blue with Oxford Blue bow and heel, would balance the Bisque and Ruby.

Macklemore, right, and Ryan Lewis.

Microsoft is sending along a few friends to help celebrate the opening of its retail store at Ala Moana Center on June 13.

The grand opening ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m., and gates will open for a 4 p.m. concert by the Neon Trees and one of the hottest duos today, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. There's no escaping their "Thrift Shop" hit on radio.

Stay tuned for more info in the month to come.

We haven't had a store opening this big since November 2006, when the opening of Miss Sixty/Energie at Ala Moana Center brought back Hawaii-born actress Kelly Hu, and performances by recording artists Josh Radin, Schuyler Fisk, and Rachel Yamagata, and DJ Steve Aoki.

In a sort of in-your-face move, the store will open opposite longtime competitor, the Apple Store.