In a rush to get to work on time, the colors usually blur past her car’s window. But not on this recent Friday afternoon.

Lei Maui owner Caitlyn Madrid of Kīhei slows down, stops, pulls out shears and a paper bag and begins cutting off some of the flowers along the road.

She has a vision in mind for a new lei po‘o, or flower crown, to make ahead of Lei Day, which is celebrated May 1 in Hawai‘i. Her latest creation includes various hues, shapes, sizes and sometimes perfume-like scents.

Gathering Flowers

For a lei po’o workshop before Lei Day, Madrid’s “shopping” list of flowers includes bleeding heart vines, plumeria, pincushion protea, ʻōhiʻa lehua and leaves to name a few. She maintains a comprehensive knowledge and notebook of where specific flowers are and when they’re likely to be in bloom.

Along the way, Madrid connects with people near her favorite places to get flowers. Her neighbor in Kīhei told her about tri-color plumeria next to a tree bearing over-sized plumeria flowers in his ʻohana’s Wailuku backyard. The homeowner is now a beloved aunty.

One time a homeowner approached her while she was picking flowers along the road in front of his house. “I was ready to say ‘sorry’ and pack up my stuff quickly,” Madrid said. “But then he asked me how much I would charge to prune some of his trees and took me around his property.”

“More than just flowers it’s a way for the community to celebrate its heritage and celebrate by giving lei to others,” Madrid said about Lei Day. “I only want to perpetuate the correct cultural knowledge and bring awareness to others who want to learn.”

Madrid supports local floral retailers for things she sometimes can’t gather herself like ti leaves and spray roses. “We have a community-over-competition mindset,” she said about the collaboration of florists and lei makers. “I get a lot of referrals from other lei makers and I refer others when I’m too busy.”

Gathering People

Madrid wanted to work with flowers beginning in her teens. But the self-described “tomboy” was more comfortable outside with her dad than doing “girlie stuff.” But she said she was a bit jealous of the girls who took floriculture in high school.

In college, Madrid finally took a floriculture class. She learned about the science of growing and caring for flowers and ornamental plants. But Madrid really took to the art of design and making floral arrangements. Making lei was a natural progression, especially living in Hawaiʻi and embracing the culture.

“Anyone can buy a lei from Longs or Costco.” Madrid said. “Lei-making is a dying and lost art and we need to teach the younger generations to keep it alive.” 

Lei makers share knowledge from where to gather certain flowers to techniques. Madrid said she learned how to make a lei in 2010. Eight years later she wanted to get serious and deepen her knowledge. Molokaʻi lei maker Kāhealani Hāmākua visited Madrid’s Wailua Homestead home on Kauaʻi and taught her how to make lei po’o.

Madrid held the workshop under the shade of trees at the Mana Kai beach in Kīhei. Some participants’ ʻohana brought foldable tables and benches while they grilled food nearby and keiki played on the beach and in the water.

“The peace and calm it brings me when I’m doing it is what attracted me,” Madrid said about why she has continued to make lei since 2010. “The mental clarity it brings me. The beauty of the flowers and the art of the different lei styles.”

As much as participants learned from Madrid, she told them she always takes away new ideas from them to make lei po’o.

With tired fingers, sore backs and weary smiles, Lei Maui participants took stock of their creations, amazed and elated at what they had made over the past three hours. “The more you do it, the easier it gets,” Madrid said.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.