{"id":231978,"date":"2026-04-08T16:22:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=231978"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:25:12","slug":"alumni-entrepreneurs-shine-at-merrie-monarch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/08\/alumni-entrepreneurs-shine-at-merrie-monarch\/","title":{"rendered":"From <abbr>UH<\/abbr> to Hilo: Alumni entrepreneurs shine at Merrie Monarch"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_17352\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nYYseBeZLEQ?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Jules and Gem Hawaii at Merrie Monarch Festival\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>Now in its sixth decade, the Merrie Monarch Festival draws visitors from across the state and beyond, celebrating Hawaiian culture through hula, music, and artistry. The influx of visitors also supports independent marketplaces throughout Hilo, where local businesses can showcase their work.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_231983\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-231983\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-3-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"2 women preparing food wearing nishime print dresses\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-231983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-3-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-3-93x130.jpg 93w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-3.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-231983\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shiigi and Okuhata in the Nishime print.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Two University of <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> alumni&#8212;Summer Shiigi of Ten Tomorrow and Lana Gronwald of Jules and Gem Hawaii&#8212;are vendors at the <span lang=\"haw\">M&#257;keke<\/span> Naniloa marketplace at the Grand Naniloa Hotel, returning to <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island after participating together last year.<\/p>\n<p>Shiigi, a former <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> <span lang=\"haw\">M&#257;noa<\/span> psychology student, runs and designs the resort women\u2019s clothing brand Ten Tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My family is from Hilo, so being able to go and visit for work is really special to me,&rdquo; said Shiigi. &ldquo;It\u2019s an exciting time. It feels very meaningful and deep and cultural.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gronwald, the owner and founder of Jules and Gem Hawaii, a luxury fragrance brand, graduated from <abbr>UH<\/abbr> <span lang=\"haw\">M&#257;noa<\/span> in 2010 with a bachelor&#8217;s degree in psychology.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Merrie Monarch is a special time. It\u2019s beautiful to see all the different artists that come out and all those small businesses that are truly local who come from here and have roots in <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,&rdquo; said Gronwald.<\/p>\n<h2>Supporting local businesses<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_231982\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-231982\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"hand next to candles\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-231982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-231982\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saltwood Hawaii products<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Both businesses make their products in <span lang=\"haw\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. With customers and businesses converging in Hilo, both women are appreciative of the opportunities it presents.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The dollars being spent all with local companies is something really beautiful,&rdquo; said Shiigi. &ldquo;Being able to have that hard earned dollar spent in a local community and turning it back into someone who\u2019s based here, who has local employees, who might even make things here, I think that\u2019s really important.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_24537\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/58GvyCDJmhE?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Ten Tomorrow at Merrie Monarch Festival\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_231981\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-231981\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-1.jpg\" alt=\"2 women holding certificate\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-231981\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-1.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-1-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-231981\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lana Gronwald, left, and Summer Shiigi, right at last year&#8217;s marketplace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Local designs and scents from former <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students showcased at hula festival market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":231981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,679,734,637,271,319,9,56],"class_list":["post-231978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-psychology","tag-uh-alumni-association","tag-uh-foundation","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uhf-merrie-monarch-alumni-businesses-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231978"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231985,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231978\/revisions\/231985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}