Where to buy Hawaiian jewelry on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi

Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi have very few places to buy jewelry, and no heirloom jeweler that we could find on either island. On Molokaʻi, look along Ala Malama Avenue in Kaunakakai, where a shop sells work by island artists, and at the town’s Saturday market. On Lānaʻi, the nonprofit Lānaʻi Art Center in Lānaʻi City sells work by Lānaʻi artists. What these islands do have is local makers working with shells, seeds and pearls, and on islands this small, buying directly from them matters.

How shopping differs on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi

These are small, rural islands with small populations and few visitors. There are no malls or resort jewelry stores of the kind you’ll find in Waikīkī or Wailea, and the two companies in our directory with stores on several islands, which appear in the table below on every island page, have no stores here that we know of. Treat the table’s multi-island rows as an option for before or after your trip, not on these islands.

What you can find is work by people who live here: shell and seed lei and earrings, pearl pieces, and work sold through a gallery or a market stall. The directory listings for these islands are few, and some are online shops or a gallery where jewelry is a small part of the stock. We’ve included them so you know they exist, not as an endorsement.

Molokaʻi

Kaunakakai

Kaunakakai is Molokaʻi’s main town, and most of its stores and places to eat are on Ala Malama Avenue. The Molokaʻi Visitors Association describes a downtown shop that sells work by more than 100 island artists and craftspeople, and a Saturday morning market with island-grown produce, flowers and locally made arts and crafts. A 2026 events listing says the market has moved to the Molokaʻi Public Library grounds on Ala Malama.

Molokaʻi makers in our directory

Two Molokaʻi makers are in the directory, and both sell mainly online:

• Kapua Uʻi Jewelry makes jewelry by hand using shells gathered on Molokaʻi beaches, with pearls and gold-filled and sterling wire, and describes its work as entirely handmade in Hawaiʻi. Where the studio is based wasn’t stated.
• Makamae O Molokai, listed in Maunaloa, makes shell, sea glass, seed and Tahitian pearl jewelry from shells, seeds and feathers gathered on Molokaʻi. Confirm it is active before ordering.

If you want to meet a maker or buy in person, contact them before your trip. On an island this size, a sale made directly to the person who gathered the shells and made the piece keeps the money on the island.

Getting to Molokaʻi

The passenger ferry between Maui and Molokaʻi ended in October 2016, The Maui News reported, so most visitors fly. That makes Molokaʻi a destination in itself rather than a shopping stop.

Lānaʻi

Lānaʻi City

Lānaʻi City is the island’s only town, a former plantation community built around Dole Park. Its shops, galleries and restaurants are on the streets around the park. The Lānaʻi Art Center, a nonprofit founded in 1989, has a gallery and gift shop selling work by Lānaʻi artists, which has included shell and bone necklaces. It also offers drop-in classes. Go Hawaii lists a couple of boutiques around the park as well.

We found no dedicated jewelry business with a website on Lānaʻi. Wherever you find jewelry on the island, ask about origin as you would anywhere.

Getting to Lānaʻi

A passenger ferry runs between Māʻalaea Harbor on Maui and Mānele on Lānaʻi. In early 2026 it was still sailing from Māʻalaea rather than Lahaina, which is rebuilding after the 2023 fire. Check the current schedule before you go.

Buying local work: what to ask

Shell and seed jewelry can be made with imported materials, and “Hawaiian” can describe a style rather than a place. Hawaiʻi law (HRS §486-119) allows a “made in Hawaii” label only where at least 51 percent of the wholesale value was added in the state. Ask:

• Who made this, and on which island?
• Where were the shells or seeds gathered?
• If there are pearls, what kind are they, and where were they set?

If a piece uses shells described as Niʻihau shells, a separate Hawaiʻi law applies; see our Niʻihau shell jewelry guide. For pearls, our pearl and pick-a-pearl guide explains the types, and our made-in-Hawaiʻi jewelry guide covers labels. If you’re flying home with a purchase, see shipping jewelry home from Hawaiʻi.

Before you go

• Contact makers ahead. Most Molokaʻi makers in the directory sell online and may not have a shop to visit.
• Plan for limited hours. Small-island shops and markets keep short or irregular hours.
• Buy gold elsewhere. For heirloom gold, plan to shop on Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi or Hawaiʻi Island, and see our price guide.
• Pay the maker directly where you can. It keeps more of what you spend on the island.