Hand painted Chalkboard for a Dutch Chocolatier

 This 8'x4' Chalkboard was created in my studio for  Pam and Jacques Holten's  Eureka, California retail store, Venlo Chocolates. Honoring Jacques hometown,Venlo, Netherlands ,we used Dutch motifs ,hand painted in shades of chocolate brown with a red and green  Dutch tulip motif.

The entire board is painted in chalk board paint.The Dutch children,flower and Venlo Chocolates can be used as a chalk board with white chalk.

As a youth  in the Netherlands,Jacques began his apprenticeship as a chocolatier. They create each chocolate (dark,milk and white)  by hand in a small factory right  behind their retail shop.

Patagonia Aloha Shirt in Northern California

Tonight as I was leaving Eureka Natural Foods with my groceries I  stopped in my tracks after seeing Bob Cherry standing in the store wearing a Patagonia "Pataloha" shirt  print designed in my Kailua,Oahu art studio under the  direction of  Dale Hope.

Bob's Aloha Shirt was a gift that he has been wearing for about 12 years.

Bob is a long time surfer from Miranda,California. His wife, Tory Schanzle, is a CEMT,Certified Equine Massage and Therapy, in McKinleyville, California.

They divide their time between California and  Tatos,Santos,BCS,Mexico.

I celebrated meeting Bob and Tory, who love the ocean , horses and natural foods, by drinking a Cherry Chia Kombucha Tea which was purchased before meeting Bob Cherry!

Aloha Shirt Design for Patagonia

Dale Hope commissioned my studio to create this print inspired by vintage home furnishings fabrics for Patagonia's Pataloha line.

Hand painted in gouache.

Clean Water focus of Sonoma Coast Chapter Surfrider Foundation's hand block printed Poster

Keeping Sonoma County water clean  is the focus of these 3 family paddling events in 2012 held by The Sonoma Chapter Surfrider Foundation.

Handcarved  O C E A N  themed blocks that were inked and printed onto rice paper in my studio all began with photographs provided by Bryan Costales,Fran Gealer,Dale Hope and Miles Ragland.

•OCEAN & sky
•Coast Miwok Indian Arrowhead
•Bodega Bay Wharf & town
•Stand up Paddler and his dog
•Board Paddler
•Surfing Family

Courier Corporation of Hawaii's new uniforms

An island based company with over 20 years of worldwide service over land,sea and ground,Courier Corporation of Hawaii, commissioned my studio to design their new uniform print.

Under the hand painted motifs,inspired by the Polynesian Triangle cultures, there are 2 layers of hand block printed textures.

Art Direction: Nick Smallwood

Hawaiian Airlines pilot wearing Kahala Sportswear t-shirt

Andrew Corrie was attending a Windward Oahu Christmas event wearing the retro Surf Rider. He's originally from United Kingdom, a surfer and father of 2 daughters.

Art Direction: Dale Hope and Donna Fitch

Surfers on silk Kendall Jackson Aloha Shirt

While I was walking across a Sonoma County, California parking lot earlier today I saw James J. Cutcher wearing this Aloha Shirt. He stopped for a few minutes to talk to me about Pepi Wine,owned by Kendall Jackson, the company that this print was commissioned for.

James is a certified wine educator/sommelier for Jackson Family Wines.

He owns several of these Aloha Shirts. It's nice to know that he will be wearing this print for years to come!

Two very creative people, Mia Morelli and Laura Lee , from Pepi Wine/Kendall Jackson , collaborated with me on the design. 

Island Traditions of Hawaii manufactured the shirt.

Stand Up Paddle Boards

Dale Hope commissioned my studio to create an ocean themed Mid Century Modern piece soon to be in production  for Tropical Blends, a Hawaiian surf and stand up board manufacturer. Once the design team has the art, they "clean up" & resize the hand block printed images for the boards.

HILUXURY magazine April/May 2011 "Prints Charming The Art of Textile Design Revisited"

 Nadine Kam included my work in her  HILUXURY magazine article,"Prints Charming: The Art of Textile Design Revisited"

A portion of article:


"Gentlemen about town should feel honored(as opposed to violated) when Emma Jewell Howard whips out her camera and snaps a frame with them square in the middle. She's no pesky paparazzi: she's merely interested in your shirt...

"...companies such as Patagonia,Kendall Jackson,Anheuser Busch and Maui Jim. She has designed uniforms for Hawaiian Airlines and the City and County of Honolulu."

"...I like functional art.."

"...One of her designs,created for Kahala,will get prominent display when Alexander Payne's feature film The Descendents premiers. Star George Clooney will be wearing "Skills" design,which utilizes 22 hand -carved images of surfers,paddlers and fishermen. The design took 6 months to create."

"...Howard also likes the sense of history that goes into researching the images in her work,whether they are constellations in the sky or symbolism of cultural images..."

" If these two artists continue getting their work on the streets, we won’t have to worry about people forgetting Hawai’i."

Mahalo Nui Loa, Nadine Kam, for contacting me & writing such a special piece on the textile industry in the Hawaiian Islands!

Older Kahala Sportswear Aloha Shirt seen in San Francisco bay area

Robert Intersimone,real estate agent and background actor in Mumford seen wearing this Aloha Shirt in Sonoma County, California.

Today a friend  was asking about my work ,prompting Robert to unzip his jacket to show us his aloha shirt. It looked so familiar. Yes, it was designed in my  Kailua studio! Just a few hours ago I took this photograph.

Small feature: Hawaii Insider San Francisco Chronicle

"...and textile designer Emma Howard of Kailua, who cited Peter Buck's "Vikings of the Pacific" in her answer to explain how it got its English name: "The island was first sighted by the Dutch navigator, Roggeveen, on Easter Sunday, 1722."

"...The creator of images seen on many aloha shirt uniforms in Hawai'i, including The Bus on O'ahu, Howard added, "The Polynesian Triangle, of which Easter Island is in the eastern corner, is the main source of motifs for my textile designs." (Check out her blog to see some of her recent work."

Jeanne Cooper,writer, San Francisco Chronicle "Hawaii Insider"

Anthurium flowers on cotton Aloha Shirt

An older medium sized Aloha Shirt , 22" wide, just hung on my studio door to help visualize the design currently in process for client's new shirt.

This print was commissioned from my studio by Dale Hope at Kahala Sportswear several years ago. Donna Fitch was Kahala Sportswear's  Director of Merchandising.

I found this at the Kailua Salvation Army store.