Owner
Hawaii Kitchen & Bath

President
National Kitchen & Bath Association, Aloha Chapter

What inspired you to do the work you do?

I started in a custom fabrication shop and quickly learned the ins and outs of the business and industry back in the early ’90s. It was exciting to be one of the few females in our specific field and collaborate with the young, up-and-coming designers who would later become the best in industry. It was the creativity and drive of everyone around me that inspired me to continue for 20-plus years.

What is your vision for NKBA as president?

The NKBA is a nonprofit trade group that has evolved into the premier association of designers, retailers, remodelers, manufacturers, distributors, fabricators, installers and other industry professionals.

For the upcoming year, I would like to see our association grow even bigger, with outreach to the neighbor islands, continued educational opportunities for our design and construction community, and to continue to network and merge events with our industry partners BIA, ASID, AIA and IIDA.

What K&B trends are you most excited about?

Our company specializes in modern, textured-melamine slab doors, and we see this as a continuing trend for cabinetry options in 2019. Homeowners are requesting clean and modern lines that create a simple yet powerful aesthetic.

Every year the big Kitchen & Bath Industry Show unveils the newest and hottest materials, fixtures, appliances, countertop materials, cabinets and more. Our trade gets the first look at some very exciting products for the home before it’s introduced to the retail and consumer sector.

The integration of technology with our appliances gets better every year. I am looking forward to the new trends coming from Europe with countertops, cabinets and flooring, to name a few.

What qualities got you to where you are today?

A tough skin and a desire to be the best in my industry! I learned early on that you can’t take everything personally. Rejection is part of life and you really need to know how to pick yourself up, dust off and continue to do the best you can. Consider those hard times to be lessons learned, concentrate on what’s ahead of you, without dwelling on past mistakes.