Our Story

Hi, I’m Tuma!

I am the owner of TE Creations Hawai'i (TE Creations). Aside from being a small business owner, I am also a mother & a wife. My husband & two sons are my biggest helpers when it comes to making orders. Mmm… not too sure how much help my sons are when I’m making orders. The jury still out on that one. But at the end of the day they are the main reason why I do what I do.

I was born & raised on the island of Hawai’i. I come from a large family. We didn’t have much growing up & we certainly didn’t have the luxury of buying lei for graduations or other special events. The art of lei making was something I learned at a young age. It was a hobby growing up. I never thought I’d be utilizing this trade in my everyday life.

Before TE Creations became an official business, it was just me selling lei during graduation season as a fundraiser to help take care of family matters. I was working an average paying job that got me by month to month & at the time bills & family matters started to pile up. So I decided to pull my lei making trade out of retirement. I started making lei & selling them on social media. When I got more comfortable with my lei orders, I began mixing in some pasifika (pacific island) cultural pieces into my orders. Not only was this a big hit during the graduation season, I also enjoyed creating them.

The original plan of all of this was to reach the fundraiser goal amount & go back to my everyday life. But as I was wrapping up my last lei orders, I was kind of bummed because I didn’t want to stop creating. This brief season of lei making re-lit my passion of working with flowers & creating. So, one summer night back in 2017, I made up my mind, took a chance & never looked back since!

Working with flowers & creating pasifika pieces always bring me joy. I hope to share this joy with you one day.

Alofa atu,

Tuma