About Us

JALENE KANANI BELL - President & Creative Director

A natural born creative, textile designer Jalene Kanani began her creative expression through hula, beginning at the age of 3, and within 3 years she was a regular keiki performer in Don Ho’s iconic Waikīkī show. As a teenager she became a governor’s model who traveled the United States promoting Hawaiʻi as well as an international hula dancer for Tihati Productions. Her experience as a hula dancer provided a steadfast foundation to ignite her cultural curiosities while defining herself as an ambassador of aloha.

 Creativity was not only encouraged but modeled for Jalene, whose mother owned and designed Hawaiian fashion label Wailani Originals: Hula Girl Creations,” a line of t-shirts and bags sold at Liberty House and McInerny in the early 1970s and became her first foray into design. Determined to develop her business acumen to complement her creative impulses, she earned a B.A. in Political Science which led her to a corporate job in furniture flooring and equipment supply. Working with textile manufacturers afforded her the unique opportunity to forge important relationships within the industry as well as realize the niche markets that had yet to be developed in Hawaiʻi and beyond. Her designs were well-received and she began licensing designs to international manufacturers such as Duralee and Durkan.

In 2008 she established Jalene Kanani Inc., designing commercial carpeting and flooring through ProSPEC contract fabric, where she continued to hone her skills and develop her unique brand aesthetic. Her experience inspired her to parlay her tribal prints into a collection of home goods in unexplored areas of Hawaiʻi's interior industry. 
In 2018 she launched NOHO HOME with a line of bedding featuring her distinguished patterns. With dreams of new textiles and product development on the horizon, Jalene’s success in the world of home decor has only just begun.

 

LORI HIEGER - Director of Business Development

Lori Hieger was born and raised on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.  After graduating from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, she studied Political Science and Journalism, earning a BA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.  Through her career journey, Lori gained extensive and diverse experience in sales, operations, and management from multiple industries, working and living on both coasts of the mainland United States.

After a career pause to raise her two children, Lori and her husband returned home to Hawaiʻi in 2017.  Joining the NOHO HOME team in 2019, Lori adds a seasoned approach to business development and operations.  Her high energy, optimism, and focus on results is balanced with her Hawaiian heritage, values, and work ethic.  Lori’s passion for connecting Hawaiian culture to living spaces and home design increases her value to the team.

Lori actively participates in the community, maintaining her Mākaha roots as a member of the Board of Directors for Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha Farm.  Additionally, she serves as a member of the Community Board at DreamHouse Ewa Beach Public Charter School. In their spare time, Lori and her husband volunteer for cultural, social, and environmental causes across the islands which support their children’s understanding and appreciation of Hawaiian culture, both traditional and modern.

 

 JC HITZEMAN - Sales & Marketing Associate

Jaycinth Hitzeman (JC) is the youngest daughter of Jalene Kanani Bell.  Like her sisters, she was also born and raised in Oahu, Hawaiʻi. She has since graduated with honors from Island Pacific Academy in 2016 and continues her education towards a Bachelorʻs Degree in Business Management through Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. JC joins the NOHO HOME team as a Sales & Marketing Associate.

 

MISSION STATEMENT:
NOHO HOME is a sophisticated island experience cultivated through artful home decor.
 
ABOUT NOHO HOME:
NOHO HOME is a sophisticated island experience cultivated through artful home decor. Marked by the designer’s profound love for her Hawaiian heritage and other first nations’ cultures, NOHO HOME reimagines the island home aesthetic into organic textures woven with native intelligence.
Creating a sacred space is the essence of home and what inspired the namesake of the lifestyle brand. “In ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), noho means to be, to dwell or to come from,” the designer explains. Inspired by the notions of authenticity and connection, NOHO HOME encourages the dweller to express their sense of home through pieces that evoke cultural sensibility.
 
INSPIRATION:
True to her roots as a Hawaiian artist, culture and nature inform many of designer Jalene Kanani’s designs. With a natural affinity for depth, texture and organic patterns, her interpretation of “tropical” is a welcomed departure from shabby beach chic and instead evokes a sophisticated island aesthetic reminiscent of her upbringing as a native Hawaiian in Hawaiʻi. For Jalene, home is not dictated by the walls you dwell in but the feeling that overcomes you when you feel safe and comforted within a curated space.

She explains:
 
“Home means different things to different people and is not always a physical four walls–it is a feeling. I moved around a bit, so home for me is going to my friendʻs house at 5pm and smelling food on the stove. Home is being at canoe practice every day. Home is a feeling you experience, and one that you want to continually cultivate and surround yourself with.”
 
CREATIVE PROCESS:
NOHO HOME designer Jalene Kanani’s creative process is true to her organic design aesthetic. As an artist who is naturally attuned to the patterns of her surroundings, she prefers open, freeform creativity to explore the fullness of a focused design before layering it for added depth. In doing so, she approaches each print through a Hawaiian perspective to balance the Kū and Hina elements in each. In native traditions these opposites are often referred to as masculine and feminine energies. NOHO HOME explores the nature of opposites through pattern play and color to find a harmony of both.