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Kamaka Ukulele
Kamaka ʻUkulele, also known as Kamaka Hawaiʻi, Inc., or just Kamaka, is a Hawaii-based and family-owned maker of ukuleles. It is often credited with producing some of the world's finest ukuleles, and created the first pineapple ukulele. The company manufactures nine types of ukulele.
In 1910, Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka Sr. entered apprenticeship under Manuel Nunes to make ukuleles. Kamaka founded his own shop in 1916. It was called "Kamaka Ukulele and Guitar Works" and was operated from Kamaka's basement. In 1921 Kamaka opened a store in Kaimuki, near Honolulu. Kamaka already had a reputation for making high-quality instruments, and the shop thrived through the 1920s and 1930s. The first Kamaka ukeleles were $5 apiece.
In 1927, Samuel Kamaka Sr. made a new design of ukulele, which produced a more mellow sound than that of a normal figure-eight shaped ukulele. His friends are said to have commented that this new ukulele looked like a pineapple, and one of Samuel's friends, an artist, painted an image of a pineapple on the front of the new ukulele. The new shape immediately became popular, and in 1928 Kamaka was awarded a patent on the pineapple ukulele.
Samuel Kamaka Sr. had two sons, Samuel Jr. and Frederick, and when the boys were in grade school he began to teach them the art of crafting ukuleles. In 1945 the company reorganized as "Kamaka and Sons Enterprises", but when both Kamaka boys were drafted to fight in World War II, ukulele making took a back seat. When the boys returned from the war, Samuel Jr. and Frederick attended Washington State University, and later got a job in the Army. Samuel Jr. earned a bachelor's degree and pursued a doctorate in entomology from Oregon State University.
Samuel Kamaka semi-retired early in 1952 due to illness and went to the family estate in Waianae to make ukuleles. He died in December 1953. Upon his father's death, Samuel Jr. abandoned his studies, instead choosing to continue the family business. He restored the company to its original location in Kaimuki, and expanded the company in 1959. Kamaka and Sons incorporated in 1968. Samuel Kamaka Jr. was active in the local luthier scene; along with friend George Gilmore (of the Guitar and Lute Workshop), they created the Lute Society. Together, they taught night courses in lute and guitar construction techniques from 1966 to 1970. Roy Sakuma was part of a group of ukelele teachers and students that started in 1971 to gather in the Kamaka store to play together, a gathering that would give birth to the Ukulele Festival Hawaii.
During the 1980s, sales fell flat and the company survived thanks to its sales in Japan through its subsidiary Kama‘āina. In 2016, Kamaka Ukulele released a ukulele-themed line of aloha wear and a 2-disc CD in collaboration with Reyn Spooner to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
In 1955, Kamaka first hired disabled employees, a time at which the disabled were viewed as unable to work. Two hearing-impaired individuals were hired as craftsmen, and were found to be exemplary workers, because of their enhanced sense of touch, which allowed them to craft better ukuleles, able to feel the thickness of the wood.
Kamaka produces ukeles, mainly from koa wood, the endemic Hawaiian wood. Kamaka makes standard, concert, tenor and baritone ukeleles featuring four, six and eight strings.
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Kamaka Ukulele
Kamaka ʻUkulele, also known as Kamaka Hawaiʻi, Inc., or just Kamaka, is a Hawaii-based and family-owned maker of ukuleles. It is often credited with producing some of the world's finest ukuleles, and created the first pineapple ukulele. The company manufactures nine types of ukulele.
In 1910, Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka Sr. entered apprenticeship under Manuel Nunes to make ukuleles. Kamaka founded his own shop in 1916. It was called "Kamaka Ukulele and Guitar Works" and was operated from Kamaka's basement. In 1921 Kamaka opened a store in Kaimuki, near Honolulu. Kamaka already had a reputation for making high-quality instruments, and the shop thrived through the 1920s and 1930s. The first Kamaka ukeleles were $5 apiece.
In 1927, Samuel Kamaka Sr. made a new design of ukulele, which produced a more mellow sound than that of a normal figure-eight shaped ukulele. His friends are said to have commented that this new ukulele looked like a pineapple, and one of Samuel's friends, an artist, painted an image of a pineapple on the front of the new ukulele. The new shape immediately became popular, and in 1928 Kamaka was awarded a patent on the pineapple ukulele.
Samuel Kamaka Sr. had two sons, Samuel Jr. and Frederick, and when the boys were in grade school he began to teach them the art of crafting ukuleles. In 1945 the company reorganized as "Kamaka and Sons Enterprises", but when both Kamaka boys were drafted to fight in World War II, ukulele making took a back seat. When the boys returned from the war, Samuel Jr. and Frederick attended Washington State University, and later got a job in the Army. Samuel Jr. earned a bachelor's degree and pursued a doctorate in entomology from Oregon State University.
Samuel Kamaka semi-retired early in 1952 due to illness and went to the family estate in Waianae to make ukuleles. He died in December 1953. Upon his father's death, Samuel Jr. abandoned his studies, instead choosing to continue the family business. He restored the company to its original location in Kaimuki, and expanded the company in 1959. Kamaka and Sons incorporated in 1968. Samuel Kamaka Jr. was active in the local luthier scene; along with friend George Gilmore (of the Guitar and Lute Workshop), they created the Lute Society. Together, they taught night courses in lute and guitar construction techniques from 1966 to 1970. Roy Sakuma was part of a group of ukelele teachers and students that started in 1971 to gather in the Kamaka store to play together, a gathering that would give birth to the Ukulele Festival Hawaii.
During the 1980s, sales fell flat and the company survived thanks to its sales in Japan through its subsidiary Kama‘āina. In 2016, Kamaka Ukulele released a ukulele-themed line of aloha wear and a 2-disc CD in collaboration with Reyn Spooner to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
In 1955, Kamaka first hired disabled employees, a time at which the disabled were viewed as unable to work. Two hearing-impaired individuals were hired as craftsmen, and were found to be exemplary workers, because of their enhanced sense of touch, which allowed them to craft better ukuleles, able to feel the thickness of the wood.
Kamaka produces ukeles, mainly from koa wood, the endemic Hawaiian wood. Kamaka makes standard, concert, tenor and baritone ukeleles featuring four, six and eight strings.