Luke Bautista has been a friend and customer of The Bead Gallery for years, and watching his creative journey has been one of our favorite things. He started with flower arranging, then got into beading jewelry, then feather lei-making — lei hulu, one of the most meticulous and culturally significant Hawaiian art forms — and then he started turning his own wood beads by hand, one at a time, on a lathe.
That progression tells you everything about who Luke is. He doesn't dabble. He dives deep into each craft, learns the hard parts, and brings his own eye to it.
It's such a pleasure to meet someone putting their heart and soul into their creative expressions, taking risks by experimenting and learning so many new things along the way. It's inspiring and reminds all of us that we can do what we love — in little to large ways — and it's so important to savor the moment when you are in it.
And by "in it," I mean in the moment that you are creating, focused on the task at hand. Luke has found his mindful moments in the detailed and labor-intensive crafts he's chosen. Hand-turning wood beads is about as meditative as it gets — each bead is shaped individually, and no two are exactly alike. There's something honest about that in a world of mass production.
About Nā Momi
Nā Momi means "the pearls" in Hawaiian. It's the name Luke chose for his jewelry line, and it fits — his pieces have that same quiet, natural beauty. He works under both Nā Momi and Designs by Akio, blending Hawaiian materials and sensibility with his own artistic instincts.
His work spans hand-turned wood bead jewelry, beaded pieces using gemstones and pearls, and mixed-media designs that pull from his background in floral arrangement and lei-making. Everything has a warmth and intentionality to it.
Find Luke on Instagram: @paintnpetals and @na_momi_hi
live. love. create.