Coast Ukulele
Luthier Kawai Carvalho, California USA
Where he started
Coast ‘Ukulele started as a hobby in 2020 during the pandemic out of a very small and falling apart garage in Petaluma, California. Kawai instantly knew from the very first ukulele that he felt so connected to building. By 2021, they had moved to a slightly bigger and less run down garage where he began to professionally build ukes.
“As someone who grew up in Hawai‘i with Hawaiian & Portuguese ancestry, the moment I started building ukes I felt such a connection to my history. It brought so much memories of my youth around Hawaiian music and so much joy to research my family history and the history of the ‘ukulele. It truly feels like a way for me to share Aloha with the world.”
…personally it is the calm I feel when I get my hands on the wood
Kawai has learnt from and been inspired by many builders ranging from large companies to small shop builders like himself. What he loves about this ukulele community is that it really truly feels like a community, where all freely share their expertise. So there hasn’t been just one mentor, he feels that he’s had an opportunity to learn from them all.
But the aspect he enjoys most about building is “Personally it is the calm I feel when I get my hands on the wood and start building. The connection to nature and breath is overwhelmingly beautiful at times.”
.having a natural attention to detail and the passion…
What has been your biggest learning and challenges so far?
“The luthier joke I've heard a few times is "When making an instrument, 90% of that is building it, and the other 90% is finishing". And my goodness this has been so true, especially for someone who builds at home out of their garage with kids running around. It has always been my goal to be safe with my finishes. This includes safety for the environment and the people in my family. It has been a long journey of trying so many different options. I am happy to say that my current UV cured finishes have finally brought this journey to a place where I feel I can meet safety with a really wonderful and durable finish to highlight the beauty of the instruments.”
Whilst Kawai continues to figure out the art of finishing, he believes that the most critical step in the build process is having a natural attention to detail and the passion to put in as many hours as needed to work through exploring every one of those details.
Words of advice from Kawai
“Keep playing the ‘ukulele, it is a wonderful way to feel and share Aloha. And, if you ever get the opportunity to build one, it is a truly magical experience.”
“Keep playing the ‘ukulele…”
thank you.
