Christina Kamaka O Kalani Henline’s home, business and heart are in Hawaii.
“Hawaiian culture, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful, open-hearted, kind, fun, deep, powerful and amazing cultures in the world and I understand how lucky I am to be a part of such a precious thing,” Henline said.
She owns and manages Sun Dot Marine Flags in Pearl City, a family-owned business starting its seventh decade.
Christina Kamaka O Kalani Henline and niece Amaiah Pomroy
| Submitted
“Sun Dot Marine was established in 1964 by my great-aunt Dorsey Miller. She began sewing marine fish flags, by hand, for her fishermen friends in Honokohau Harbor,” Henline said. “The idea behind the marine capture flags is that fishermen fly the flag of the fish they catch (or catch and release) that day. Before social media and radio transmitting, flags were used to let other boats know what fish were biting.
“The flags flying high as the boats came into a port or harbor, also let spectators or visitors know what fish they had caught out on the water that day. It’s kind of like ‘bragging rights’ and is still used today by charter boats all around the world.”
Sun Dot offers more than 18 flags representing many of the large pelagic fish indigenous to the Hawaiian islands.
“We also have a few specialty flags including a pirate flag, cocktail flag, diver down flag (used to signify people snorkeling or free diving) as well as a striped bass, humpback whale and shark flag,” she said. “Our flags are also used at many seafood restaurants and people hang them in and around their home for decoration. The uses are endless, as we use a Velcro attachment system that makes it easy to use the flags in all types of situations.”
Dorsey’s son, Bob Russel, took over the business in 1984 — the same year Henline was born. She said he “really took Sun Dot to the next level, ensuring our flags complied with the standards of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) and changing the flags to be screen-printed and no longer use a grommet and loop system.”
Her aunt Vivian Varney took over in 1997 while she was 8 months pregnant with her first baby, and successfully ran the business until handing it over to Henline in 2017.
“I consider myself lucky to have been born and raised in Hawaii. I was born in Kailua, O’ahu, in 1984 and lived there until I was 3 years old,” she said. “My family then moved to Hilo, on the Big Island, where I was raised. When I was 18 years old, shortly after I graduated high school, I moved to Australia for college. I recently returned back to Hawaii in 2015, living in Kawaihae Village for a few years. I moved to O’ahu in March 2020 — less than a week before the first COVID lockdown — where I am currently living.”
Henline said she is gradually putting her own touch on the business.
“Over the last few years, I have added a range of products to our line of fish flags including T-shirts, hats, pouches and swimwear, all based on our original designs. I try to collaborate with other local, small businesses whenever possible,” she said. “I moved to O’ahu to expand the business and have nothing but hope for the future. Our company has such a solid, well-known reputation in the fishing world, and we have such a niche product at the same time that the possibilities for growth are endless. I feel honored to be continuing what is essentially a small family business with big dreams.”
Henline said it has been a learning process, since she didn’t grow up fishing.
“It’s a whole new world for me and I’m grateful the business has given me the chance to explore this side of my Hawaiian culture and to experience so many new adventures,” she said. “Fishing is a huge part of Hawaiian culture so I would say that is the biggest connection our business has to not only the local community, but the land and resources we are blessed to have here in Hawaii as well.
“The cool thing about fishing and being part of such a deep-rooted pastime in Hawaii is that every fisherman has a story. Every fishing adventure has a story,” Henline said. “And Hawaiians LOVE telling stories. I am a writer for Hawai’i Fishing News and I really enjoy telling the stories of the people around me.
“This also keeps me connected to my local fishing community and has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of other inspiring professionals within Hawai’i,” she said.
Henline takes that very seriously, and said Sun Dot is dedicated to preserving and honoring the past.
“Being part Hawaiian myself, I feel it in my blood the responsibility to keep my culture alive. I aim to perpetuate Aloha in my products and the service I give to my customers,” she said. “Last year we created a ‘Ku Kia’i Mauna’ Flag to help raise awareness of local issues relating to the construction of a 30-meter telescope on one of our most sacred mountains, Mauna Kea.
“We created a hat line in 2018 when the lava flowed through the town of Leilani Estates, and donated 100% of the profits to family and friends who lost their homes and possessions,” Henline said. “The lava flow had a huge effect on the fishing community, after the main boat ramp at Pohoiki was destroyed. A lot of families livelihoods revolved around that boat ramp.”
Conservation also is a very important component of Sun Dot, and something she values personally.
“Our company is also passionate about helping with ocean conservation, and I am a reef-safe sunscreen advocate,” Henline said. “I regularly participate and help organize beach cleanups and have worked with companies like Keep Puako Beautiful, to run Keiki art contests. I spend so much time in and around the ocean that it’s something I am passionate about protecting."
The coronavirus pandemic has created new challenges, Henline admits, yet has also presented her with a new opportunity to help people and bring in revenue.
“My decision to move to O’ahu just happened to be finalized a week before the first COVID lockdown in Hawaii,” she said. “I had made the move with the goal in mind to participate in more markets and events and to network and focus on taking the business to the next level. Initially my orders from fishing stores stopped as retailers started closing down. I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do to stay in business.
“During that time when we were on our first 14-day stay-at-home order and the medical world seemed to be desperately running out of PPE equipment, I wanted to sew a few face masks to send to my doctor and nurse friends on the Big Island to help keep them safe,” Henline said. “I didn’t expect the positive reaction the masks would have on my customers and the huge, instant demand for face masks in our community. Sewing and selling face masks kept our business afloat for those first few months of COVID for sure!”
It’s been a difficult time for just about everyone, she said.
“Fishing charters here in the islands are heavily reliant on tourism as well and with travel to Hawaii so limited this year, our fishing industry is definitely facing a lot of challenges,” Henline said. “Charters aren’t fishing as often and restaurants aren’t running at normal capacity so commercial fishermen have less options to sell their catch. Covid is having a huge affect on all types of businesses here in Hawaii — especially all of these small businesses that make Hawaii so special.”
Many local businesses suffered through shutdowns and restrictions, and difficult moments remain ahead, she said. But there also are reasons for optimism.
“I’m not aware of the exact numbers but I have a feeling it’s pretty drastic, and I imagine that the long-term effects may be worse than we anticipate. I know a lot of my friends who have small businesses have had to shift and re-adjust the ways they conduct their business,” Henline said. “Surprisingly, I feel hopeful for a lot of Hawaii’s small businesses because we are a creative people, we care about each other, so we help bring each other up. And I really see that happening within our business community. I see more people reaching out to buy local and local organizations like Mana Up offering opportunities for local businesses to get global exposure.”
She said the way forward is based on journeys undertaken and completed in the past. The only answer is to work together and move forward.
“Being a small business owner over the last few years has really opened my eyes to the incredible importance of supporting local,” Henline said. “Participating in events and pop-up shops has given me the chance to meet a lot of other Hawaii business owners, many of which I have collaborated with or try to support in other ways, whether it be buying their products or helping provide business advice or tips. I can see firsthand how the money stays in our local communities, the job opportunities for our youth and how supporting local helps Hawaii thrive.”
The island’s cherished history, and the culture of caring for people in all settings will remain parts of the company’s values. It’s a company and family tradition, she said.
“I try to live my own life with Aloha and also carry that energy into how I run the business,” Henline said. “I treat all of my customers and shops with so much love. I try to take the time to spend an extra minute to make people feel like they are part of our “Sundot ‘Ohana.’”