Saturday, January 22, 2011

Exotical, the man

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Aloha! The name of the store is Exotical. It is a combination of exotic and California. I have seen this store on Firestone Blvd. for as long as I can remember, but I've never visited it before today.

One of the things I have loved about doing this blog has been the people we meet and the stories, the history we learn. I love that everyone has such an interesting story to tell. John Paul Orloff has owned Exotical for 46 years. The store has a large selection of Island imports, from resort clothing, to leis, to ukeleles made out of coconut shells — and much more.

IMG_1205Paul welcomed us to his shop. He clearly loves people and chatted with us for some time. He is a born storyteller and we were regaled with stories from his past. After a while, he pointed out to us that he had written everything down in the form of a book — his memoirs. As the son of Russian immigrants, Paul has an interesting story to tell.

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By the time I left, I had a copy of Paul's book — his gift to me. It was a sweet moment, meeting him and spending a little time getting to know the man behind "Exotical."

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