Wakeful State

05/02/2024

📸 In January, we photographed the opening of the 8x8 exhibition 🥳 at Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design. This was Shangri La’s fourth installment of 8x8, which features eight visual artists and eight performing artists that are all Hawaii based 🌿. It was a really fun, beautiful evening shining a light on some incredibly talented artists 🌞🌊.

In the past, we’ve collaborated with Shangri La on video storytelling projects 🎥. It was fun to switch it up and focus on photography for a change. Mahalo for having us 🤙🏼

© Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture, & Design, Honolulu, Hawai’i (Photographer: Wakeful State LLC, 2024)

01/05/2023

We’re looking forward to sharing our latest project with you this week. There was a live viewing of this short film 🎥 that we created on Big Island last Thursday. This project was a collaboration between ‘s restaurants and . This effort brought together different business sectors in Hawaii that are innovating to address climate change. We look forward to both locals and tourists enjoying the worlds first climate friendly low methane emissions goat 🐐 cheese 🧀 at Merriman’s restaurants throughout the islands. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when local businesses get together to push for progress and share hopeful innovative stories with the world 🌎. Hawaii hosts so many people from around the globe, we have the ability to touch those folks with powerful stories that they can then bring home to their communities to inspire similar optimistic action. We’ll share the stats on how much Blue Ocean Barns seaweed based Brominata livestock feed additive reduced the goats methane burps in the next post. The results of the study 📚 were quite promising for the future of ranching and it’s impact on our global climate!🌳 🌊

15/03/2023

A few behind-the-scenes shots from our shoot. We’re hard at work in post-production now preparing the edit for their upcoming fundraiser. We nearly came home with a new large dog and a 3 legged cat. After some reflection, we thought our 10-pound “cat-hating” rescue dog, Monty, might not appreciate that. Cooler heads prevailed… we’ll stick to using our storytelling skillset to help the staff and the animals in need. We’ve had some interesting animal-related synchronicities lately. Our dog Monty was originally picked up as a stray on Big Island. He had a short stay at Hawaii Island Humane Society. Here we are a few short years later supporting that very organization whose work we wholeheartedly support. There’s another pet related project in our future that may take us back to Big Island in the next few weeks. It’s related to goats, cheese, and minimizing the effects of climate change. Since you’re likely stumped on what that could possibly be about we suggest you stay tuned to our feed for more updates. 😄🐈🐐🦮

21/01/2023

🌈 UPCOMING IN-PERSON EVENT 🌞 The Politics of Psychedelics ☼ and a screening of our short film 🍄 Renewed - Stories of Psychedelic Healing ❤️‍🩹 w/Vietnam Veteran - Steven Anderson🎥

Join for a public event at 📍 (Oahu) on 1/24 from 5:30-8 PM

It's been an incredible month for us at as we've had the privilege of showcasing our videos at two in-person events ⚡️. But the excitement doesn't stop there - we're thrilled to announce that our third event will be open to the public! 🥳

💡 Our latest project is a collaboration with 🍄, where we've had the honor of telling the powerful story of a Vietnam veteran's journey to healing through guided psychedelic therapy 🌈. With the help of Clarity Hawaii's network, the Anderson family (father Steve and son Sean) bravely stepped forward to share their personal story ❤️.

🌟 We are endlessly grateful to both and the Anderson family for their courage and willingness to collaborate on this project 👏🏼. As our culture continues to explore the potential of psychedelics in healing and mental health, it's vital that we support 🥰 both mental health practitioners and those suffering with new tools 🔬 and understanding. 😊 Join us as we strive to provide healing for those who have yet to find relief through traditional mental health methods 💕.

Event Details:

🎬 Screening of our short film

* Sam Chapman, Executive Director of the Healing Advocacy Fund and Oregon Psilocybin Campaign Organizer; member of the Clarity Project Advisory Board

* Oriana Filiaci, Admissions & Culture Specialist at SoundMind Institute; member of the Clarity Project Advisory Board

🍄 Superfood mushroom elixirs by included with price of ticket

🥙 Food from a local vendor will be available for purchase onsite

Feel free to dress comfortably / casually if that calls to you. Ka Waiwai requires all attendees to remove their shoes upon entry.

Link to purchase tickets in bio! 🎟️ All proceeds go to the Clarity Project, working to expand psychedelic access in Hawai’i.

Let’s ☼ Follow us here and visit www.clarityproject.org to learn more.

19/01/2023

✈️ We're excited to announce that our short film 🎬that we made for United Airlines 🛩️, Conservation International 🌺, and Kanu Hawaii 🎉, will be featured on all of the flights 🥳✈️! We are so grateful for the opportunity to help amplify the message of environmental stewardship in Hawaii 🌈🌎. Thank you SO much to everyone that came out last week to support the launch 😊! Shout out to Carissa () for planning the pau hana, which brought together partners, the keiki from our video, and community members ⚡️. Mahalo for all the support! Please visit pledgetoourkeiki.org to sign the pledge today 💻❤️.

04/01/2023

⚡️Hauʻoli makahiki hou! 🥳 Happy new year! 🎆

We hope you enjoyed some time off with loved ones during the holiday season 🎄🥰🎁. Here at Wakeful State, we're looking forward to 2023! We took some time during the holidays 🎉to reflect on the past year and the way forward 🔮. This year, we're thinking in terms of daily routines and habits 💪🏽. The thought process is that if you can block off time for specific daily activities 🎬✍️, consistency will compound and move you toward the goals you want to achieve 🏆. For us, it will start in the morning with a workout/movement 🏃🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♂️practice then reading 📖 and learning while sipping a hot coffee ☕️.

The bulk of the day will be spent focused on Wakeful State and client projects 💡🎥. We're always working to level up our professional skills and in 2023, that trend will continue 🎉. In the late afternoon, we plan to get outside to reset 😁and then return to work on our personal creative projects 🎨 where we can experiment and sharpen our storytelling skills 📷.

💡What are you focusing on in the coming year?
💡What daily habit would move you toward your goal?

"You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems." - James Clear

🙂 Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos from one of our favorite projects last year, Pledge to Our Keiki 🌺🌈. The video was a collaboration between our team and . The client was Kanu Hawai'i, United Airlines, and Conservation International.

17/12/2022

In partnership with Conservation International, Kanu Hawaii, and United we are proud to share the Pledge to Our Keiki short film that we wrote, filmed, edited, and directed with PlanIt, Environmental Vision and Branding. We invite you all to read and sign to share your commitment to protecting Hawaiʻi for future generations. 🌎🌴🤝 : http://pledgetoourkeiki.org/

The Pledge to Our Keiki is an opportunity for us all to care for Hawaiʻi as visitors and residents. Join us in our shared kuleana (responsibility) to preserve Hawaiʻi for future generations.

Whether we are visitors or residents, we all have a role to play in caring for Hawaiʻi as stewards. Pledge to Our Keiki is a statewide invitation for you to commit to a respectful and responsible stay. 🌈🛬

A huge mahalo to everyone that made this possible. We are thrilled that this project is out in the world and proud to be associated with this worthy endeavor.

12/08/2022

🎥 Filming today at for 🌎🌱in Waimanalo. We are currently making a video about how this amazing in-vessel compost machine works! Stay tuned to see the final product 😊.

21/05/2022

We’re thrilled to share this video that we created with , , and . It tells the story of the arrival of the first in-vessel composting machine in the Hawaiian Islands. This magnificent piece of technology can take food waste and turn in into beautiful healthy soil in a matter of weeks. The impressive device is engineered to be a good neighbor. It contains and mitigates all of the nasty bits one might associate with a compost pile and rotting food. The team continues to lead the way in the sphere of waste and ocean plastic with the support of generous donors and key collaborators. One could see a future where devices like these are distributed throughout our communities. It would be a greener, healthier, and more food secure world.

11/01/2022

We’ve been busy making videos for clients these past few months but haven’t gotten around to sharing many of them on here 🤓.

Check out this video we made for Hawaii Island Humane Society 🐶 for . It features Bruce, a sweet pup who was brought to HIHS when he was just a few days old ❤️. The love and care he received from the shelter was critical for his survival 🥰.

Tomorrow, we will be heading to the Big Island ✈️ to document HIHS’s new facility and share the life saving work that they do for animals 🎉.

More soon! 👏🏼

18/05/2021

If you like farming and the beautiful valleys of "The Garden Isle" check out this profile we did for Oʻahu Resource Conservation and Development Council on Sierra-Lynn Stone of SBH Taro Farms. Sierra is early on in her journey of beginning to integrate regenerative practices on her farm. She has the desire and Oʻahu Resource Conservation and Development Council has the support with their Hawaii Women Farmers Network. Sierra is a 6th generation kalo farmer. She recently took over the farm after her grandfather's passing. Sierra has already begun soil health testing, water quality testing, and increasing biodiversity through crop rotation methods. We're excited to see young wahine farmers like Sierra strengthening the local food system here in Hawaii. 🌏

18/05/2021

Wakeful State is proud to share our recent work promoting Oʻahu Resource Conservation and Development Council and their Hawaii Women Farmers Network (WFN)👩🏿‍🌾👩🏻‍🌾👩‍🌾👩🏼‍🌾👩🏾‍🌾 program.

We had the pleasure of meeting Emma Bello and the team at Sweet Land Farm. We have a soft spot for goats on our team. We raised a couple kids a few years ago. We know how challenging, hilarious, and time-consuming goats can be. We only had 2 goats, they have hundreds 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐!

Emma and the Sweet Land team are working hard to bring Oahu and Hawaii in general high-quality products made right here in the islands. Check them out at Sweet Land Farm We hope to see regularly scheduled classes in the future! Just saying, could be fun. Maybe Yoga Room Hawaii could team up to make it happen?

13/05/2021

Wakeful State collaborated with our friends at Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii to create the first episode of what will hopefully be an ongoing YouTube series about environmental issues facing the ocean. We hope you have a laugh and learn a thing or two.

https://youtu.be/PpLSnmwXvJU?t=458

The SCHnews: Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiiʻs version of the news. We’re here to bring you the plastic pollution tales, education, and solutions that standard...

13/05/2021

We just wrapped our final session documenting the construction of .tv ‘s Hawaii Parley AIR Station. It’s the first of its kind and we were thrilled to be brought on to support in a content creation role. Big mahalo to the .tv team and congratulations to the community partners. We can’t wait to see the impact this space has on ocean issues. We’ve seen the looks on the kids faces, they’re pumped about it already.
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(Swipe through the photos for a sneak peek 👉 more video content to come soon)⁠
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The Hawai‘i Parley AIR Station is a community hub for collaboration, education and eco-innovation, launched to champion our movement and inspire local change-makers to join us in tackling plastic pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss and major ocean threats. ⁠
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As a community space, people of all backgrounds are welcome at the Parley AIR Station to learn, explore, be heard and discuss ways we can create real change for the environment together. ⁠
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Local speakers, experts and leaders from the Hawaiian community are invited on a weekly basis to discuss the importance of the oceans and the main threats the oceans, and all of us, now face. ⁠
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Sessions are dedicated to deepening a physical, scientific and cultural understanding of the marine environment with a focus that promotes youth engagement, stewardship and the use of best practices in daily life. ⁠
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As with every Parley initiative, collaboration is the goal and driving force of the Parley AIR Station. Mahalo to the partners making this one possible: , , , , , and

29/04/2021

Check out our latest work with CNBC Make It. We hope JD Wilson finds success with his Lead U youth empowerment program as schools open up for assemblies in the not too distant future.

https://youtu.be/22-AyG46VxY

JD Wilson, 38, is a third grade teacher making $47,000 a year at St. Anthony's School in Kailua, Hawaii. After his events company, Lead U, was halted due to ...

23/04/2021

Pacific Biodiesel / Oʻahu Resource Conservation & Development Council

Here are some Earth Day vibes 🌎 from our friend Kelly King. Kelly holds the County Council seat for the South Maui area, she is Chair of the Climate Action, Resilience, and Environment Committee, and co-founder of Pacific Biodiesel 🌻🌞🚗. We worked with Oʻahu Resource Conservation and Development Council to profile Kelly and promote their new resource called the Hawaiʻi Women Farmers Network.

From Oahu RC&D: Kelly co-manages the oldest biodiesel company in America, Pacific Biodiesel. The philosophy of their business is based on regenerative principles and their 114-acre farm is an extension of this model. In addition to stressing the importance of using renewable energy, equipment to conserve water and improve crop infiltration, and recycling of resources, Kelly is a big advocate for increasing plant and soil biodiversity through cover cropping. She points out how this is a particularly important step towards improving soil health as Hawaii transitions from a predominantly monoculture to a diversified agriculture system. Watch this video to learn how Kelly’s is converting cooking oil into a valuable commodity and in turn, supplying restaurants with high-quality culinary oils grown from their sunflower and other crops. You can learn more about her work Maiden Hawaii Naturals Pacific Biodiesel Technologies

22/04/2021

This video was meant to promote Volunteer Week Hawaii in 2020 but there were some delays you might recall 😷🦠🔬. We're happy it's gotten a second life in 2021's marketing campaign.

It was a pleasure working with Sepasi, AccesSurf, and Kanu Hawaii on this profile.

Find an event and give back this weekend if you have some free time.

Volunteer Week Hawaii 2021 is April 18-24. With so many organizations hosting events across Hawaii you can definitely find an in-person or virtual volunteer opportunity that's perfect for you.

15/04/2021

We collaborated with Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture and Design to film their most recent artist in residence. We enjoyed working with, local artist, Kamran Samimi. He's a talented artist that works in multiple mediums. We're proud of how this one turned out. There was a slight delay due to a global pandemic, you know how that goes. Kamran had the good fortune of his residency period being extended during that time. He's the luckiest artist we know. Might be time for a Kamran Samimi NFT. : ) Keep that luck rolling.

Check out his Sanctuaries exhibit from April 8, 2021 - October 2, 2021, a new online exhibition by Shangri La's first Hawaiʻi-based artist-in-residence . Follow and stay tuned for updates on when the museum will open to the public.

Sanctuaries is a beautifully layered response to an extraordinary time and place. The work is the outcome of an artistic residency that was extended by several months because of the impacts of the pandemic. This unique, expanded time frame realized a thoughtful artist-curator process that captured engagements and entanglements with Shangri La that only time could inspire. Sanctuaries is a celebration of the journey of self-discovery and reflect on the spiritual and natural connections that are made along the way.

Kamran Samimi is Shangri La’s first Hawaiʻi-based Artist-in-Residence.

09/03/2021

Today we began a new project filming zero waste stores 🌏🌱 around Oahu for ’s ongoing Changemaker series. First up on the list was 🌊. We met with the two brave young female founders, Jill and Hunter. They have a brick and mortar store on Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki. The store is about 100 yards from where was founded 10 years ago! Who would have thought?! The young founders are serving the Honolulu area and are committed to providing zero waste 🌈 options for the local community. We recommend paying them a visit and adopting one small shift in your routine. It doesn't take much effort to get some momentum. One small shift at a time. They gifted us a glass hand soap dispenser with a stainless steel pump lid and filled it with liquid soap from one of their bulk dispensers. Go support these working toward a better future for us all.