Flower Power
COURTNEY MONAHAN’S DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA HAS SERVED HER WELL, THOUGH MAYBE NOT IN THE WAY OF CARVING OUT A SET-IN-STONE CAREER PATH. Rather, she’s been using that knowledge to follow her passions, wherever they may lead, and for the past eight years or so it’s been as owner/operator of botanical boutique Paiko.
“I learned how to form an argument, a point of view,” she explains of her bachelor’s. “In some ways, it’s helped me to formulate how I feel about something, and if it’s a strong belief I go for it. In some ways it’s good for businesses. You’ve got to have an opinion and stand up for it, fight for it a little bit.”
Those qualities have also served her well in the past when she traveled from coast to coast—California to Brooklyn— to hold positions with leading fashion empire Donna Karan Co. and fashion photographer Bruce Weber. Then, when the islands called her back, Monahan returned and started teaching Pilates while doing bookkeeping on the side for nonprofits and small businesses, one of which was her now-business partner Tamara Rigney’s floral design company. That was in 2011, and the next year, the two sprung for a space in the up-and-coming Kaka‘ako neighborhood—and Paiko was born.
“We’ve been together ever since,” adds Monahan. “And we’ve been thankful for everyone’s love of plants.”
Her own perennial fascination with flora stems from watching her mom Nancy tend to the garden in her childhood homes, both growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and while attending Niu Valley Middle and Kaiser High.
“I watched her care for them with love, and it was kind of her release in a way,” Monahan recalls. “That’s where I came about all of my knowledge.”
Paiko, for its part, has blossomed into a flourishing space that brings together local growers and plant-lovers of all kinds.
“We have such a wide range of customers,” shares Monahan. “We have novice plant people and those looking for rare plants.
“I love seeing people’s processes and where they are as far as learning and knowing about plants. Some of the greatest stories about plants have come from our customers.”
Paiko works closely with neighborhood farmers, making it possible to support local while curating a collection that thrives in the state’s tropical weather. It’s also why one of Monahan’s favorites—though the extensive list changes regularly—remains the hoya.
“They grow wonderfully in Hawai‘i; we’re the right climate for them,” she shares.
Now, Monahan is hard at work with the launch of Paiko’s sister flower and gift shop—Pua Hana in Kaimukī—that celebrated its delayed opening in July and post-lockdown reopening this fall.
“This is more of a neighborhood flower shop and a creative space,” Monahan teases. “We’re looking to test our creative limits and see all the different things we can create uninhibited.”
The ebbs and flows a plant parent ex- periences are mimicked in the life of a small-business owner, something Monahan knows quite well. But when you’re running shops like Paiko and Pua Hana, it’s hard to get hung up on the negatives.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I haven’t thought it was beautiful when I walked in,” says Monahan. “I always love the feeling of walking in there. There’s something about all the flowers and plants that really does bring everything to life.”