Just got back from a week in Hawaii--exceptionally well timed given last week's weather issues in DC--and wondering if there are any Hawaiian woodworkers lurking around here? I managed to sneak a visit to the Woodworkers' Guild show in Waimea, and was really impressed by some of the work I saw. I don't typically get exposed to a lot of Koa, Mango, or Cook Pine, so it was an eye-opener. Koa, obviously, has a bit of a following, but I'd never seen mango in use. The Cook Pine turnings I saw were also pretty cool--it seems Cook pines have their branches coming out at a bunch of different directions at the same height, so the bowls I saw had a bunch of "eyes" in the sides that were really neat. The pine was also semi-translucent, which was also a nice effect, with very well defined grain.
The one question I never managed to ask anyone was whether the Koa products in Hawaii are really Hawaiian Koa, or whether they are South American Koa imported to Hawaii... I thought Hawaiian Koa was pretty rare, but saw an awful lot of Koa wood products for sale.