Samuel K. Kamaka
Samuel Kamaka is the founder of what is now Kamaka Hawaiʻi, Inc., the leading manufacturer of quality ʻukulele in the world. Kamaka began making ʻukulele in his basement workshop in 1916. During the ʻukulele craze of the 1920s, a large number of manufacturers in Hawaiʻi and on the mainland were making ʻukulele. Kamaka's quality hand-crafted instruments and the introduction of his patented pineapple-shaped ʻukulele design gave him a solid piece of the competitive market, and by the late 1930s he was the only Hawaiian ʻukulele maker remaining in business. Kamaka Hawaiʻi, Inc., continues to flourish under the direction of his descendants.
Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka was born in 1890 in Waihee on the island of Maui. As a young man, he learned to make instruments from his friends Jonah Kumalae, Sam Chang, and Ah Tau Kam, who all made their own personal instruments. It is said he also spent time watching operations in the shop of Manuel Nunes. He was a talented musician as well as craftsman. In 1910, he traveled with a group to perform in New York City, but became stranded there and worked at vegetable produce farms in New Jersey hoping to earn enough money for passage home. In 1912, he became a seaman working in the Atlantic.
Kamaka returned to Hawaii in 1916, and decided to put his instrument making knowledge and experience to practical use. He started the "Kamaka Ukulele and Guitar Works" in the basement of his Kaimuki home, where he built a dozen ʻukulele per week by hand, investing the time and patience to achieve the "bell tone" of a good instrument. The demand for his quality instruments increased, and in 1921 he established a larger shop with two hired assistants in Honolulu at 1814 South King Street. During the same year, he married May Akeo. Two sons were born, Samuel Jr. in 1922, and Frederick Ku in 1924.
In the mid-1920s Samuel Sr. laid out a pattern for a new oval-shaped body type. His friends thought it looked like a pineapple and one of them, an artist, painted it to look like a pineapple. Kamaka patented this design in 1928. The new instrument became very popular because the shape produced a mellower sound than that of the traditional figure-eight ʻukulele. By 1930 most musicians were playing the Kamaka Pineapple ʻUkulele. At this time, ʻukulele were produced by an estimated 15 manufacturers in Hawaii, and by some leading guitar manufacturers on the mainland. Kamaka's quality hand-crafted instruments and the introduction of his pineapple-shaped ʻukulele design gave him a solid piece of the competitive market, and by the late 1930s he was the only major Hawaiian ʻukulele maker remaining in business.
Samuel Sr. had his two sons report to the ʻukulele factory every day after school to learn the art of making quality instruments. In 1945, the business was renamed "Kamaka and Sons" to include Samuel Jr. and Fred as partners. Both sons were separated from the business when they were drafted into the military for two years, and while they were in college on the GI Bill. At this time the business was producing over 200 ukuleles per month.
In 1952, Samuel Sr., while suffering from the effects of cancer, went into semi-retirement but continued to make instruments at home until his death in late 1953. "Kamaka and Sons" was carried on by Sam Jr. and Fred. The factory was moved to 550 South Street in Downtown Honolulu in 1959, the year Hawaii became a State, and in 1968 the Company was reorganized as "Kamaka Hawaii, Incorporated."
Today, four grandsons are also involved in the business. Kamaka's sons Sam Jr. and Fred passed on to their four sons the same time-honored advice from their father: "If you use the Family Name, DON'T MAKE JUNK."