I ain't afraid of no ghost

Boo! Happy Halloween from T. Rex Bean!

Kensei's 'Art of Jewelry'

Caught Kensei's "Art of Jewelry" fashion show at the Halekulani. I was only going to take a few backstage photos before getting on a plane, but the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast meant the airline cancelled the flight and I was able to catch the entire show.

Alfred Shaheen remembered in exhibition

Had a preview of the "HI Fashion: The Legacy of Alfred Shaheen" exhibition opening at the Bishop Museum on Nov. 10, and continuing through Feb. 4, 2013. His work remains amazing.

Vampires in Honolulu

People get to celebrate Halloween twice, whetting their appetites for the dark side at the Miss Vamp Hawaii 2012 pageant, held at Hawaii Theatre. Tabatha "Tab" Sabre Brown was the winner. Details here.

Pretty, shiny things

It's always a pleasure to judge the Hawaii Jewelers Association design competition, which practically demands trying on to assess the pieces' wearability factor, one of four criterion. It was a blind judging so I won't know who won until tomorrow. The top two pieces are from the Hawaiian category. The last necklace is from the $3,000-plus category. Judging was at Opal Fields.

Incredible edibles at Rice Fest

Judged Rice Fest 2013 at Ward Warehouse, where we were treated to Tokkuri-Tei chef Hideaki "Santa" Miyoshi's chirashi rice with sashimi roses of salmon, hamachi and scallops, and the smallest Spam musubi ever, comprising single grains of rice, and winning entry of YogurStory's Andy Dalan's "Naughty & Rice" waffle-and-rice dessert, with pomegranate puree and pomegranate rice paper leaves.

At the Hawaii Fashion Week judge's table

Judged Hawaii Fashion Week's red carpet Young Designer Couture Competition at Royal Hawaiian Center with Midweek managing editor and style editor Yu Shing Ting and the show's host, model and actress Kea Ho.