ABOUT KONRAD
When
Konrad Juestel got off the plane in Honolulu he was just a young
Midwestern kid “On a trip ‘round the world, minding his own
business…” but the sun was shining, a cool breeze rustled the
palms… and when he caught a bit of the joyous jiggling of bikinis
out of the corner of one eye it was all over.
That was in 1974 and he burned his plane tickets on the spot.
Konrad had always harbored a fierce desire to learn the antiques trade and soon convinced the most well connected old genius in Honolulu to take him on as floor sweeper and underpaid student.
During
this apprenticeship he was allowed to meet some of the most
knowledgeable and fascinating people in the antiques trade,
which eventually led him to Maui as first historian for the new
Whalers Village Museum in the early ‘80s.
Konrad’s years at this wonderful museum in Kaanapali seasoned
his thirst for knowledge of both Hawaiian history and the sea,
and brought many new friends and relationships with the best
scholars, adventurers, and sources in the field.
All this led to opening his first little back street shop in
1989, then on up to Lahaina’s the main street before escaping to
the beautiful paradise of Paia, Maui once and for all in 1998.
Today, Konrad's Ship Gallery sits on the main corner of Paia town, on the road to Hana, just before Mama's Fish House and the world famous windsurfing beach at Ho`okipa.
Konrad’s Ship Gallery has the world’s finest collection of
quality Hawaiian koa canoe models, and a broad collection of
ships, fine art and nautical antiques, all well informed by
research and his small reference library.
Come visit us in Paia, the most intriguing old plantation town in all of Maui.
