About Us

Hi and thank you for visiting our site. Let us tell you a little bit about Coast ‘Ukulele!

Coast ‘Ukulele is the Coast Family. Luthier Kawai Carvalho and two little luthiers Kaipo & Nahele Coast.

Kawai was born and raised on the island of Oahu in Hawai‘i and grew up with Hawaiian music all around. But, it wasn’t until a trip to visit family in Hawai‘i much later in life did the Coast family get their first ‘ukulele.

Jump ahead to 2020 and Coast ‘Ukulele was started in a garage in Petaluma, CA. Part as a hobby to better understand how this magical instrument works and part as a way to keep busy during a pandemic. From the very first moment of building the first Coast ‘Ukulele, Kawai knew right away this was such a beautiful way to spread aloha.

Coast ‘Ukulele is also very much eb Troast. Partner to Kawai and mama to Kaipo & Nahele. (Carvalho + Troast = Coast!) eb is the heart of Coast ‘Ukulele and there really would be no Coast without her beautiful kindness and loving support.

In early 2021 when eb and Kawai were expecting their third child, eb passed away suddenly. Through these incredibly challenging times, which also included losing our home and job, ‘ukulele building is what kept this family going. Building ‘ukuleles was a way for Kawai, Kaipo, & Nahele to connect as a family and connect with our Hawaiian & Portuguese ancestry. For Kawai building ‘ukuleles is a completely calming energy and a way to channel grief. The Coast Family puts all of our love for eb into every ‘ukulele we build and we still do.

Thank you for reading a little bit about our story and we truly hope we can share our love and aloha of ‘ukuleles with you some day. Mahalo!