Be true to yourself. Be true to your place.

Authenticity – the real stuff – has always been part of John Carpenter’s make-up. Growing up, his dad always told him, “You don’t wear a cowboy hat unless you’re a cowboy.” His family still runs cattle on a 26,000 acre ranch, moving the herds on horseback and roping by hand.

“This is the way it’s done,” Carpenter says, “and when I took over Island Slipper it’s the same. It has a history to it of tradition and quality. The opportunity to own this company was my dream and it was a road I chose – not always easy but it’s my road. To be true to myself, that road honors the past and where we’ve come from.” A sweep of Carpenter’s arm takes in the breezy factory bays as well as the palm trees and blue sky peeking in the loading dock doors. With a smile he adds, “We reflect Hawai‛i and the lifestyle here. We couldn’t make what we make anywhere else.”

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John on “Bobby,” 1953