Aloha TPC Ohana, my name is Brooke and I’m one of the founders of The Pineapple Collective. I’m currently in ninth grade and attend Punahou School. In my free time, I enjoy shopping, going out to eat, and spending time with my friends and family. If you asked my friends to describe me, they would probably say I seem shy at first but open up a lot more when to get to know me. I think they would also say that I’m a good listener, fun to be around, and a loyal friend.
Another huge part of my life is golf. Growing up, I was a dancer (since the age of four) When I was ten, I started golfing and eventually decided to focus on golf full time. I now play in junior golf tournaments and am also on the Punahou varsity golf team. Hawaii makes golf even more special. There are not many places you can golf all year long, while being surrounded by the ocean, mountains, and warm weather.
Another one of my favorite things about living here is the strong sense of community. Even friends often feel like family. In fact, one of my favorite things is our TPC family game nights when we hang out, relax, and play games together with our families.
Being part of TPC has been such a blessing. Even though our moms help us a lot, we’ve already learned so much about what it takes to run a business. We’ve learned about creativity, problem solving, and how to work through challenges when things don’t always go as planned.
Building a brand in high school comes with challenges. Willow and I both balance homework, tests, extracurricular activities, and time with our friends and family while also working on the business. That can mean brainstorming new concepts, doing photo shoots, and working at pop up events. It’s not always easy to balance everything, but it has been completely worth it.
One of things I’m most proud of is the Hibiscus Hoodie and the Hibiscus Tube Top, which Willow and I designed. I wear the hoodie almost every day. I love that it looks different from most hoodies you see. The hoodie and tube top have hand cut fabric flowers that are sewn on locally, which makes them really unique.
Looking ahead, one of my biggest goals is to play golf in college. I would also love to learn more about business so I can help grow The Pineapple Collective into a very successful company in the future. It’s been really exciting to be part of building The Pineapple Collective and I’m excited to see where it continues to go.
