It was late October, and things were looking grim for Brady and Myke Metcalf.
The June 27 lava flow was rapidly making its way toward Pahoa, and the brothers’ 27-year-old business, Pahoa Auto Parts at the intersection of Pahoa Village Road and Kahakai Boulevard, looked to be directly in its path.
“We needed a Plan B,” Brady said. “We needed some way to keep some money coming in.”
That’s when the pair put their heads together and decided to come up with a T-shirt design commemorating the arrival of the lava — something they could sell from the back of their truck after their business was either closed or destroyed by the flow.
“Things were looking bad, and I thought, ‘What about a T-shirt?’” Brady said.
“Other folks out there were making T-shirts, but frankly, I wasn’t impressed,” added Myke.
Brady made a rough sketch on a small piece of paper “after a few beers and margaritas at Luquin’s,” Myke said with a laugh, and then the pair secured the services of freelance Kona artist Cynthia Foster.
The artwork is colorful, detailed and whimsical. It features a lovingly recreated image of downtown Pahoa’s storefronts, separated by a massive lava flow as pours down Pahoa Village Road. A boy rides a surfboard on the leading edge of the flow as rats scurry away in fear. Witnessing the scene from above, with her arms outstretched, is the fire goddess Pele.
“We wanted it to look like a rock concert shirt,” Brady said.
Below the artwork are the words “2014 Go With the Flow Tour.” A short list shows the famous sites on Hawaii Island that were destroyed by lava and the dates they were taken. The last stop on the tour is Pahoa Auto Parts, with the date labeled as “2014-2015?”
The brothers say the shirt is an attempt to take a light-hearted approach to a worrisome event that has kept Pahoa residents on edge for months.
“The picture of the lava, this isn’t us wishing for this to happen,” Brady said. “It’s a cartoon.”
Reactions to the the shirt have been largely positive, with people ordering shirts from as far away as Germany and Spain, as well as orders from places on the mainland, including Indiana, Utah, Canada, Texas, Washington and California.
“We’ve had over 500 of them sold so far,” Brady Metcalf said.
But not everyone has been thrilled with the shirt. About three people have expressed their displeasure over the shirt, Brady said, either objecting to the use of Pele or objecting to the depiction of Pahoa being covered in lava.
“We’re showing that the community is still here,” Myke said in defense of the design. Even as the town is facing destruction, its denizens continue to go with the flow.
“This is Pahoa,” he said simply.
Pahoa Auto Parts can be reached at 965-8622.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.