OVERBOARD FOR HAWAII NOHO WOMAN'S DISHWARE, BOOK STIR MEMORIES OF ROMANTIC CRUISES TO THE ISLANDS.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Staff Writer

HAWAII'S swaying palms, fragrant flower leis, colorful muumuus and hula dancers are as intoxicating as the islands' famous umbrella drinks.

So much so that some visitors never leave even when they go home.

One trip to Hawaii and San Fernando Valley native Lynn Blocker Krantz was seduced. ``At my first luau, at age 14 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, I knew I'd be doing something with Hawaiiana (all things Hawaiian) in my life,'' says Krantz, who is the maker of HawaiianaWare, a line of dishes featuring colorful scenes of Hawaiian history, and also co-author of a new book, ``To Honolulu in Five Days: Cruising Aboard Matson's S.S. Lurline'' (Ten Speed Press; $24.95).

During a recent visit to her North Hollywood home, which is furnished with an eclectic mixture of Hawaiian decor, from kitschy hula dancer dolls to lamps covered in seashells to a handsome cocktail bar once used on the Queen Mary, Krantz explains that all of her adventures - even the surfing safari to Malibu where she met the real ``Gidget,'' Kathy Kohner Zuckerman - gave her the impetus to realize her youthful dreams.

After that first luau, the little surfer girl returned to Hawaii year after year, learning to make her own leis for backyard luaus and bringing back bags filled with tropical treasures, including a 1935 menu from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, vintage postcards and sheet music of Harry Owens' ``Sweet Leilani.''

In later years, Krantz began researching the nostalgic stories of cruise ships that carried the rich and famous from San Francisco to the Big Island, a five-day voyage of dining and dancing replete with evening gowns and tuxedos.

``Ah, those were the days,'' says a wistful Krantz, who, at 43, is too young to have booked passage aboard Matson's S.S. Lurline during its heyday in the 1930s and '40s, when it was a favorite of young Hollywood stars like Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney.

As an adult, married to stockbroker-turned-TV producer Nick Krantz, she has relived and researched the era at the S.S. Lurline exhibit at the Hawaii Maritime Center and the Matson Navigation Co. headquarters, where Matson executive Jeff Hull turned over the keys to the vaults.

``Looking at all the old photos, I traveled back in time,'' Krantz says. ``I even found reels of films that have never been shown, including Jane Russell behind the scenes of a 1956 film called `The Revolt of Mamie Stover' about a Honolulu-based saloon singer from the '40s,'' she recalls of her sleuthing experiences in dusty vaults.

Before returning to the mainland, Krantz and her husband bought the rights to much of the artwork that was used on the ship's menus - cherished souvenirs of travelers that have become popular on e-Bay, she adds.

Krantz, who has all six of the menus in the series, explains that they were reproductions of murals depicting Hawaii's history, painted by the late artist Eugene Savage. They were supposed to be displayed on the Lurline, but World War II started and the white ship was painted gray and went to war. The murals were stored in the Matson company's vaults and forgotten, she explains.

HawaiianaWare is manufactured by the Homer Laughlin China Co., maker of the Flamingo Pink shade of Fiesta china used on board the Lurline and at the hotel. In honor of the Royal Hawaiian's 75th anniversary this year, Krantz has also designed commemorative pitchers and gold-trimmed platters available at select Macy's stores and locally at Fiesta Specialties in Studio City.

Michael Brashear, co-owner of Fiesta Specialties, was amazed at the immediate popularity of HawaiianaWare. ``Lynn has addressed an important part of our history. People see the plates in the window and instantly recognize the artwork and the era ... it seems everybody is in a tropical decorating craze now, but customers are usually older people who either traveled on the ship or have oceanfront environments,'' says Brashear.

Since Krantz had spent several years in the publishing business, she thought a cookbook of recipes from the ship would be a nice companion to her dinnerware. But she soon realized there was a much bigger story to tell.

The tale of the liner's heritage is featured in her nostalgic, star- studded new book, written with the help of her husband and former magazine editor Mary Thiele Fobian. In addition to the menus and recipes for Little Grass Shack cocktails and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's famous bread pudding, she shares a scrapbook filled with memories and memorabilia, including matchbooks, tickets, luggage tags and pamphlets on how to dress for shipboard events from the '20s through the '50s.

Krantz still hasn't gotten over her shipboard romance. She's now working on a PBS documentary about the S.S. Lurline and expects to launch a line of tropical shirts and rugs in 2003.

Bringing the aloha spirit home

Forget Paris. You'll always have Hawaii, thanks to a boat load of new island furnishings offered by a number of manufacturers.

At Woodland Casual in Woodland Hills, co-owner Shirley Simon says when it comes to wicker or rattan furniture, the more tropical-looking the better.

``It used to be customers wanted rattan but didn't want it (upholstered) in a Hawaiian print. Now they specifically ask for it ... and our best-selling sofas feature prints that look like vintage aloha shirts with palm trees and big banana leaves,'' observes Simon.

At Pottery Barn in Canoga Park, you'll find a curvy woven rattan Malabar club chair with a 1920s theme and matching ottoman, for $299. If you want it upholstered, you can find island-style prints, sold by the yard at stores such as Jo-Ann's Fabrics and Crafts, with locations in Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills.

At Pier 1 Imports in Canoga Park are a variety of island-themed furnishings; highlights include a rattan room divider for $150 and a large mirror accented with carved wood banana leaves for $125. Other accessories are tropical-print pillows, pots of silk orchids and banana leaves, scented candles in shells, and gauzy mosquito nets for the bed or patio dining.

More rattan was spotted at Macy's in Woodland Hills. The department store carries the Tommy Bahama collection, which includes a cocktail bar for $1,099, just like the kind you'd see in hotels on the Big Island. There's also a king-size four-poster bed with dark rattan trim and huge pineapple finials, priced at $2,199.

The pineapple is not only a Hawaiian icon, but it's also the Victorian era's symbol of hospitality. So, if you pass on the bed, consider flying a pineapple applique flag by Liberty at your door or gate. It's $10.99 at Orchard Supply Hardware in Canoga Park.

For more Hawaiian kitsch, look for hula dancer dolls at Target (designed for dashboards) and coffee-table-size dancers for $9.99 at Aahs in Sherman Oaks.

Or call up www.islandlivingonline.com on your computer and see all the sources for hula dolls, luau decorations and furniture. Among those on the mainland are Hilo Hattie in the city of Orange and Island Living in Costa Mesa. Another favorite is Gary's Island in Newport Beach.

Even a bowl of shells can create island attitude. To learn how to make your own decorative shell accessories, and polish up on your knowledge of shells, see Marlene Hurley Marshall's beautifully illustrated new coffee table book ``Shell Chic'' (Storey Books; $35). The author not only provides photos of the latest accessory must-haves, but also provides detailed instructions on how to make such items as lampshades. She applies the shells with a glue gun, but local Hawaiiana expert Lynn Blocker Krantz says high-wattage bulbs can loosen the grip on the shells and make them droop or fall off, so use caution and minimal wattage.

Marshall's book even features footed bathtubs with shells, but she stops short of putting sand in the water. Some things are best left on the beach.

-Barbara De Witt

Travel to a Honolulu of the mind

To learn more about Hawaiiana, take Lynn Blocker Krantz's nostalgic cruise to the islands. You'll travel vicariously while enjoying Hawaiian music, seeing rare film footage of the historic S.S. Lurline and hearing a discussion of her book, ``To Honolulu in Five Days.'' The expert on all things Hawaiian will also introduce guests to her HawaiianaWare dinnerware based on the artwork of Eugene Savage.

Nov. 10, noon to 4 p.m., Fiesta Specialties, 12401 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Dec. 19, noon to 3 p.m., Automobile Club of Southern California, 5550 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

Dec. 20, noon to 3 p.m., Automobile Club of Southern California, 1702 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles.

CAPTION(S):

12 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 4 -- cover -- color) ISLAND DREAM

North Hollywood resident dishes out the art of Hawaii

(5 -- 6 -- color) Lynn Blocker Krantz has translated her love of all things Hawaiian into HawaiianaWare, right, a line of dishes featuring colorful scenes of the islands' history. Above, a quiet corner, with cool green ferns and tropical prints, continues the theme.

(7 -- 9 -- color) Krantz has decorated her North Hollywood home with an eclectic mix of items - including a ukulele and a palm-bedecked lamp - to keep that aloha spirit near even though the Hawaiian Islands are distant.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

(10 -- color) no caption (Book: ``To Honolulu in Five Days'')

(11) no caption (Hawaiiana glassware)

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

(12) no caption (Hawaii Pillows)

Courtesy of Tommy Bahama

Box:

(1) Bringing the aloha spirit home (see text)

(2) Travel to a Honolulu of the mind (see text)