Established in 2011, Rechung Fujihira curated the space of his dreams. With 3 locations in Oahu, the collaboration space is an innovative work-studio that celebrates inclusivity and most importantly, cultivates the dreams of bright-minded young minority individuals.
The family-oriented community center grants Hawaiian locals the access and resources to build out their own future endeavors while they guide each other in the right direction — knowing that space is a premium on the island.
Related: What It Means To Be Black In Honolulu, Hawai’i
Fujihira is a native of Honolulu, he has seen the landscape of his own community transform with the rapid growth of the tourist industry. Being the standing CEO and co-founder of BoxJelly, Fujihira has goals of expanding internationally. Overall, he is a community-member, innovator, and business mentor who focuses primarily on the type of legacy and the grander impact he will leave in his local community.
Being a successful entrepreneur, Fujihira’s experience in business startups has developed his expertise in setting the right vision and direction for organizations of various sizes. He continues to be an active member of essential communities in Hawai‘i— including his role on the board of the Pōpolo Project. On his off time, he takes full advantage of the opportune surf breaks during sunset whenever he has the chance.
BoxJelly’s 3 locations hold diverse atmospheres that are accessible to anyone who holds a membership or uses their internal room booking system. The BoxJelly Ward is their newest flagship location that opened up in April 2020. The space features pristine African diaspora art and vibrant cultural products that give the space an air of radical acceptance and welcoming diversity. The modern decorations meticulously placed all over the outdoor lanai compliment Fujihira’s greater vision for the future that looks back to the past to innovate opportunities for the youth.
The second branch, Sandbox, is similar to the Ward center in ways that the space offers different types of offices, conference rooms, and multi-media studios so that multi-hyphenated artists can better their crafts in an even more inspiring location. Through technology and entrepreneurship, this space fuses the colorful upbeat start-up culture with the open floor set-up plan you would find in a larger cafeteria space resulting in the need for total collaboration.
Fishcake is special to Fujihira because his mom oversees this location. Known for its more artistic culture, the community center offers more resources and materials for multi-media artists to hone in on their crafts.
Each space offers event programming that is unique to the advantages of each environment, these programs include Lunch and Learn, Business Law Corps Clinics, an Anti-Social Social Club, and even a Surf Club. With local in-house artist’s residency programs, artists of all mediums can showcase their work in the space and will learn how to market their art for financial longevity and entrepreneurship.