The Adventures of Don and Betty Lou
Don Severson opened Tahiti Imports in the International Marketplace, Waikiki, on July 12, 1963. He had recently returned from a sailing trip aboard a 30' "Tahiti ketch" to the South Pacific where he spent six months living in Tahiti. The stay in Tahiti left him with vivid impressions of vibrant colors and bold designs that were incorporated into the Tahitian fabric that Tahiti Imports continues to design and sell today. The store proved a great success and soon custom-made bikinis and pareus were all the rage on Hawaii's beaches. It was Betty Lou's fashion sense that transformed Tahiti Imports from a little stand of pareus into a chain of stores on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the island of Hawaii. Betty Lou and Don developed a new line of business in 1965 with the opening of Hawaiian Antiquities, Inc. Since then, Don has acquired 30 years' experience appraising Hawaiian paintings, books, and artifacts. Betty Lou is president of Tahiti Imports. She often uses the designs of Hawaiian kapa and other antiquities as inspiration for her fabric

We celebrated our 32th anniversary on December 29, 1998. We have one son, Brandon Severson, who works in commercial real estate.

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