Althea POAKALANI Serrao, was born with only one hand. Raised by her grandmother Caroline Correa, a master quilter in her time, Poakalani was only able to watch the quilters because it was thought that she would hurt herself with the needles Only after her grandmother had passed away, and when she grew up and had a family of her own was Poakalani finally able to look into the quilt patterns that her grandmother designed. From this inheritance Poakalani and her husband John viewed the quilt patterns and created cushion patterns conforming to the traditional and cultural aspects of old Hawaii. Feeling that it was easier to learn on a smaller quilt section than on a larger full size quilt, Poakalani and John Serrao created the first 30 cushion patterns in her collection. Poakalani appeared to have found her gift as a quilter. Using the knowledge of her childhood, she put it into practice and found that even with only one hand she could do what others did with no discomfort and with the skill of an accomplished quilter. Poakalani demonstrated her skills and found that people were amazed about the quality of her handiwork. She became instrumental in helping countless others in trying their hand at quilting at a time when the art appeared to be falling aside. Poakalani expressed her feeling about teaching the art of the Hawiian quilting, stating that the art should be taught to all who were interested whether they were Hawaiian or at least Hawaiian at heart.

John Serrao was raised watching his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother applique, quilt and even design Hawaiian quilts. It was not of great interest to him then but it would become part of his life after his retirement from the Honolulu Police Department. He would often help his wife with her quilting classes, while the quilters often used the commerical patterns he originally designed they wanted their very own Hawaiian quilt design. One day they asked John to make a design and he told them that he was not a designer. They encouraged him to pick up a pencil and design his first quilt. The rest you could say is history. John has become and is known today as Hawaii's top quilt designer. He has designed well over 1000 quilt designs. His designs can be seen not only locally but worldwide. He has also become a Hawaiian quilt consultant, historian and cultural artist. John Serrao's designs are not only based on the floral, culture and history of the Hawaiian quilts but also the spiritual essence of the quilter themselves.