Whirled Planet, wholesaler of silver jewelry, women's accessories and home decor products, was initially started on a whim by it's president, Mike McGinnis. In 1995, while on a trip to India, he had the bright idea that perhaps he could offset the cost of his travels by buying some silver jewelry and bringing it home to sell.

On a shoestring budget of $500, the company was born. Initially called Elemeno Pea, he started selling in coffee shops and to friends. There was also at the time some talk about this new thing called the internet. They said it was going to be big, so Mike made a "website" to sell his wares "online."

That $500 investment sold quickly, and the order was doubled. That sold well, and again the order was doubled. Mike made a catalog to showcase the silver jewelry. At first it was just a small-time, one man operation.

Gradually, the internet thing caught on. While on a buying trip to India in January, 1999, Mike got a frantic call from his office manager. "Double all your orders," she said. "Something's happened and we have tons of orders!" The Christmas season of 1998 had allayed many people's fears about buying on the web, and the orders really started to roll in.

Since then, things have only gotten better. In 2001, the company name was changed to Whirled Planet, after a dispute with a large corporation over the name Elemeno Pea. This same year, the line was expanded beyond silver jewelry to include home decor and women's accessories.

At the ripe old age of 11, Whirled Planet has been through a lot. The internet bubble, a move to another island in Hawaii, the opening of two retail sister stores. Through it all we are still keeping our eye on the ball: great products, low prices and always lots of new merchandise.