Post #1080 by woofmutt on Mon, Apr 29, 2002 9:59 AM

I'd guess that many people selling "Tiki" items on eBay have never even seen The Book of Tiki. They're just dealers selling for a living/extra money. Most of them probably learned the word "tiki" from eBay or another dealer. Hell, I encounter Tiki fans who have never even heard of The Book...This may seem impossible but not everyone is on-line or hooked up with a hipster circle (When I do meet such folk they get a preacher like talking up of The Book from me). I myself found The Book by "accident" at a mid-century furniture store. It never would have occured to me that someone would have written such a book.
I've never considered The Book as a definer of what is or isn't Tiki so much as a documentation of Tiki style origin and a particular period of that style. I'm glad there wasn't an "Is Tiki" and "Isn't Tiki" list, such a list would have made Tiki seem stagnant or dead (and people would have ignred such a list anyway).
As far it being "nice if a little art happens as a side product of commercialism"...The Book of Tiki happened thanks to all the restauranteurs, apartment developers, et cetera attempting to make a buck off the Polyneisan trend. And because of The Book many folk have been inspired to create their own Tiki environments or attempt their own Tiki art without a thought to making a cent off their endeavors.