Beware, more tiki going mainstream! - General Tiki

C Chacha Member Jacksonville Joined: Jan 19, 2003 Posts: 100	C Chacha Posted posted on Sat, Feb 8, 2003 7:39 PM Wow Lake, you have a keen eye for all things tiki. Today I was busy scouring Spencer gifts at the dreaded mall then, TV, I made the rounds of the DC area Big Lots in search of the crappy plastic tiki heads (none to be found). Tomorrow I'll have to scoot on over to Kohl's to see what they have going on... so thanks for the tip. I know how you feel about being a little sad that your little secret is getting exposed to the masses. I built my first home tiki bar in 1996 - after years of planning and searching for the right house. That coincided with the "lounge" scene and I, too, felt like MY thing was being stolen by the mindless frat boys. I felt so bad about it I regretfully turned my back to all of it. In a period of insanity, I gave my tiki stuff to a newfound tiki co-worker and tried to pretend I didn't care. Well, five years later I bought my damn tiki bar back from the fool I sold it to (for $50!!!), had it shipped from Atlanta to DC, and began re-collecting all the stuff I gave away so carelessly. I recently got reconnected with Otto and some of the original tiki gurus and here I am. At first I was disappointed to see so many members to this board but then again, so what. I say this because I'm sorry I did it and hope you don't make the same mistake. I used to get so pissed when I saw tiki stuff in mainstream places, but then I remembered that tiki used to be pretty mainstream. In fact, if it hadn't been so available to the masses, I'm sure I would not be here now. When I was little, in Greenville, South Carolina, we got excited when Pizza Hut first came to town. There is NO WAY I would have developed this passion for tiki if I had not gotten exposure to it at common places like the World Bazaar at the mall or the one and only Chinese restaurant in town. I don't think tiki will be as mainstream as it was, and I agree that it will get bigger then settle back down. That's all good for us - the die hards, the "real" tiki lovers. Let the fad followers create the demand, let there be mass production of the goods we so love and cherish, and let there be markdowns aplenty when they get bored with it. I learned my lesson the last time I got too hip to express my tiki-ism. It doesn't make me less cool for the masses to like what I like. Just because they dig it, doesn't take anything away from my enjoyment. I'll be there this time to reap the rewards when "they" lose interest. Cheer up - think of the little kids (the baby Chachas and Lake Surfers) wandering aisles of Kohls who will see those tiki head cups. Twenty years later, maybe THEY will be sitting on this website talking about the cool tiki stuff that turned them on when they were little. BY THE WAY: While raiding the shelves of Spencers I found Moai "crackle" lamps. Not the lightning plasma head, something I have not yet seen. So I bought/rescued all three. Finally, I think I ended up in one of the worst parts of DC in my Big Lots/crappy plastic tiki water bottle quest. Big Lots are hard to come by in this area and I miss it! I think they were caught off guard as I pushed passed the crack dealers and passsed out guys on the sidewalk and cheerfully asked "Do you have any tiki head tumblers" It was only as I was driving away (with my $9.99 lava lamps) that I noticed how scary the place was. Thanks for listening.

Wow Lake, you have a keen eye for all things tiki. Today I was busy scouring Spencer gifts at the dreaded mall then, TV, I made the rounds of the DC area Big Lots in search of the crappy plastic tiki heads (none to be found). Tomorrow I'll have to scoot on over to Kohl's to see what they have going on... so thanks for the tip.

I know how you feel about being a little sad that your little secret is getting exposed to the masses. I built my first home tiki bar in 1996 - after years of planning and searching for the right house. That coincided with the "lounge" scene and I, too, felt like MY thing was being stolen by the mindless frat boys. I felt so bad about it I regretfully turned my back to all of it. In a period of insanity, I gave my tiki stuff to a newfound tiki co-worker and tried to pretend I didn't care. Well, five years later I bought my damn tiki bar back from the fool I sold it to (for $50!!!), had it shipped from Atlanta to DC, and began re-collecting all the stuff I gave away so carelessly. I recently got reconnected with Otto and some of the original tiki gurus and here I am. At first I was disappointed to see so many members to this board but then again, so what. I say this because I'm sorry I did it and hope you don't make the same mistake. I used to get so pissed when I saw tiki stuff in mainstream places, but then I remembered that tiki used to be pretty mainstream. In fact, if it hadn't been so available to the masses, I'm sure I would not be here now. When I was little, in Greenville, South Carolina, we got excited when Pizza Hut first came to town. There is NO WAY I would have developed this passion for tiki if I had not gotten exposure to it at common places like the World Bazaar at the mall or the one and only Chinese restaurant in town. I don't think tiki will be as mainstream as it was, and I agree that it will get bigger then settle back down. That's all good for us - the die hards, the "real" tiki lovers. Let the fad followers create the demand, let there be mass production of the goods we so love and cherish, and let there be markdowns aplenty when they get bored with it. I learned my lesson the last time I got too hip to express my tiki-ism. It doesn't make me less cool for the masses to like what I like. Just because they dig it, doesn't take anything away from my enjoyment. I'll be there this time to reap the rewards when "they" lose interest.
Cheer up - think of the little kids (the baby Chachas and Lake Surfers) wandering aisles of Kohls who will see those tiki head cups. Twenty years later, maybe THEY will be sitting on this website talking about the cool tiki stuff that turned them on when they were little.

BY THE WAY: While raiding the shelves of Spencers I found Moai "crackle" lamps. Not the lightning plasma head, something I have not yet seen. So I bought/rescued all three.

Finally, I think I ended up in one of the worst parts of DC in my Big Lots/crappy plastic tiki water bottle quest. Big Lots are hard to come by in this area and I miss it! I think they were caught off guard as I pushed passed the crack dealers and passsed out guys on the sidewalk and cheerfully asked "Do you have any tiki head tumblers" It was only as I was driving away (with my $9.99 lava lamps) that I noticed how scary the place was.

Thanks for listening.

Post #22445 by Chacha on Sat, Feb 8, 2003 7:39 PM