Post #395912 by jimingig on Tue, Jul 22, 2008 7:47 PM

On 2003-12-15 23:57, keigs20 wrote:
Hey thanks for the info and pics. Sounds like they are hard to come by. Finally I got a rare mug. Thanks to my dad. I have been searching for tiki stuff and Witco for a few years in thrift shops. I have found maybe 20 mugs none rare and 5 witco pieces. My dad just started looking for these items a few months ago and has already found about 15 mugs and six Witco pieces. Must pay to have years of thift store shopping under your belt. Glad he gives me his finds although I think he is starting to like the Witco stuff more and more.

Hi Guys, Hinton Blaisdell is my uncle and he hand built every piece of Totem Pottery. He was in business from the 1950s through the late 80s. The Tiki Mugs came in two colors, beige and mat black. He made the triangle mugs shown above and also a gorilla Tiki mug. They also came in two sizes 5 & 7 inch tall. They were sold at Hawaiian Village and maybe another Hotel or two. Uncle Hinton had a tiny studio on Beach Drive (at Blaisdell road) in Port Orchard, WA. Believe me, he never got rich being a potter but enjoyed life and outlived his brothers and sisters. He also sold the northwest indian style totem pottery. It was sold mostly at Blake Island's Tillicum Village, Hurricane Ridge and I think the maybe the Olympic Hotel in Seattle.

Rest Assured this is not cheap tourist crap. Every piece was hand made by my uncle, he never had a helper other than his wife Eujeane who helped with the art work/design of the pottery. Also you can be sure that the design used real Tikis, NW indian totems etc. Bear, beaver, moon etc.