Post #427528 by kimoaz on Tue, Jan 6, 2009 5:14 PM

Good Evening,

An attempt at a few more answers:

The mixture was poured into molds on a vibrating table which settled the mixtures. It was at room temperature but the mixture became hot as the
bonding material cured. It was the consistency of wet sand so it moved fairly well.

The olivine came from different places. Don't tell anyone, but the first batch came from the ledges around Hanauma bay. We used to go there for
evening cookouts and we would go out and collect it from the rocks. Of course we could drive to the beach in those days and have it all to ourselves.

The lava came from a landscape company on Beretania street. We got black and red cinders, shoveled it into barrels, took it to the shop and my job
was to grind it up with an industrial meat grinder. Then we had sifters of different sizes to make the different textures. Powder to make fine features
up to a heavier agregate for a rougher finish. When we got bigger we were able to have material delivered from a wholesaler at Barber's point. We
also used coral, both yellow and white, ground it up and used it as well.

Our artist was and still is a gentleman named Jim Wallace. If I remember correctly , he was responsible for the rascal series. He was able to take
authentic drawings from the Bishop museum, make a plaster replica and make a mold for casting. He now lives on the big island and may be the
person someone thought might be a part of Coco Joe's

I have thought about bringing back HIP. I'm afraid we couldn't do it the way we used to. I would never use the raw lava for the Tiki, it is not a good
idea to make Pele angry. It was also very labor intensive and we all know how expensive labor is in Hawaii. Maybe I could start something here using
Arizona Lava and some of the new Americans that are making their way through AZ.

I am not familiar with the pieces from Holo-Ka-Hana. From the label it sound like it pre-dates both HIP and Coco Joe's. Not very many companies
used the phrase "Territory of Hawaii" after statehood. Everyone was happy to be the 50th state and always made that notation.

Until next time,

Kimo