Post #429245 by martiki on Sat, Jan 17, 2009 9:53 AM

All about his new office tiki bar!

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11472053?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

(link fixed)

(No pix online- maybe in the print edition? Someone grab a copy and scan!)

San Jose man designs Tiki bar
By Josie Lepe

Mercury News

Posted: 01/16/2009 12:00:00 AM PST

Besides having a passion for hot rods, Top Notch Kustomz owner Ignacio "Notch" Gonzalez likes all things Tiki.

One of his dreams has been to turn his office in the Rose Garden neighborhood of San Jose into a Tiki lounge in the style of the South Pacific.

There, he could showcase his work and show clients what he could build for them through his other company, Lost Tiki Island.

His idea took about a year to come together.

He tapped into a subculture of Tiki fanatics who collect "everything Hawaiian" new and old. The trend recalls the nostalgic post-World War II Polynesian lifestyle of the 1950s and 1960s.

To get started, Gonzalez collected nautical antiques to accent his bar and researched the carvings that define Tiki.

He sought out rare Tiki mugs that depict severed heads and learned that they sell for more than $1,000 apiece on eBay. The mugs are said to be a nod to the magic tricks Ren Clark used to do at his Polynesian Village in Fort Worth, Texas.

Gonzalez found one at a garage sale and decided to design his own version, which he fired in his kiln. He made 100 of them, and sells them for $85 each.

Regarding his love of all things Tiki, Gonzalez says, "I love the decor, nautical antiques, the puffer fish, crab traps and Hawaiian decor." His Tiki model room/office took about 60 hours to build and cost $3,500 in materials.

For more information about Gonzalez's Tiki work, contact him at [email protected].

[ Edited by: martiki 2009-01-17 17:32 ]