Post #445841 by THOR's on Wed, Apr 8, 2009 11:51 PM

I definitely have to jump in here and comment. I have to say I am VERY mystified with what Waikiki is today. Max and I were seriously more passionate than any venue in Waikiki in trying to bring back Tiki. We created a Tiki themed space that was unheard of in decades...with our own hands. People would come in and their jaws would drop. I recall one old timer that said, "Oh my Lord...You guys have brought back a feeling that, with a contemporary twist, pays homage to what I recalled 20 or 30 years ago as what i wanted to see in Hawaii". We really tried to do this...and with a lot of passion and sweat. Max's own home lanai was trashed with our creations for the Stor... paint and props we built with quality that would have cost 10's of thousands had we contracted the same elements to be created. Talk about passion. I am surprised Max's girlfriend could tolerate our obsession with making this a cool place at the cost of making huge messes on the porch.

Now the hard facts. We had LOTS of praise...but not enough people SPENDING MONEY. We had a HUGE range of items...from under ten bucks to thousands for an original painting. When the economy shifted and we had to move also cus Mr. Buffet offered the landlords a more attractive lease agreement for his "Margaritaville" venue, it changed our destiny.

The THOR Gallery is what is remaining and I am forced to support what my publishers decided regarding the "numbers game". In this economy..we lose the mid range spender that would have also supported the Thor Stor" Now, we have two types of customer in Waikiki. One is the type that wants everything cheap as hell..and a 15 dollar t-shirt is a huge investment. The other are those who are so well off...this economy effects them little. They have NO problem dropping 10 to 20 thousand on an art investment"...but they want originals and that's all. So for me...the fun is not abundant. I am earning my profits one brush stroke at a time...and the profits from repros or small items are VERY reduced in this economy.

All this said..we see this "Rodeo Drive" thing happening in Waikiki. When I walk along the strip (Kalakaua) the facts are it's predominately Japanese tourists enjoying the high end name brands that are offered at EXPENSIVE, yet FAR better prices than in Japan. So..WaikikI has become a sort of discount luxury name brand outlet experience YOU CAN FLY TO IN 5 OR 6 HRS AND SIT ON THE BEACH IN BETWEEN. But it's not the fault of Japan..it's the greed I think that our Country had encouraged that has caused the demise. Waikiki has SOLD OUT it's loyalty to it's nostalgia and historic icons to buyers offering the good old FAT DOLLAR! Few really seem to care about the things we all do here in the Tiki and nostalgia areas in Hawaii. SAD ..but the numbers of places that have been bulldozed to the red dirt prove this.

Anyway... Not a lot more to say....I will stop venting. Which is all I guess I am doing out of passion for what we all love. Let's not give up though...I hope the Int. Market maintains the nostalgia and flushes the residue and generic junk....so we don't lose the last fragment of yesteryear's Tiki enchantment.