Post #451129 by TabooDan on Fri, May 1, 2009 7:20 PM

The Hawaiian Village, when first opened, served their tropical cocktails in Orchid Of Hawaii Mugs. A little later, I am told early to mid 1980's, they did offer two different mugs that were specifically made for them. These mugs were custom done and were only available at this establishment. One was a wahine with a Hibiscus in her hair and was all white with a handle and the other was a taller, skinny mug that featured two palm trees on it which has been seen in browns and yellow colors.

It is sometimes thought, or used to be believed, that these mugs were made by a company or person named Erneli in Canada. This is incorrect. Erneli was actually a restaurant supply company. Erneli Food Equipment Ltd. was a supplier and distributor of restaurant equipment. They sold restaurant equipment, repairs and supplied chinaware with and without logos.

An employee of Erneli was asked to make a mug for the Hawaiian Village and drew up the Wahine design. Once the design was approved by the owners, it was sent to Japan where the mugs were produced and then exported back here to Canada. That is why these mugs were marked Erneli, Canada and Made in Japan on the bottom.

Here is a old Erneli Ad dating from June of 1979:

I was in contact with the employee that actually did the mug design at Erneli but didn't really have too much to add. He just was told to come up with a design and then it was sent to Japan for production.

After a while, I think the mid to late eighties and carrying on to the 90's, they were having their own mugs made. A local ceramic artist, who didn't live too far from the Hawaiian Village, was asked to make molds of original Orchid of Hawaii mugs but change them so the Hawaiian Village could have their name and phone number on them. This would have been cheaper than getting them from Orchids I would imagine and ordering through Erneli. Plus, technically, they would be their own mugs.

These are mugs you see that are a little smaller in size, cruder in shape and have less detailing than the originals. They even became more cruder once the molds got older.

Here is a picture of some of the mugs that they offered:

The two mugs on the outside, and the one in the center in white with the handle, are the ones made specifically by Erneli. The four mugs in the back are the copied Orchids of Hawaii ones. The second from the right, known as the Headhunter, I have seen in a few different colors. Also pictured is the matchbook and small plastic drink monkey from the Hawaiian Village.

Once the molds were made, they were given to a ceramic artist who actually made the mugs and sent them to the restaurant in large boxes.
These are the same people, the mold maker and ceramic artist, who also made the mugs for the Tropic Isle in Surrey as well as The Outrigger in Prince George, BC. They also made a Trader Vic coconut mug for the Vancouver location. These ones are pretty much the same as the US ones except they are marked "Trader Vics Canada" on the bottom.

Here is a close up of their cool original Wahine handled mug:

Another mug that they offered, which I only have a picture of the front, was the three face bucket mug that was changed a bit. It has the Ku face on one side and on the reverse are only the initials "HV" which obviously stood for Hawaiian Village. I haven't been able to find one yet in the wild but did see one that sold on ebay a few years back. Maybe someone has it here and can post a pic of the reverse.

Here is the front of the mug which isn't too fantastic but here it is anyway:

I have seen one other mug which is a coconut mug that says Hawaiian Village on it but I have yet to get a photo or find one in the wild.

That's it for now. I will post some more info. when I get it.

Mahalo, TabooDan