Post #517797 by ashman_atl on Tue, Mar 16, 2010 4:08 PM

I got the inspiration as a kid when my mom took me to some Polynesian style lounge for my birthday. The flame must have been flickering somewhere in my psyche for several decades as I gave the tiki notion little thought until about the time I hit the big 4-0... I can't exactly remember what touched off the torch again (maybe discovering Martin Denny?), but a few years ago I bought Sven's Tiki Modern and was immediately re-struck with just how cool all of the elements of the tiki lounge really are. The textures and exotic nature of the materials; the dim, colored lamps; the mysterious look of the tikis; the idea that the genre is still, while popular again, not mainstream...

I also took a part time bartending gig in 2006 and got into making cocktails and learning all I could about popular drinks from the past.

One thing led to another and I finally discovered TC and was amazed at the work that TC'ers were doing. I knew then that I would not be content until I could do something of my own.

Now, 3 years after stumbling upon TC and lurking about drooling over all the cool home bars posted here, I've started on my space. It's nothing much- basically a small closet being converted into a dry bar, but I hope it will look OK when I get "done" and temporarily satisfy my quest for a little corner of tiki-ness. (One great thing about doing a small space is that, as a novice, my mistakes cost less... but after studying others' comments and advice here, I hope the mistakes will be few)

Anyway, lot's of different sources of inspiration for me, but TC is definitely a big one!