Post #690219 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Aug 15, 2013 5:39 AM

I first encountered APS Tiki ceramics while visiting the Stockholm Tiki Room in Sweden a couple of months ago....

I was most impressed by the bowls...

On my way back to LA I stopped by in Hamburg at my local watering hole, the Cabana Tiki Bar...

...to meet Tongan Tiki Queen Sonja:

To my surprise, I found out that my friend Dirk Rheder, who had designed their menu, was also responsible for the new line of APS mugs. APS is a bar glas supply company with outlets in many Western and Eastern European countries. The Cabana bar was selling the whole line, and I really liked his Fu Manchu mug, so I bought one:

Upon my return to Europe a week ago, I contacted Dirk so I could receive an example of his latest work, a promotional mug made by APS for Bols, the Dutch liquor company:

I had fallen in love with it at first sight. Though I am a traditionalist, and I would have never thought that a WHITE Tiki concept could work, but when I saw this puppy I had to have one!:

Here it is lined up with some Bols bottles ay the Cabana Bar. It's such a great play on Dutch Delftware:

http://www.bluedelft.com/afdel.html

A real piece of eye candy...

And here's the man who created it, Dirk Rehder:

The mug is very hard to come by, the shipment was hit with Chinese penalty customs and after going back and forth went straight to the Bols company, we have no idea who they are giving these to.