Post #69232 by boutiki on Tue, Jan 13, 2004 9:27 AM

I have never seen or heard any evidence that HIP was part of Coco Joes. But that does not mean that it could not have been the case. I believe that Coco Joes was the first to make the "Lava" souviner Tikis. I think they began in the mid '60s. I think that HIP Tikis were being produced in the '70s. I think there is a rather distinct difference in the style, and a subtle difference in the manufacture between Coco Joes and HIP.

HIP stands for Hawaiian Island Products, and they also made a line of figurative gift statues of little kids. Sorta' like the Berry "I love you this much" figures, only scarier. They were a really poopy color brown and the ones I've seen were lightweight. They were hollow like Berry statues, but were not filled with sand.

Gecko, I've got peices that combine the Lava and Hapa wood (I think that's a great look) but I've never seen the ones you have there. Very cool! It looks like they added the Hapa wood base to their standard Tiki giving it a nice contrast with the color and texture.

Most of our Coco Joes are in Tiki Quest but I'll scan that Coco Joes catalogue and post it soon.