Post #760410 by aquarj on Tue, Mar 8, 2016 10:16 AM

I think my timing may be off for an on-topic post, but anyway...

Thinking about the uber-collectable vintage mugs that maybe can be found for less astronomical prices these days, some of the reasons suggested earlier make sense. There's a limited number of uber-collectors, and they got theirs, so maybe they aren't as much in the market anymore. And maybe some of the casual but long-time collectors ultimately slowed down on ALL collecting as they found that their shelves got full.

And maybe in the market today, both casual and serious collectors are focusing more on new mugs and ceramics, which are often true works of art. I think there's an interesting nuance in that shift - on the surface most people might say a tiki mug is a tiki mug, whether it's new or old. But they really have a different nature in terms of appeal. The vintage mug is a tangible artifact of some past time and place that we can only dream about or see from the historical record. The modern mug is a work of art, with less historical context (sometimes with nods to designs of the past), but with the same esthetic and often times greater craftsmanship and customization. It makes perfect sense that different collectors might prefer one or the other, or that some might have a simultaneous interest in both.

Anyway, that all relates to the big bucks mugs. On the flipside, it seems like the bottom end is gradually moving up. Often a tiki mug at an estate sale might be priced at $10 or even $20, where they used to be much less. If something isn't priced and you ask, they say, "oh that's a tiki, those are collectable!" Not always the case, but it seems like there's more of this. But I don't really have a good basis, since I'm one of those people who has slowed down on collecting (and the whole scene to be honest).

I guess there's one last observation in that sense too. The tiki scene has changed, maybe in a lot of ways, but I'm thinking in terms of familiarity and obtainability. 20 years ago, the world of tiki was like Bali Hai in South Pacific - kind of a magical technicolor fantasy paradise that was hard to get to. You had to hunt and dig to find experiences with environments, drinks, music, artifacts, and imagery. Today, that island has been thoroughly documented, you can find artifacts and imagery with a couple clicks, there are events all the time (especially in California, sorry), and many of the ancient mysterious cocktail ciphers have already been decoded and even improved. Bali Hai is turning into Waikiki.

But I don't mean that as negatively as it might sound. I think some may find that an unconscious part of the allure in yesterday's tiki scene was the exotic unreachability, and that part is fading. But for lovers of the esthetic, the access to these experiences that we can have today is fantastic. It's just different. Sort of the hunter's paradox - when you find the paradise you seek, the reward of discovery is accompanied by the loss of the romance of the hunt.

-Randy