Post #802864 by Prikli Pear on Wed, Apr 13, 2022 7:18 AM

TikiSkip's on the money--OA really is the last of the one-stop-shopping spots for the full spectrum of tiki outfitting. There are no Sea & Jungles or Orchids of Hawaii to step in and fill the void. There might be a new or small company that grows into the role in coming years, but that doesn't help now.

The best we can do now is compile a list of bamboo/thatch/lauhala suppliers--there are plenty of those on the West Coast. I've bought from Forever Bamboo, Bamboo Creasian and Frank's Cane & Rush Supply and been happy with each of them. There are more out there, but nobody would confuse them with OA. Likewise the nautical shops Skip mentions. I'm heading to Galveston this weekend and plan to visit the Antique Nautical Warehouse. They have a lot of amazing things acquired from shipbreaking yards in Indonesia, but a lot of it is crazy expensive. They do have bargains, though, and that's what I keep my eyes open for. Their outright tiki offerings are marginal, though. That's the problem. To equal one OA, we have to cobble together a shopping list for a dozen different retailers scattered across the country. That becomes impractical very quickly.