Post #88011 by Kono on Sat, Apr 24, 2004 9:44 PM

I haven't posted in this thread in a while because I haven't been out looking all that much. I've been mostly getting my tiki fix off of ebay. Now I know some of you think that ebay's not "sporting" enough but, yes, it can be. The sport on ebay is to find expensive items for cheap. And you can! A recent example is an old (I'd guess 70s) Spirit of Hawaii pineapple liqueur gift package. It comes with a Spirit of Hawaii tiki mug, a Suck Em Up ceramic bottle cork and a sealed (still has the ATF paper tax seal) bottle of Liqueur D'Ananas Hawaiian Pineapple Liqueur in a tiki style bottle. I got it for $6.99! Why? Wasn't listed properly and wasn't listed under tiki or any other obvious listing. You can find unbelievable deals on ebay. I find at least one every 1-2 weeks or so.

Anyway, that's not why I'm posting tonight. I learned a bit of a lesson today. When I go to a brand new thrift store or antique shop I really look and look for that hidden treasure stuck behind all the crap in a corner. But when I go to shops that I've frequented before, I tend to zoom through just looking for new stuff. Same when I maniacally collected records. First time in a new record store you go through the entire bin, each and every bin. Subsequent visits I just flip through the front few records looking for the new arrivals. I realize no one's likely actually reading all of this drivel but I'll still continue.

Today I'm doing some OT work on Saturday to pick up some extra shekels and when I get ready to go home I get this weird, out of left field urge to go to my favorite antique mall. What will I find? I cruise through, anticipating a large tiki pole just around the corner or a mint copy of Jungle Jazz but nope. Zip, zilch, nada. Well, not exactly nada. I check out a booth that had previously had two pairs of tiki mugs which I had considered too expensive on a prior visit ($20 per pair). The two Orchids bikini girl mugs are gone but the two blue mermaid mugs are still there and marked down to $12 for the pair. I decide to grab them so that the trip's not a total waste.

I go up to the register and the (I think) owner is like "There's Kevin, with his tiki." We're talking and the other lady working there says "Are those from booth ?" "No, they're from booth ." "You know often has tiki. I just sold a tiki a couple hours ago."

I tell 'em that "Oh I looked all over. I checked and didn't see anymore tiki."

She says, "You really have to look in her booths."

"Oh, I did. What kind of tiki was it?"

"Just a little small tiki. From Trader Vics."

My heart sank. "What did it look like? What was it made of? Was it a person or a statue or what?"

"It was a small Hawaiian tiki god that said Trader Vics. Just sold it a couple of hours ago for only three dollars."

Uuuurrggggghhh! Three dollars!

"Are you sure it wasn't a salt or pepper shaker?"

"No, it looked like it was meant to be just a souvenir."

First off, I can't recall ever seeing anything like what she described. Second, I figure I better go back and look a little harder.

She offers to show me the lady's booths and I gladly accept. She's telling me how when you look through this dealer's stuff you have to really dig because she brings in tons of stuff every week and she just kinds of shoves things into corners, underneath other things etc. And tiki seems to be one of "her things." And she's right. The three booths this dealer has are dense with items. Stuff on shelves, piled up on the floor, all over the place. I always pay special attention to her booths, as she usually has unusual items, but apparently not enough attention.

Three booths: Booth one: Nothing.

Booth two: I'm digging and moving stuff and really looking when I find a small rum barrel looking mug that says "The Warehouse Restaurant, Marina del Rey, Newport Beach." Not your classic barrel mug but since I don't have ANY barrel mugs I'll take it. Hell, I gotta get something. I'm looking and looking and just about to leave the booth when down by my foot I spy a "Tiki Bowl" like from the Trader Vic's menu! I actually audibilized a "Whoooooaaaahhhh!" which did embarass me a little. Many of you have scorpion bowls and the like out the yazoo but this is my first. I know that Orchids made one like this, but this one is unmarked.

I'm happy at this point. I check out booth three and after much digging I find two great rocks glasses from the Mai Tai restaurant in Indianapolis. One has yellow graphics and just says "Mai Tai." The other has dark graphics and says "Mai Tai Restaurant, Indianapolis, Indiana." They both have a graphic of an A-frame hut and a graphic of a tiki. Sorry the pic quality sucks.

There were two mermaid mugs but I only put one in the pic. The whole lot was just a hair over $30.

Lesson learned: the Tiki is there. You just have to look, look, and look some more.