Post #98635 by lanikai on Sat, Jun 26, 2004 10:00 PM

On 2004-06-26 16:42, mexatiki wrote:
Lanikai I think it is important that you give the right impression about the July show in Oahu.....it is more like an indoor flea market, like a Rose Bowl indoors...there are maybe 6-10 dedicated Hawaiiana/Tiki Dealers...this is the reason DA SHOW was born...lots of Mainland dealers taking their pieces to Hawaii to sell risking damage...hence one year Cruz Nobleza, Fred Hild and myself Art Cruz said to each other we can do this on the mainland...so Cruz and I created DA SHOW....
I am not saying dont go to the July show by any means because I love it but it is not all Hawaiiana....Hawaiiana is a small percentage of it.

Art, I completely agree it is very important to give the right impression of this show. But I will leave that to bean counters, semanticists and scientists.
I simply implied in the heading above; it is a real Hawaiiana show, in Hawaii. More elucidation, you say?! Well, OK!

All I can do right now is give my impression from the many years of going to this show and this would be:
Nothing equals a Hawaiiana show in Hawaii. Its not a competitive thing. It is a statement of fact. You meet the Hawaiian, local dealers, You talk story with them. You experience the now viewed dreaded "aloha spirtit" concept firsthand... (which, just being noted in this chatroom, has been made into a haole law not too long ago. but again; that's a haole thing; making it a forced, wordy technical statute...) . The Hawaiiana show we have here and have had for years is not a flea market any more nor less than the "da show" is. What we know as 'flea market"...; this occurs three times a week at two locales on Oahu, already. The Hawaiiana show on the other hand, contains numerous vendors of collectables both high end and medium end of ... yes; rare, scarce and fairly hard to find Hawaiiana representing all the eras. and this will continually be an ever evolving source and venue, for we are here in the islands, and we are always unearthing amazing stuff. (I am of course, using the universal "we".) I stress; numerous vendors, (not 6 or 10 vendors), of pre contact, monarchy, royalty collectables, as well as the steamship era tourist collectables and 60s / 70s stuff.

Maybe your perception of 6 to 10 dedicated Hawaiiana/tiki dealers is valid. That was your perception. However, I viewed much more island style collectables throughout the show, and much of this may have been offered by "non dedicated Hawaiiana/tiki" vendors. Doesn't diminish the impact the show had for me, as an important venue for a source of Polynesiana in general.

Many buyers and sellers attending the "da show" may or may not be in the market or even appreciate the aforementioned pre contact, monarchy, royalty artifacts and collectables, and it may be doubtful this material appears to any substantial degree in collectable shows on the mainland as it does here, for this rare material/artifacts remains in many kama'aina homes and once it appears through auction or show, is snapped up, not to see the light of day for many a moon.
I thank you for your thoughts on this subject. It has helped me with mine.

[ Edited by: lanikai on 2004-06-27 04:09 ]