Where Are The Rare Tiki Items?

I feel I must ask. In the Book of Tiki, we see that it was such a happening scene back then. So where did all that great stuff go? I remember seeing a few Hawaaianna items at my Grandmother's house. She said she gave them to charity. If all our Grandparents had a few (or a ton) of tiki decor items, and gave it to family, charity, whatever, then why can't I find any? If you like Victorian, look no further than the "antique" shop around the corner. Primative your thang? Same shop. How about that Retro 40s look? They got you covered. But ask to find some tiki and you here "Oh, that's very rare and difficult to find". So who's got it all? There has to be about 20 of you out there hoarding the good, old, rare stuff. Who?

Means: Happy Tiki

[ Edited by: Hau 'Oli Tiki on 2005-02-24 20:48 ]

For the most part, it is hoarded. But there's still some stuff out there.

(just try to find it though)

On 2005-02-24 20:51, Tiki_Bong wrote:
For the most part, it is hoarded.

Yeah look no farther then Kohalacharms... he's got the majority of it! :)

Sorry, I had to take one last jab! I promise I won't turn this topic into another Ebay gripe session...cross my heart!

Oh crud! I feel like a parrot in a tiki lounge! There are like, 5 other topics that have turned into this gripe. Sorry! I'll pay closer attention and actually read all of the postings in other threads!

Means: Sad tiki!

Considering that SOME people like TikiDUG, Dale Sizer, Mark Ryden and so started looking for that stuff in the 80s (I started in '89), it is amazing and inspiring how much is still found- here on Tiki Central...less in California though, it's pretty combed over.

Like the Japanese fishnet float collectors on the Hawaiian coast in the 50s, Tiki Early Birds started showing up at the Rose Bowl and PCC in the mid 90s, and eventually I was satisfied with simply befriending the collectors and having their treasures available for my research.

Nowadays the name of the game (besides the usual patience and luck) is:
Engage spotters, spent hours on e-bay, or live in a state that just had enough Tiki in it's heyday, but is remote enough to not have been plundered yet.

Or go to Oceanic Arts, they offer the closest to finding vintage style Tikiana.

...and about that parrot in a Tiki Lounge!...aaw, never mind.

I inquired at Oceanic Arts about vintage decor for my new endeavor. They say this year is their best ever and tiki is such a surge that all the stuff they reacquired in the slump has all gone back out to new places in recent times.

Is't funny you mentioned Granparents Hau'oli Tiki, my Granfather (a doctor who had many celebrity clients and friends in Hollywood in the 40's 50's) and his buddy's spent alot of time at the tiki establishments in L.A. and he brought home quite a few mugs.That's how I got into it, after seeing his stuff as a kid.Since then I did inherite his collection, But I'll never sell.......maybe trade though...I do have some doubles....

[ Edited by: freaky*tiki on 2005-02-25 09:41 ]

I have always suspected that in tikis decline, alot was declaired garish and went right into the trash can. to make room for owls, mushrooms, and avacado furnishings.

What's wrong with avocado furnishings? If you have some, I collect them!

Those dreaded owls! But you can still find some items in amongst the evil.

HAHAHA! You set that shot up, wahine, admit it! Too funny!

(I had that owl candle on the right when I was a kid.)

On 2005-02-25 05:48, Swanky wrote:
I inquired at Oceanic Arts about vintage decor for my new endeavor. They say this year is their best ever and tiki is such a surge that all the stuff they reacquired in the slump has all gone back out to new places in recent times.

What I mant is that Oceanic Arts is still selling or re-issuing a lot of their carvings which have been the staple of American Tiki Lounge decor since it's heyday. If you look at the Tonga Room in S.F., the Chin Tiki in Detroit, the Kon Tiki in Tuscon, the Kahiki in Ohio, the Mai Kai in Florida, they ALL have/had carvings by O.A. in them, many of which you can still buy (newly made) at their shop. If you go with the dark, unpainted war clubs and masks, there is very little difference to the vintage authentic Tiki Bar decor of the 50s and 60s. I believe this to be an incredible luxury.

And if you seek Witco carvings, Bosko and Keigs have so mastered the style that you can set their pieces next to an original, and it works.

On 2005-02-25 10:30, purple jade wrote:
HAHAHA! You set that shot up, wahine, admit it! Too funny!

I did, I'll admit it, but they were all within 3' of eachother on that shelf! Creepy!
I just had to take a picture, because it's sooo true!

they were all within 3' of eachother on that shelf! Creepy!

Yes, the exceptionally rare Menehunowls, of course.

(Edited for spelling error...how embarrassing.)

[ Edited by: purple jade on 2005-02-25 15:51 ]

My Mom put out a couple of those wretched owls at my garage sale. I was so embarassed. Then she slaps a tag on them that says $50.00 for the pair! I'm like Cheese and Crackers Ma! And wouldn't you know it...some lady snaps them up the minute they hit the table!! I was mystified and just sat there stunned! Why? I have to add, as I remeber, there were some totally cool Eames-ish lamps and nautical stuff that no one cared for. I live in a tasteless neighborhood!

Means: Happy Tiki

[ Edited by: Hau 'oli Tiki on 2005-02-25 13:22 ]

I think with collecting anything old you have to be patient. I have been collecting 1950s stuff for almost 20 years. In my area it is as hard to find stuff as it has ever been. That is finding good stuff at a decent price. 10 years ago there were no antique malls or shops around here that handled mid century stuff. Now there are several places only they want ebay or higher prices for the stuff and alot of it is rough. I have so little money in the stuff we have because I take my time. I don't need everything today. I buy very little on ebay. Now don't get me wrong. If there is something I really want and I find it. I will step up if I can afford it. I would have paid whatever it took to get my parents bar back, luckily I didn't have to pay much at all. To me the search is as good as the find.
Because I am a car guy I go to alot of antique car swap meets. Last year I found a 1957 Plymouth Fury factory mail order poster. I have owned several 57-58 Plymouths. Like the Christine movie car. Anyway I sold my complete literature and dealer showroom items years ago after I sold my last 58 plymouth and decided it was time to move on. That collection was 13 years in the making and it was very large. This was all stuff collected old school by walking in swap meets, pre Ebay. Anyway last year I stopped by a Literature vendor I always check out at Carlisle. As he is getting this poster down for another guy I see this fury poster sitting there leaned up against the wall. Now this was a poster that you could get for free by sending in a magazine clipping. No one I knew has ever found one. I only knew one guy who ever saw one. I couldn't believe it. There it was after all those years searching and never found one. Now I didn't need it and there it was. I bought it. Just to say that I finally was able to own it. I put it on ebay and got my money back. I didn't make any money but a guy out west that was looking for that poster now has what he was looking for. We were both happy. Scott

well, the problem is that so much of what that era had to offer has been uncovered by the 'archeologist generation'. i've been collecting for over 20 years myself and have seen firsthand, what has happened in the collecting market.

like big bro mentioned, friends of mine like Dale Sizer and TikiDUG were doing the same thing i did back in the 80s and 90s....dig through thrift store in southern california! thrift stores are THE absolute, best way to view the ecological strata of pop culture and style. in the early 80s thru the early 90s, i can't think of a time i went to St. Vincent De Paul's (LA thrift haven) or DAV and didn't find at least a few tiki mugs. also, 40s and 50s furniture were no prob to find. and fergit about the cool records! sheesh!

the reason for this, was that the generation that owned that type of material was dying off and their families found the easiest way to deal with their stuff was dump it at thrift stores.

well, many of the collectors and swap meet dealers of the time knew the thrift stores was where their booty lay. so, much of what you mention as being plentiful tiki stuff, simply was bought up.

after most of the 40s-50s generation (who held onto their cultural style until their passing) died off, you found fewer and fewer types of these things on the thrift and secondary markets. in the 90s, most of what you found in thrift stores were of the 70s generation...by people who were either dying off or were purging their 70s crap to upgrade to the wonderful world of the 80s and 90s. now it seems, all you find at thrift stores is plastic from the 80s. because of the internet, the treasure hunters of the 80s material mainly look for kitsch 80s clothing such as Michael Jackson Thriller jackets and retro tee shirts.

also because of the internet, families that once tossed this stuff with no thought at all, now believe that anything and everything could be treasure. sure, there still is the random deal and there still are a few 'tombs of treasure' waiting to be plundered, but for the most part, the disappearance you mention is the passage of time.

i remember going to Bigbro's Tiki Symposiums back in the 90s when the collectors world was basically small. although it was extremely competitive, there was more than enough to go around. calling up Tikidug to gloat about some amazing find was what you lived for. of course, he'd 'one-up' you the next week with what he found. these days, because of so much available knowledge out there, the competition is fierce. BOT is a big reason why tiki stuff is in such demand. I must say, I have a love/hate issue with BOT…I thinks it’s the best collectors/pop culture reference book of its type. I own three copies! at the same time, it turned our secret island hideaway into a Vegas style resort because it did its job so well.

the crazy thing is, in 30 to 60 years from now, what kind of crazy flood will hit the thrift stores of the future that get all of our crap? think about it!

I can see my granchildren pawing through Peir 1, Cost Plus and Target Psuedo World Bazarr crud at the Thrift!

I agree with you on the fact that it all got tossed. When I was a kid, my mom took me to visit a client of hers, (she's a conservator/trustee) and this dude had the nicest collection of oceanic. He was probably around 80 at the time (1985). I remeber thinking that I didn't like it and why did old folks always keep their old crap and not get with the times. (!!) I pulled out the photo album a couple of months ago and found some of us visiting him at Christmas. All that I desire is pictured in a faded photo of a guy I barely knew! And me standing there with a sassy look, like, Jeez folks, can we go now? He had some tasty carvings, paintings, pottery, lamps-the whole tamale! I asked my mom what ever happened to him? He died in 1996. His family in Alaska told her to take his household goods and give them to charity. She called Good Shepard and they carted it all away.
So, I will keep searching,as I said before, between the Victorian rocker and the Texas Ware bowls. When I spy that elusive little carving, eyes gleeming from some dusty corner, I'll quitely pick him up and hug him to me. I'll wonder if I've seen him before. A long time ago. And never knew. And part of the thrill will be over, because I have completed a part of my search. It IS the thrill of the hunt! It's an obsession! I want to draw it out and savor it all; the hunting the finding, the claiming, the displaying. After all, at the end of the day, You just have to ask yourself: WWJD?
Gotta go...I hear ice melting.

[ Edited by: Hau 'oli Tiki on 2005-02-26 21:21 ]

sometimes just dumb luck! i found most of the contents of KON-TIKI cleveland,from a guy who was selling a couple of neon beer signs. just dumb luck! (insert smile here)TD