Tiki Finds

On 2005-08-28 18:07, SilverLine wrote:
(never heard of John Ascuaga's Nugget, though. Anybody know anything about it?)

This is the casino where the venerable Trader Dick's is located.

John Ascuaga's Nugget is still there, located in Sparks, Nevada (just east of Reno). Trader Dick's has a huge bar (that still serves very good drinks in tiki mugs!) that surrounds a giant aquarium. The bar is adjacent to a restaurant that sells excellent, high-end asian food.

The Nugget's website can be found here

There is also a good review at the Cheapo Vegas website.

The Tikipedia
www.tikipedia.com

[ Edited by: tikipedia 2005-08-28 18:46 ]

[ Edited by: tikipedia 2005-08-28 18:47 ]

Nice score on the Schirman Silverline. Haven't seen that one before.
Aloha,
:tiki:

On 2005-08-28 18:45, tikipedia wrote:
The Nugget's website can be found here

Thanks much Tikipedia! Interesting that the Nugget is celebrating their 50th aniversary this year! They must be doing something right!

I finally found my first Tiki Mug in a Goodwill store in town. It is a black Moai from The Fireside, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Yes, my first genuine mug for only $2.10.
Now I'm hooked--I'll probably be stopping by there everyday from now on.

That's a great one, Keaka, good score!

Thanks Humuhumu,
I forgot to mention that the mug contains 20-oz, is 7 1/4 inches high and has no other markings than the back. The amount of Planter's Punch contained is quite a surprise--seemingly bottomless.
I also neglected to mention how very carefully I carried that guy around the store, back home, while cleaning him and when I was filling him up with what (my imagination tells me) was his first tropical drink in 30+ years.

[ Edited by: Tiki Joe 2005-08-29 19:25 ]

On 2005-08-29 18:58, Keaka wrote:
Thanks Humuhumu,
I forgot to mention that the mug contains 20-oz, is 7 1/4 inches high and has no other markings than the back. The amount of Planter's Punch contained is quite a surprise--seemingly bottomless.
I also neglected to mention how very carefully I carried that guy around the store, back home, while cleaning him and when I was filling him up with what (my imagination tells me) was his first tropical drink in 30+ years.

Haha, nice! I just added a mug template for it.

The trip to Diesel extraveganza '05 is now a memory the antique malls only gave up one gem and 4 small pieces of silver. The rest is my vasteland finds for the past 3 months.
Terre Haute; A Frank S. Black coral beauty, 3 postcards from hawaii, and a happy Westwood R65-C1303 Japan($3, Just couldn't leave it all alone with all the boring glassware)

The Wastelands; OoH x-eyes, The unbroken coco joe's bookend(got a pair for $5.50), HIP original cat made of Hawaiian sand, a strange slip cast tiki from "KU-KAILA-MOKU, ZENITH N.Y, HANAKI TM, A46 JAPAN" that's what is inscribed on the back in 4 lines.

[ Edited by: Mike the Headhunter 2005-08-29 20:28 ]

here are my mug finds from the last couple of days:

the only real stand out is the don the beachcomber mug it was a whopping 90 cents. the most i paid for any of them was $1.50.

Aloha,

Here are my Tiki Finds for the past week.

From left to right:

1. I have no idea what this says, or where it is from. It has a gold foil OMC sticker on the bottom. I would have passed on it, but it was a buck...:)

2. Plain ol' 3-face OMC mug, no descriptor. I had passed on this particular mug for weeks now, it was 12 bucks, then 10 bucks and I finally got it for 3 bucks. I am glad I bought it because I had hit quite a drought. I found two more at our flea market that day and they cost 1 buck each. I am always happy to get three tiki mugs that I don't have for 5 bucks. :)

3. OoH - Skull Mug - Thank you eBay for a $4.79 mug - including shipping. :)

4. This was the creme de la creme of my Sunday finds at the Flea...A Don the Beachcomber head mug. It does have a chip under the lip of the hat, but you have to turn it over to see it...and how could I pass on it for 1 buck? My girlfriend new I was excited when I gasped when I saw it laying in a box off to the side...:)

5. Another eBay one - Islander Stockton mug - around 12 bucks with shipping.

Mahalo to everyone!

-CMC

Great finds everyone!!!

Freaky alien/african/maybe tiki?
Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook.
Witco Kitty I believe(8").
Drink Mixers manual

Side view and Vic book without dustjacket.
That tiki looks Hawaiian from the neck down, but I'm not sure of that crazy head! He's carved out of cedar.

On 2005-08-30 21:46, Tikiwahine wrote:
That tiki looks Hawaiian from the neck down, but I'm not sure of that crazy head! He's carved out of cedar.

cthulutiki! sweet!

Just picked up these three guys at a thrift store this weekend.

All three are from restaurants. The one in the middle looks like an OMC/Otagiri mug but there is no manufacturer listed on the base.

Anyone know where the heck this is/was?

This is the base of one of the Moai mugs. The back says "Island Fish House Kihei, Maui" but for some reason I can't upload a picture of that. Anyone know if THAT place is still around?

In my opinion, no tiki bar/room would be complete without Vladmir Gregorovich Tretchikoff's famous, yet politically incorrect, "The Chinese Girl," which came from a different thrift store on the previous weekend. Not bad, huh? Hope everyone has a good Labor Day.

Awesome finds.

Genuinely puzzled -- how is the painting politically incorrect?

[ Edited by: Thomas 2005-09-03 14:17 ]

Agree with Thomas..how is that Chinese Woman print "politically incorrect?" (if you don't mean that she is NOT dressed like a worker in Chairman Mao's gray unisex garb, instead of like an extra in a Forties Charlie Chan talkie, that is).

Most of Tiki is politically incorrect and THANK KU for it!
PC cops...get back to the neo-temperance league and leave us wise cracking booze hound hedonists alone!

Before the Revolution, the per capita consumption of RUM in the Colonies was 3.7 gallons PER person. We have become a Neo-temperant nation of wimps and quitters! We must rise, Tiki Nation, and raise our ceramic mugs in resistance to teatotaling!

[ Edited by: Rum Numb Davey 2005-09-03 15:52 ]

On 2005-09-03 15:52, Rum Numb Davey wrote:
Most of Tiki is politically incorrect and THANK KU for it!

Yeah!

However, I want to make it clear I didn't mean my question as any kind of challenge. I'm just wondering what Trader Rick had in mind -- is her dark complexion considered inaccurate for a Chinese? Is there something signalled by the depiction of her that strikes some as politically incorrect? I see it as a pretty straightforward depiction, but I might be missing some cues which had relevance in another era, e.g. her lipstick, covered hands, etc.

On 2005-09-03 10:03, Trader_Rick wrote:

Anyone know where the heck this is/was?

You found one of my holy grails! The Kono Hawaii was in Santa Ana, something along the lines of 5 minutes from where I live. It was closed and no trace of it remains, I believe within the last 10-12 years. The band No Doubt played there in 1992. After that, I've been unable to find any information about it.
I've been after one of the Kono Hawaii mugs ever since I learned it existed. I try to collect mugs that are from places I've been to, or places that used to exist nearby, sort of like a museum that tries to concentrate on local history. ha ha.
Very excellent finds.
I went to a garage sale today and got six vintage mugs for $25. It was hardly a steal, but it was still reasonable, at least I thought so. My favorite are the two from the Mai Kai. Here's a link:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/[email protected]/album?.dir=/d93a
The fellow over on the right, the OMC peanut mug, is from a place called the Samoa House in Encino. I haven't found any info on it yet. I'm going to do a thread search as soon as I'm done posting this.
I got a few unmarked orchids, the moai in the front is from the Kahiki. All in all, not a bad day for me.
Interested in trading for that Kono Hawaii mug? :)

Stopped in a couple of thrifts today and found this for 49 cents!

Hurricane glass from Hukilau Lounge. "On U.S.1 opposite Garrison Bight Key West, Florida"

not much tiki in northern wisconsin...but stumbled onto
this keg and mug set at a flea market a couple weeks ago...

Not so much "finds" as purchases.
I got these at the Kowloon in Saugus, Mass. yesterday:

On 2005-09-03 18:00, Kono wrote:
Stopped in a couple of thrifts today and found this for 49 cents!

Hurricane glass from Hukilau Lounge. "On U.S.1 opposite Garrison Bight Key West, Florida"

This is darkly humorous mug for us who were in the bunker during the hurricane at Hukilau! I love it! I have started trying to collect Hukilau stuff. There were a lot of them around. Or Huke Lau or other spellings. But they don't come up that often on Ebay.

Pickings seem to be a slim lately. Found this in the past two months, excluding some stuff we grabbed in Vegas.

From Ebay:
United States Line tiki mug
United States Line Kilauea Volcano mug

Disneyland:
Enchanted Tiki Room Pele mug

From Thrift Stores:
Treasure Craft pineapple-shaped toothpick holder
Pineapple shaped toothpick cup embossed with 'Aloha Hawaii'
Shotglass from the Outrigger Hotel, Hawaii
Unmarked volcano bowl
x2 Rum barrel mugs from the Warehouse restaurant
x4 Coconut mugs from the Tahitian restaurant. 2 others not shown in pix (I found a similar set of 4 a few months back)
A heavily chipped Muntiki Princess Pua mug
Seaworld tiki coffee cup
Generic Hawaii coffee cup

Not Shown:
Monkeypod bowl shaped like a pineapple
Set of large wooden fork and spoon for hanging on the wall

That's a nice volcano bowl!

How in the heck does a munktiki mug wind up in a thrift store??

Genuinely puzzled -- how is the painting politically incorrect?

Sorry, sort of a knee-jerk reaction, I suppose. You see, much of Tretchikoff's work is problematic. Visit http://www.tretchikoff.co.uk/ for further evidence. However, upon closer examination, you are all correct: there is nothing un-PC about this painting. One question remains, however: why is she green?

On 2005-09-05 01:44, Kono wrote:
That's a nice volcano bowl!

How in the heck does a munktiki mug wind up in a thrift store??

I picked up the Muntiki and the volcano bowl at the same time, in the same thrift store.

Perhaps they were discarded by an angry girlfriend? If so, too bad the guy didn't have a Tiki Bob mug in his collection as well!

On 2005-09-03 18:00, Kono wrote:
Stopped in a couple of thrifts today and found this for 49 cents!

Hurricane glass from Hukilau Lounge. "On U.S.1 opposite Garrison Bight Key West, Florida"

What's funny is that I found this hurricane glass in a small town junk store. I have never been able to figure out how it got there, but it's in my collection and I guess that's all that matters.

Whilst visiting friends to show off our new baby daughter Tiki came up in passing conversation. That 's when our friend mentioned she might have a bowl from Trader Vics somewhere down in the basement. With my curiosity perked I asked if we could take a look see to see what she may have.

So down we go into the dark and moist basment which was totally loaded with nic nacks she has picked up from the numberous trips to Value Village over her entire life. After a quick search, I was amazed she knew exactly where the bowl was, burried with about 3 or 4 other bowls inside and on top and stuck at the back of the shelf appears a Trader Vics Hula Bowl. This thing was in mint condition, no chips or cracks, the 3 hula girls are perfect and the colours are amazing, this is the same bowl pictured on page 81 of Tiki Quest, although the bowl in real life looks much larger than the book portrays. It's about 8 to 9" in diameter.

Here's the best part, she gave it to me as a gift for my DAUGHTER! So now it resides down in my tiki basement with the rest of the collection. I'll get a pic soon when I get my hands on a camera to shre with you all.

-Roadkutter

Wow congratulations!
What a great story!
Your daughter's first bowl for her very own collection :)

On 2005-09-06 12:30, roadkutter wrote:
Whilst visiting friends to show off our new baby daughter Tiki came up in passing conversation. That 's when our friend mentioned she might have a bowl from Trader Vics somewhere down in the basement. With my curiosity perked I asked if we could take a look see to see what she may have.

So down we go into the dark and moist basment which was totally loaded with nic nacks she has picked up from the numberous trips to Value Village over her entire life. After a quick search, I was amazed she knew exactly where the bowl was, burried with about 3 or 4 other bowls inside and on top and stuck at the back of the shelf appears a Trader Vics Hula Bowl. This thing was in mint condition, no chips or cracks, the 3 hula girls are perfect and the colours are amazing, this is the same bowl pictured on page 81 of Tiki Quest, although the bowl in real life looks much larger than the book portrays. It's about 8 to 9" in diameter.

Here's the best part, she gave it to me as a gift for my DAUGHTER! So now it resides down in my tiki basement with the rest of the collection. I'll get a pic soon when I get my hands on a camera to shre with you all.

-Roadkutter

What other bowls did she have, and can I stop by with my Gran'daughter? :D Did she have more Tiki items, or did she just have the one Trader Vic's bowl & the other bowls you menyioned were more ordinary kitchen or serving bowls?

Today I walked through my regular thrift store, and walked out empty handed. I decided to try my luck at the closer, yet usually devoid of tiki Salvation Army.

While browsing the candle holders and knick knacks my palms started to itch, I had this feeling that there was tiki there, somewhere!

In the next aisle, the one with the mugs and ashtrays, I spied an unmarked coconut mug. Not bad! It's only my 4th(2nd unmarked) but I was happy to find a mug of any sort.

Upon checking out I checked out the jewelry case, which to my glee held a cuff link & tie bar set! This is something I've been looking for, but never thought I'd find locally in the wild.

Yay! Happy Day.

WOW!!!

I heartily agree with Tiki Rotterdam. WOW!

sweeeeeeet tikivahine!

Gosh my aunt gave me a set of those when I was 7. only the eyes were red. It was my earliest tiki memory and have been wondering if anything like them would be unearthed around here, nice score.

I guess I should check the jewelry case more often. Except that I haven't worn a tie in about 2 years and I can't even remember the last time I wore cufflinks. I guess they'd just be display pieces.

I've got a pair of those exact cuff links. I even wore them when I got married. I got mine on eBay so the story isn't as remotely cool as yours, but let's see, I think I've got a photo here somewhere... Here it is, it's one of those weirdly contrived photos that wedding photographers take, I'm supposed to be adjusting my Dad's tie, but it's a great shot of the cuff links, at least it is when it's blown up to proper 8 x 10 size or projected on something the size of a wall :)

TikiJosh,
Sorry to digress, but has anybody ever said that your dad looks a lot like the distinguished actor Clifton Webb?

A rare Maine find.

It's not very easy to find tiki items in Maine, but I did find this giant fork and spoon set in Bangor at an antique mall. They're made in the Phillipines, and I understand they're pretty common, but anything I can find in Maine is worth getting!

Plus, we have a 1950's ranch house, and you have to have a giant fork and spoon in the kitchen. I think it's a law.

SBiM

Through unfortunate circumstances I found this Coco Joe's letter opener... my wife's grandparents who both recently passed away within 2 weeks of each other had this tucked away in a closet next to the slide reels of their trip to Hawaii in the early 70's. I was happy to find it but it saddened me it had to take this route to obtain it...

On 2005-09-08 23:26, tikipedia wrote:
TikiJosh,
Sorry to digress, but has anybody ever said that your dad looks a lot like the distinguished actor Clifton Webb?

HOLY %$#*&(#@%$#%^ CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is so weird! At the risk of being U-modded out, I'll keep it short and say thanks for the link! I'm sending this to my Mum. She'll get a kick out of it...

Oh man, I lust after the Princess Pua mug. Nice haul!

Heres my tiki finds. Not much, but I havent looked much though. Theres a few other things (old books, and a generic surfer/tiki carving), but this is the coolest stuff.

Lil tiki from NZ. 2 inches tall, cheap souvenir. Genuine wood though. The red coloured eyes are vinyl (for covering schoolbooks) cause the old eyes looked a bit plain.

Some tiki candles my girl bought for me. Scented, but I havent burnt em - they're too good. About 2 inches tall.

Plastic tiki a mate bought me while he was over in NZ. Gonna be the shifter in my new wheels. About 5 inches tall.

Oh yeh, the best is saved for last. A genuine ti toki decanter. Bought for $5! It still has the original label on the neck of the bottle, and is in immaculate condition. Not many brown bottles around, Ive only seen the green ones.

The bottom of the bottle

The worst part? I could have picked up another brown one in the same condition for another $5, but I didnt have the cash on me. When I eventually got back weeks later, it was gone like the day before. Bugger!

I loved hearing nauga & josh's stories about those tiki cuff links, thanks guys! Great finds Hewey!

Here's a couple more items I found recently:

About 2 meters (2 yards, 6.5" and the width is 45") of barkcloth tapa fabric. $6.99 Canadian, and I got it for 50% off!(that's $2.96 US by today's exchange rates) This photo shows about half of it.

Zazz tapa sport coat made by Sandwich Isles.
The size is 44L (it's 30" long and 44" around) I figure it would be great for someone here to wear to the Hukilau. I'd bring it with me, but I can't go this year so I'll probably sell it for cash towards a plane ticket for next year's event.

Wahine, you're an out-of-control Tiki thrifting machine! That jacket is sweeeeeeeeet!!! Too bad it's a little small for me :cry:.

Zazz tapa sport coat made by Sandwich Isles.
The size is 44L (it's 30" long and 44" around) I figure it would be great for someone here to wear to the Hukilau. I'd bring it with me, but I can't go this year so I'll probably sell it for cash towards a plane ticket for next year's event.

Sweet! I'll be watching for it.

Well, it's been pretty dry up here in Surrey, BC, but I did manage to find a couple of goodies the past couple of days. Nothing too exotic but when you find them at the Value Village and a good old garage sale, it can be hard to turn them down when they're less than $1.50 each!!!

In the back ground are 4 Trader Vic Coconut mugs. 2 are from "Trader Vic's USA" and the other two are "Trader Vic's Canada" which are more than likely from the old Vic's that was at the Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver.

(Here's a quick side story relating to that Trader Vics - In our quest to find a local ceramic mold maker a few years ago to make our own mugs, we stumbled across an old timer who did all the ceramic work for the local Tiki establishments back in the day. After meeting with him and talking to him for a while he started talking about all the Tiki and Hawaiian themed places that he had worked for. Upon returning from World War II, he joined his father in the ceramic business. He took over the company and worked in several places across BC.

Different restaurants went to him to make mugs and he did alot of Tiki mugs and other pieces. He is the one that made all the molds and did the ceramic work for The Hawaiian Village that was once located in New Westminster and also the Trader Vics. We managed to get all his remaining Tiki items from him in a big box. Sure enough at the bottom of this box full of the Hawaiian Village mugs and ceramic pieces, there was a Trader Vic's coconut mug mold! Oh yeh, and it's still got a original coconut mug in it!! Don't worry.... we WILL NOT be using this mold to flood the market with new coconut mugs. It's strictly a part of our collection!)

Sorry, back to this photo I posted. On the left is a Tiki carved from the Phillipines. A bamboo shaped mug from the "Poseidon Lounge Pacific Beach Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii" which is made by DAGA. On the right is an unmarked pineapple dish with lid. It is not marked but it has very good detail and is just like the OMC mug ones. A Orchids of Hawaii Hula Dancer mug and up in front is a hand carved canoe/outrigger from New Zealand.

Not too bad but I gotta find something exotic soon. It has been a while since my last big find so I'll keep you posted.

Hey Roadkutter, glad to hear your finding some good stuff. That bowl sounds awesome and I'm still looking for one for my collection. Maybe your daughter doesn't want it and she wants to pass it on!!! Let me know!! Dan

That's some great history, TabooDan! Was that Erneli? I'd love to know about any other mugs they did beyond the Vic's coconuts & the Vancouver Hawaiian Village ones, for Ooga-Mooga.