Munktiki Ceramic Coconut Monkeys!

Of all the wares available at Oasis 6, Munktiki's unveiling was my favorite. Munktiki had a nice little bungalo/gallery next to the main vending tent. Inside were all these beautiful ceramic coconut bowls and vases that were very reminiscent of the old Langbein coconut bowls that sometimes appear on eBay, with their realistic coconut-husk texture outside and creamy-smooth white glaze inside:

I thought, Hey, they bought a bunch of old coconut monkeys to help display the bowls. But then I picked one up and realized it was a ceramic drinking vessel itself!

:up: Check out the ceramic coconut drinking vessel with the two straw holes behind the monkeys in this picture.

Each monkey resembled an actual coconut monkey to tiniest detail, including the wavy ridges on the glazed coconut husk body. They are part glazed, part bisque, with a white glaze inside. Paul makes these with a four-part mold and hand-sculpts the face of each one to give it character. Some had glasses, some had black-eyes. There were various shaped ceramic lids that you could mix and match with the monkey you chose. Each lid has a straw hole and a tinier hole for a cocktail umbrella. The lids also had deep rims to keep them locked firmly in place while slipping.

I found them absolutely charming and perfect and a testament to Paul's creativity. I bought a fine fellow with glasses for $42. Can't wait to drink from him.

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2006-05-09 22:50 ]

I saw those on Oooga-Mooga and just dismissed those as Coconuts. They made something with talent and craftsmanship from something that usually is lacking little of both. Nice.

No two coconut monkeys are alike. They were all great, which made it hard to choose!

The bowls are solid/well constructed.
I hope I can get my hands on a monkey.

CUUUUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!

The entire weekend was filled with tough choices.

I bought one of the beautiful rough edged coconut vases which now holds a tealight on my coffee table!

I didn't realize we had walked into Munktiki's shop, but immediately saw coconut monkeys all over the table. I have wanted one of these vintage design monkeys to hang in my new tiki hut. So I started checking them out. Until I had one in my hand, I didn't realize they were real ceramic mugs! SCORE! After about 10 minutes, we finally decided on which 2 monkey mugs we just had to take home... it was a very tough choice, as I wanted the entire herd / flock / family / gaggle / pride!! Then, I noticed the business card with MUNKTIKI printed on it. SCORE again! Paul explained that they would be adding these guys to their web site, that the monkeys were not a limited edition mug. But being at TO, I was able to pick out the two I loved the best.

Paul, your imagination astounds me! My coconut monkeys are my prize of Tiki Oasis! Many mahalos for bringing them to TO6!

Kudos to Sabu for the heads up!

I was really stoked when I discovered the coconut monkeys were ceramic. Super cool idea. I didn't get one Saturday and missed out on Sunday since Munktiki wasn't there. I'm glad to hear they'll be offered through the website. Very cool little item. The coconuts looked top notch too. I'll be picking those up from the website when they're available.

Yeah I am a sucker for coconut monkeys too. I saw them and had to have one. I walked back and forth waiting for one of them to speak to me. One of them whispered "Chongolio" and next thing you know it was mine. It kept me company all the way home. It is now giving me stock market tips.
It is always a treat to chat up Paul and Debra who are two of the nicest, creativest and hard workinest folks you could ever meet. Stuckie is just another example of their handy work.

Chongolio

it was hard to pick my monkey.. but i chose him

i think he looks a little like Hirohito

also got a big coconut

geez, i didnt remember seeing the ones with straw holes. so hard to make decisions ~ and i got there later on saturday. i know i'll order more from online, but seeing and holding these mugs, and (as Chongolio said) waiting till one talks to you, is part of the fun of Munktiki!

I walked past the Munktiki vending booth 2 times before I realized it was them. At first glance it just looked like a table full of cheap real coconut monkeys...nothing special. Of course after more careful scrutiny I quickly realized how wrong I was and how truly cool these things were. Unreal craftsmanship! I still cant believe those are made out of ceramic! The various bowls were also extremely well done. Cool.

ModMana :drink:

Yeah, those are unbelievable! Tiki Diablo walked passed my booth smiling and told me I had to go check out Munktikis new work. He said there was some amazing new mugs. Paul is such an expert of ceramics that it was truly amazing to see how exact the ceramic mugs resembled a real coconut. The tiniest details of the spotted brown on tan, the fineness of the lines on the outside, and the character of each monkey's face was freekin amazing. Munktiki is always breaking the rules and succeeding, great work!

Holy Moais! What great cocoanut mugs, and I never even saw them!
That's the problem with being a vendor at Tiki Oasis, you hardly get the chance to get out of the booth to see what the other creative types are doing, and there is almost no one more creative than Munktiki.
I didn't even know they were at TO6.

Beautiful idea, beautiful execution (from what I can see in the pictures.)
For those of you who got to talk with Paul, do you have any idea when they'll be on their website?
I just looked and there's nothing yet.

Keep up the amazing work, Munktiki.

BodhiGlass: Real Cool Glass, Made Real Hot!

I talked to Paul a little bit. He said they still had to take pic's for the site and decide how to represent all the different monkey types. I thought he said a week or so but it's been that all ready so it should be pretty soon.

I checked the Munktiki website today, and the Coconut Monkey mugs are now available!!! We got 2 of them at Tiki Oasis and they have become our favorite mugs! Here is a link to the New mugs available on Munktiki:
http://www.munktiki.com/Newest.htm

Thanks for your imagination and talent Paul!

• Myke

Looks like they are already sold out!

Guess I will wait for the next batch.

I didn't even see the sold out until the second look through. My favorite If I was going to pick one of those would have been the O faced one. :o

Check it out now.....new ones are going up!

rats! all sold!

The Coconut Monkeys are back at Munktiki in case anyone is in need of one...

dammit, I keep on missing out. Hopefully they keep on making them.

Number 89 was the one that I liked the best and when I was trying to think of my username and password, I was too late, Oh well.

I just checked out Munktiki's website and the coconut monkey mug page, and there is a posting "NEW MONKEYS 4PM TODAY"! I am hoping it means today, Thursday, 6/8/06... If you missed the last couple of batches, you gotta see if TODAY is today! I can't believe all the new expressions Paul is coming up with. I have 2 of these guys already... I need to add a couple more.

Good Luck!

• Myke

4:07 & you better hurry if you want to get a monkey they are going fast...

Sold! D'oh!

Heads up! Munktiki posted this sign on their website... "New Batch of Monkeys on sale June 15 4 PM west coast time." That's today.. in 10 minutes! I missed out on the last batch too!

http://www.munktiki.com/Newest.htm

Good Luck!

• Myke

Wow, in less than three minutes, they all sold out! It is crazy, I was online right when the sale began and half of them were sold already. What the??????

you think everyone will ever get their coconut monkey fix?

I wonder if its just a small group of people that are buying these all up? If so, you might want to lose the greed and let a few other people have a chance at them. Jeez Louise.

Luckily I got one from the second batch (and a Trader Mort BWAHAHAHA!) :oops:

I like the top-knot on 82(?)

There is nothing about greed. Munktiki knows the rules to the game today and maybe they are just selling to a couple people, and maybe Munktiki wouldn't even have made these cool mugs if it wasn't for them.

On 2006-06-15 17:52, teaKEY wrote:
I like the top-knot on 82(?)

There is nothing about greed. Munktiki knows the rules to the game today and maybe they are just selling to a couple people, and maybe Munktiki wouldn't even have made these cool mugs if it wasn't for them.

If its not greed then what is it?

One collector on ooga mooga has 19 monkeys already! I guess you gotta be first in line and fast with the mouse button.

On 2006-06-15 18:52, TIKI-TONGA wrote:
One collector on ooga mooga has 19 monkeys already! I guess you gotta be first in line and fast with the mouse button.

Sorry, but that's cough "messed" up.

There are a lot of folks who would love to get one of these mugs who can't because someone with superior resources and logistics insists on having more than their (IMO) fair share.

I have no horse in this race. I already have my one mug. I am happy.

I'd just like to see others who'd like to have one of these have a chance to get one as well.

From Merriam-Webster's:

Greed

Pronunciation: 'grEd
Function: noun
Etymology: back-formation from greedy
: excessive or reprehensible acquisitiveness : AVARICE

Each of the Coconut Monkeys is a unique piece, a true work of art, so no matter how many you own you do not have multiples. To be a collector and an art lover it is difficult for me to get my head around how people can call "greed" on this subject.

I loved some of CMs I've seen and liked others, I've been able to purchase a couple of the ones I love and I've also bought a couple I really liked. I've bought a couple from the last three offerings, I could have bought more but it would have been ones I just liked, so I passed on them, my hope being they would go to people that liked those ones just a bit more than I did.

I understand it is greedy to buy up multiple of the same item only to deprive others of it and probably profiting from it later. I honestly don't feel I've deprived anyone, not anymore than I feel deprived of not getting some of the CM's I loved but missed. Can anyone say that they would not purchase everyone of these CM's that they liked if the pieces and the $$$ were available to them?

I also would like thank Paul for creating these mugs. In my opinion they are the
BEST MUNKTIKI MUGS TO DATE! I'm giving them to my wife for her birthday and I'm
99% sure I will go deaf from the screaming and lose my balance from the house shaking!

ok, i'm the jerk with 19 monkeys. i bought 2 more today at 4:50, so they didn't sell out in 3 minutes. i don't have some secret deal with munktiki. anybody can buy these when they go on sale. set an alarm if you need to. that being said, if one of the people complaining hasn't been able to get one, i'll sell you one for what i paid. nitropic is right. each is unique. i'm going to continue to try to buy ones that are radically different from the ones i already have.

On 2006-06-15 19:19, nitropic wrote:
To be a collector and an art lover it is difficult for me to get my head around how people can call "greed" on this subject.

From Merriam-Webster's:

**Greed **

Pronunciation: 'grEd
Function: noun
Etymology: back-formation from greedy
: excessive or reprehensible acquisitiveness : AVARICE

Obviously, what is excessive or reprehensibly excessive is up for debate and will surely differ from person to person.

On 2006-06-15 19:19, nitropic wrote:
I could have bought more but it would have been ones I just liked, so I passed on them, my hope being they would go to people that liked those ones just a bit more than I did.

Right there you tell me that (IMO) you are not horribly greedy. You are thinking about others. Good on ya!

On 2006-06-15 19:19, nitropic wrote:
I understand it is greedy to buy up multiple of the same item only to deprive others of it and probably profiting from it later. I honestly don't feel I've deprived anyone, not anymore than I feel deprived of not getting some of the CM's I loved but missed.

Well, you don't have to have the intent of "depriving others" or to "make a profit" to be greedy, but at least you're thinking about it and I respect that.

On 2006-06-15 19:19, nitropic wrote:
Can anyone say that they would not purchase everyone of these CM's that they liked if the pieces and the $$$ were available to them?

Yes. Easily. There are many of us who like to share the goodness with the ohana as much (well, almost as much) as we like collecting it.

On 2006-06-15 19:41, kingstiedye wrote:
ok, i'm the jerk with 19 monkeys. i bought 2 more today at 4:50, so they didn't sell out in 3 minutes. i don't have some secret deal with munktiki. anybody can buy these when they go on sale. set an alarm if you need to. that being said, if one of the people complaining hasn't been able to get one, i'll sell you one for what i paid. nitropic is right. each is unique. i'm going to continue to try to buy ones that are radically different from the ones i already have.

ktd: Remember, most people here have jobs that don't always allow them to wait by the computer for the munktiki update. Kudos on being willing to sell your mugs at cost to those who missed out. That's outstanding!

mahalo kono. i appreciate that. :)

I had dream a couple of years ago, it was that a person came on the Tiki scene that could and would buy every Tiki collectible available. I woke and pondered why there was no person out there already with the interest and means to do what I dreamt of. Now there is such a person and I hold him in high regard. Kudos and his magnificent collection! He does what others literally dream of. I've been a collector of many things my entire life and wish I could do it as extensively as he does. I think it is great what he is doing, I hope someday he will be the Forest J Ackerman of Tiki. I dream now that someday I will stand in his museum. I know he makes some people mad and many more jealous, but just remember to ask yourself "What else would I have been doing today?" if you do find yourself in the presence of his collection someday.

[ Edited by: nitropic 2006-06-15 20:06 ]

[ Edited by: nitropic 2006-06-15 20:05 ]

On 2006-06-15 20:02, nitropic wrote:
I had dream a couple of years ago, it was that a person came on the Tiki scene that could and would buy every Tiki collectible available. I woke and pondered why there was no person out there already with the interest and means to do what I dreamt of. Now there is such a person and I hold him in high regard. Kudos and his magnificent collection! He does what others literally dream of. I've been a collector of many things my entire life and wish I could do it as extensively as he does. I think it is great what he is doing, I hope someday he will be the Forest J Ackerman of Tiki. I dream now that someday I will stand in his museum. I know he makes some people mad and many more jealous, but just remember to ask yourself "What else would I have been doing today?" if you do find yourself in the presence of his collection someday.

Bartender!

I'll have whatever he's having!

this is an ironical phenom.
paying tribute in a ceramic form, (with something that obviously required a high degree of artistic ability and time...) of the least expensive phillipine import tourist souvenir we have here in da islands. I mean these original coconut buggaz are a buck., and they can't toss em out to da dumpster fast enuff at the thrift stores.
amazing.
and now, 45 bucks. or so. and peeps are snappin them up. Good on ya, Munktiki! more power to ya!

[ Edited by: lanikai 2006-06-15 20:46 ]

Kingstiedie, that is very nice of you taking some time out of your day and offering this guy, one of your pieces of artwork from your private collection. Hopefully Kono will spend the money that you will be losing on the cost of shipping from Munktiki and buy a deserving person, that he doesn't know, a ice cream. :)

Pass on the love.

On 2006-06-16 08:54, teaKEY wrote:
Kingstiedie, that is very nice of you taking some time out of your day and offering this guy, one of your pieces of artwork from your private collection. Hopefully Kono will spend the money that you will be losing on the cost of shipping from Munktiki and buy a deserving person, that he doesn't know, a ice cream. :)

Pass on the love.

Uhhh...I guess in hurrying to impress ktd you didn't have time go back and read any of these posts. I have a mug. I don't want another. I just feel bad for those in this thread who keep missing out because they are all bought up in minutes. Capiche? I am not getting a mug from ktd (unlike you) and do not want one. And quit making puppy dog eyes at him, it's creepy.

Oh looky here. I just a PM from teaKEY (prior to my previous post). He called me a "Baby." What are you, 15?

Aloha Kono

On 2006-06-16 14:01, teaKEY wrote:
Aloha Kono

is Kono leaving?