Official Introductions Thread. New Members, Post your introduction here...

At last, a (formerly) Yahoo Group that appeals to me. Met some of you during the Portland swing last weekend and just joined the list. I enjoyed the Tiki Tour immensely!

Capn Ed

Aloha, and welcome to TC!

First off, let me say how great it is to finally jump into the fray here and start posting. Keeping Tiki-culture alive is something that is very near and dear to my heart and these forums are doing such an amazing job! Very glad to be here.

I'll spare everyone the boring details of my life until now but I will tell you that ever since I can remember there has been a Tiki in my life in one way or another. Growing up in So. Cal. Definitely helped there =) Having spent every one of my 31 years here I have been lucky enough to have visited some truly wonderful places as well as the bittersweet fortune to have been able to visit the “ruins” of formerly great southland destinations. The recent closing of Sam’s Seafood in Huntington Beach hit me especially hard as I just recently moved out of my old apartment – located a couple minutes down PCH from Sam’s. That place was truly something special and I couldn't believe it when I heard it had been sold. I never got to make it to the closing. But I digress….

I’ll keep the nostalgic yapping to a minimum and close this intro with a firm virtual handshake and a friendly “Howdy Pardner”. Good to be here.

On 2006-07-02 22:19, Ghost wrote:
I’ll keep the nostalgic yapping to a minimum and close this intro with a firm virtual handshake and a friendly “Howdy Pardner”. Good to be here.

Actually, nostalgic yapping can be encouraged around here. Find a thread with memories of Tiki treasures or the rotting carcasses SoCal Tiki destinations and add any salient points you may have. :)

hi everyone,
new to the forum. i have been very interested in learning how to carve tikis. i search and search for books video classes etc and nothing. frustration
as my name indicates, i'm a freak for anything tropical and i'm in south florida.
if anyone out there knows where or how i can learn this art, please let me know. thanks, cliff

Hi everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself. I've been interested in the tiki forever it seems. Back in 1971 I wore a tiki charm because it was cool. I still wear my Hawaiian shirts all of the time in the summer months and now that I am retired, I hope to do more relaxing although I still enjoy being a house husband. I'm married to a wonderful woman and have been for 24 years. We have to great sons who are 22 and 18. My passion is my 1965 Chevelle and my 1997 Camaro Z/28 convertible. Both sons are also into cars. My 22 year old has my first 1965 Chevelle that I got in 80. I promised it to him when he was a little kid and he now drives it. My 18 year old has a 1966 Pontiac Catalina in progress. Thanks for listening.

Jack

On 2006-07-04 07:18, Ironskull wrote:
Hi everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself. I've been interested in the tiki forever it seems. Back in 1971 I wore a tiki charm because it was cool. I still wear my Hawaiian shirts all of the time in the summer months and now that I am retired, I hope to do more relaxing although I still enjoy being a house husband. I'm married to a wonderful woman and have been for 24 years. We have to great sons who are 22 and 18. My passion is my 1965 Chevelle and my 1997 Camaro Z/28 convertible. Both sons are also into cars. My 22 year old has my first 1965 Chevelle that I got in 80. I promised it to him when he was a little kid and he now drives it. My 18 year old has a 1966 Pontiac Catalina in progress. Thanks for listening.

Jack

After reading your list of bitchen cars, I now have a woody. Welcome!

Greetings.

I've been a closet Tiki freak for many years now. Some of you may recall my post on eGullet about King Yum Restaurant in Queens, where my Tiki fascination came to being as a small child:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=44403

I also remember a few trips to Disney world as a kid where we stayed at the Polynesian in the early 70's, not long after it opened.

Does anyone have any photos or plans of the Polynesian as it ORIGINALLY was? And is any of the ephemera and tiki objects from the original for sale?

I'm also looking for good Chinese Polynesian restaurants in NJ with a good tiki component.

Glad to be part the site.

[ Edited by: Jason Perlow 2006-07-04 11:30 ]

[ Edited by: Jason Perlow 2006-07-04 11:31 ]

Aloha!

it´s me, ehrie, 31 years old from southern Germany, located in Sindelfingen 30km from the Black Forest. Since 10 years I´m infected with the Tiki-Virus. I don´t like Tikis, I love them. If you want further Informations about me don´t hesitate to contact me or visit me on http://www.myspace.com/ehrie

Herzliche Gruesse an alle! (best wishes to all!)
ehrie

Aloha! Here to introduce myself as a new member. Ran across the site because I was looking for ideas on turning a blank backyard and deck into my own little slice of tiki heaven :) I didn't realize that tiki had such a following... this is awesome! I'm in the beginning stages of a addiction that started with a totem pole that I purchased for my deck, which is leading into more Tiki's and a tiki hut. I was also bit by the shot glass addiction while I as in the Cayman Islands in February. I'm sure you'll see me posting away! J-Rod

On 2006-07-06 11:19, ehrie wrote:
Aloha!

it´s me, ehrie, 31 years old from southern Germany, located in Sindelfingen 30km from the Black Forest.

Erie, how close to Big Bro Sven's TV movie shoots in Munich are you? I think he needs to be taken out for a drink or three and you can gain Tiki knowledge from the font.

Aloha Tiki Central Readers,

I've been tiki obsessed ever since finding the maori kitsch things in my grandmother's house as a small child over 25 years ago. More recently I've rekindled my love of tiki after a trip to hawaii with my family, which as prompted me to build a tiki bar, and start collecting tiki mugs, much to my fiance's chagrin. Outside of my rekindled tiki obession and finishing my batchelor's, I'm into classic vespas (i'm currently rebuilding a '63 allstate), and Old Unix workstations. Unfortunately, living where I do (in north carolina) there isn't much tiki going on around here, but at least there is the internet (and tiki central)

well.......a place to lay my kitchy/krazy soul to rest....how refreshing !! I'm happy to be here and ready for the huge virtual hug you are saving for me.....as a taoist-tiki guy I'm always learning and ready to give props to how much I don't know.....I spent much of my childhood in Salinas ,Calif. (with Carmel- Monterey beach etc. nearby) and loved the lure of the exotic (Jules Verne,Robinson Crusoe,Kon Tiki and more)....later as a teenager I was hooked on the east coast (R.I. "beach culture" (and surf music) (I even pretended I could surf by walking around with a old surfboard even though I couldn't even swim!!....same for ciggs ....I pretended to inhale!.....a stint in the service during the Viet Nam "error" and my first marriage got me to dream a little less.....but still with "medication", meditation, good friends and an appreciation for the absurd I got past all that....made my first Tiki necklace out of cured rubber while "working" in a cable factory in Pawtucket R.I. Lost it at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival while walking around with a guitar I couldn't play....But I COULD sing....sorta...fast forward to Now .....I've been self employed for 30 plus years as a dealer in antiques and "worthless crap" I love the hunt ,pop culture,and connecting folks with what they think they need....It's a Blast and barely makes enough to pay ALL the bills. My Soul mate showed up a few years ago and she told me about The Kahaki...the funnel of destiny has us working on a labor of love and a story of that treasure......now if I can only learn to do the Hula ! ! Mahalo !

Hello everyone. My name is TBonez 'n Im a pinstriper 'n artist that hangs out on Sketch Kult alot.I was told by another artist , hewey , that I should post some stuff here. Recently I have been stripin' 'n painting stuff from Tiki Farm. The owner of the shop that sells my stuff lets me have my pick of her mugs , decanters ect. I havent seen anything like I do here so I hope that paintin' on a nice glazed tiki isn't taboo. If its frowned upon I'll pack up my brushes 'n go..............but I hope youll dig them. Here are two that I just recently finished. If ya like I'll have two more done this weekend. Thanx for lookin' C&C welcomed

HI everyone,I'm TIKI LEKI. I just found Tiki Central by accident through another web site and can't believe what I found. It was early in May and the first Tiki Oasis in San Diego was days away.I live in San Diego and almost within walking distance from the Hanalei Hotel.After experiencing that incredible event, I was inspired, to spend (to my wife's horror) about a thousand bucks constructing a themed area that includes bamboo, thatching, blowfish and of coarse a Tiki bar. I have attended the San Diego Tiki club events, and I'm meeting new friends. Tiki Central is fantastic, I love reading the posts from people; gosh from around the world who are fascinated by the Tiki lifestyle. Cheers.

Welcome To TC Halu Cat! Greg and Melissa stopped by our house and we had a great time! They are doing a book on the Kahiki. They also are the new owners of a Kahiki velvet painting.

Found this site when I was building a tiki bar in my backyard last summer…lurked for about a year and decided it was time to join. Reading posts on Tiki Central has refined my original definition of tiki, but being very eclectic in my tastes I love it all…the authentic tiki, the kitschy tiki and anything tropical. It all cohabitates in my tiki bar with a pirate corner thrown in for good measure.

Besides tiki I am into art cars and am a daily driver…gotta have a little fun in life! Even though the theme of my art car is not tiki, I do have one glued on the trunk next to a “palm tree”. Great use for those dollar store tikis…glue them to your car!

I appreciate all the knowledge I have gained from the members of this site and am looking forward to learning more and participating.

Hi everybody!

I've been lurking here for some time, and finally decided to join in. I'm a newbie to all things Tiki, but thanks to you guys, Tiki Magazine, and The Book of Tiki, I'm learning a lot!

I'm moving to a bigger house soon and the wife has given me the go-ahead to do whatever I want with one of the rooms. Hmmmmm, I wonder what the theme will be... :D

Anyway, I look forward to contributing to the discussions here and soaking in all I can as I start building my new Tiki Lounge. Take Care!

Greetings to all at TC, as with many others I have been a lurker and decided that I needed to become an honest member and contribute. Interests in all things Nautical, with a love for the islands and of course TIKI. Since I travel, I have found the information here and on Critiki to be vital for foreign business relations...can you say 'Tiki Tour Berlin'

Thanks to all here and I look forward to getting to know the TC community.

Cheers
NautiTiki

[ Edited by: NautiTiki 2006-07-21 12:51 ]

Hey guys and gals..Just wanted to say hello and thought this was a good place to do it. A litle about me. I'm a custom car designer in fL. I also dabble in tiki art..will post a piece for you all once I figure out where to post it.
I have yet to collect Tikis or mugs but I plan on it. Just need to get finances in order first.
Anywho..that is me.

-Doug

Hello Tiki-types,

This is Adam, who some of you may remember (or not, depending on how good a time you had) from the Tiki Bus this weekend. I had a blast and hope to see some of you again soon on a Wednesday evening at Forbidden Island!

Hello,

I have come to this board in hope you Tiki fanatics can help. I was on holiday in Oahu in June and my wife spotted a plate with a tiki on it in the Hilo Hattie shop. We were supposed to go back and buy it later but never did and since then I have been trying to locate the plate. I have tried emailing the Hilo Hattie store but they have never replied :( .

Which comes to me posting here. I figure that possibly one of the members here may have purchased such a plate and can help me track one down for my wife. It was an oval plate about 20" long and 12" wide. It was about $20 - $25 and had a cartoon type beach scene with a hut and a tiki on it and I remember it being very vibrant possibly with a lot of red. I figure it's the sort of plate that someone here may have taken a liking to.

Where on the board can I post this information? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul

Welcome aboard newcomers!
R U Tiki, I'd love top see photos of your bar & art cars!

Mingus, have a great time building a tiki room in your new home, there's lots of inspiration on these pages!

NautiTiki, happy to have you de-lurk! I love the nautical jargon, flotsam & jetsam too.

burningman, Welcome aboard! I'm looking forward to seeing some of your art. You can post your images over on shutterfly. When you've done that, PM me and I can help you out over on this side if you're having troubles.

RikiTikiTavi, looks like you had a great time at the TC Tiki crawl, glad to see you join up!

pashek, good luck with your plate search

RikiTikiTavi,

Tons of fun meeting you on Saturday! It's good to see we didn't scare you off! We'll be seeing you at FI!

TikiJen

On 2006-07-24 14:34, pashek wrote:
Hello,

I have come to this board in hope you Tiki fanatics can help. I was on holiday in Oahu in June and my wife spotted a plate with a tiki on it in the Hilo Hattie shop. We were supposed to go back and buy it later but never did and since then I have been trying to locate the plate. I have tried emailing the Hilo Hattie store but they have never replied :( .

Which comes to me posting here. I figure that possibly one of the members here may have purchased such a plate and can help me track one down for my wife. It was an oval plate about 20" long and 12" wide. It was about $20 - $25 and had a cartoon type beach scene with a hut and a tiki on it and I remember it being very vibrant possibly with a lot of red. I figure it's the sort of plate that someone here may have taken a liking to.

Where on the board can I post this information? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul

Paul, where do you live? There's Hilo Hattie's-es in Ca., Vegas, and Orlando, Fl., check for locations on their website. There's a nice Hilo Hattie's in the Gas Lamp Quarter here in SD, for example.

If you have a picture of the plate you could post the image in a thread in Collecting Tiki. If you don't have a picture you might need to look around in Collecting Tiki & Creating Tiki to see if you could find a picture of a Tiki that matches the image on the plate, you could then post a copy of that image & say "the Tiki looks like this."

Good Luck!

Howdy

I am another one who has been poking around for a while and finally decided to make myself known. I found TC through the offices of TofuJoe and his lovely wife.

I have met an number of folks down at Forbidden Island (Jab, midnite, jentiki, Humu & Hanford and a few others I think) under my mysterious pseudonym of Chris. For their reference I was the object of the strange ritual described by Midnite over HERE: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=20283&forum=17&start=0

Oh and for those counting I have 11 drinks left to finish from the FI menu :D

[ Edited by: Baronishiki 2006-07-25 17:03 ]

On 2006-07-25 17:01, Baronishiki wrote:

I found TC through the offices of TofuJoe and his lovely wife.

You forgot my Tiki Central name, didn't you?

Welcome Baronishiki! I hope to see you soon at FI. Since I was quite tipsy both times I met you (still working my way through the menu), I'm sure you'll have to remind me again who you are the next time I see you. I'm so bad about that stuff! BTW - after my brief visit there this evening, I only have 3 to go.

JenTiki

On 2006-07-25 05:53, freddiefreelance wrote:
Paul, where do you live? There's Hilo Hattie's-es in Ca., Vegas, and Orlando, Fl., check for locations on their website. There's a nice Hilo Hattie's in the Gas Lamp Quarter here in SD, for example.

If you have a picture of the plate you could post the image in a thread in Collecting Tiki. If you don't have a picture you might need to look around in Collecting Tiki & Creating Tiki to see if you could find a picture of a Tiki that matches the image on the plate, you could then post a copy of that image & say "the Tiki looks like this."

Good Luck!

Hello,

As I noted, the plate was spotted in Oahu. I live in the UK,no Hilo Hattie's here. I wish I did have a photo, it would probably have made this entire exeercise considerably easier! I'll have a look around but my memory of the plate is pretty much limited to the description I gave. I know it's not a lot to work on. I'll have a look in the collecting Tiki section, see if I can jog some memories.

Thanks,

Paul

On 2006-07-25 17:47, Haole'akamai wrote:

On 2006-07-25 17:01, Baronishiki wrote:

I found TC through the offices of TofuJoe and his lovely wife.

You forgot my Tiki Central name, didn't you?

I didn't forget! I just can't spell it :wink:

[ Edited by: Baronishiki 2006-07-26 09:20 ]

Tikiwahine...thank you for the welcome. I will post pics.

just another tiki fan who finally found you all! It's awesome that you guys and gals have such a devoted community here around tikis.. I feel so at home! Feel free to drop me a pm and say hi.. I hope to get the chance to talk to you all a lot more now!

-bunnnay

Hey everyone!

I finally decided to join this site to get in on the info. Many of you might know my older bro, bigtikidude (aka Jeff). Since I am the little brother, I decided to follow the trend and thus my username. I have a great love of anything tiki, surf, tropical, or Hawaiiana, so this is the perfect place for me. I currently am not real in-depth in the surf or tiki scene, but I intend to become very knowledgeable and widely seen.

Keep chilling and live the TIKI life,

Rev. Jacob R. "Lil Tiki Dude" Hanson

Uh OK , this is all news to me,
Glad to see you here??????

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2006-07-29 01:49, LilTikiDude wrote:
Hey everyone!

I finally decided to join this site to get in on the info. Many of you might know my older bro, bigtikidude (aka Jeff). Since I am the little brother, I decided to follow the trend and thus my username. I have a great love of anything tiki, surf, tropical, or Hawaiiana, so this is the perfect place for me. I currently am not real in-depth in the surf or tiki scene, but I intend to become very knowledgeable and widely seen.

Keep chilling and live the TIKI life,

Rev. Jacob R. "Lil Tiki Dude" Hanson

Greetings from the semi Tiki wasteland of Maryland,Ive been a lurker around here for about four months.
In process of converting back porch into Tiki room & Tikicentral has been a real inspiration of ideas
& know how from other members via their posts & pics.

Thortiki

I found this place by accident.....and cannot stay away from it....I guess I should have known there would be a great place like this on the internet. I just never looked. I am into my second tiki bar and love many types of music which include exotica, rockabillly and Jimmy Buffett to name but a few. I was dating a woman who gave me a string of tiki lights and tiki swizzle sticks for my birthday in 2002. I was so impressed with that, that I married her. We are in Sacramento area and hope to attend a gathering soon. I've got a tiki bar and I'm not afraid to use it!

[ Edited by: moondog426 2006-07-30 08:04 ]

blurry photos....ooopsadaisy

[ Edited by: moondog426 2006-07-30 10:24 ]

[ Edited by: moondog426 2006-07-30 10:30 ]

On 2006-07-30 08:04, moondog426 wrote:
I found this place by accident.....and cannot stay away from it....I guess I should have known there would be a great place like this on the internet. I just never looked. I am into my second tiki bar and love many types of music which include exotica, rockabillly and Jimmy Buffett to name but a few. I was dating a woman who gave me a string of tiki lights and tiki swizzle sticks for my birthday in 2002. I was so impressed with that, that I married her. We are in Sacramento area and hope to attend a gathering soon. I've got a tiki bar and I'm not afraid to use it!

Hi and Welcome, Moondog.
We live in Visalia but nothing Tiki ever happens around here and we do travel up north often, so let us know if there are any fun things happening in your area. We are Buffett fans too but we try not to mention it much on this forum. Some folks are kinda sensitive about him for some reason.
Like your pics. You can see some of ours on the link below.

Threetikis (Bradys)
https://threetikis.smugmug.com/gallery/1596223

I'm actually kinda old, but I never post anymore, so I'm kinda new too. What can I say, I'm a lazy asshole. Well actually I'm lazy and busy at the same time. And I'm a flake, so call me on it. And I ramble. And I myspace. And I tiki. And I have another profile named tikijen. I'm not organized.

My apartment aint all that tiki, but that's only cause the landlord doesn't want me nailing thatch to the walls.

I look forward to hearing from y'all oldtimers...

Hello everyone. My name is Greg and I am the owner of a Tucson based business called the Flat Earth Trading Co. I manufacture and import a wide range of craft items from Indonesia and have a retail site on ebay(www.flatearthtrading.com) I now have some tiki masks in stock, however in approx 2 months I will be recieving a container full of awsome tiki products, from a line of mahogany sculptures to hand carved stone tikis, wall hangings and more. I am so excited to be launching these poducts soon, that I plan some special promotions for the members at Tiki Central. Although I just recently found this forum, I've been a Tiki enthusiast for a few years. I plan on running over to Tucson's infamous Kon Tiki today to pick up their new Tiki Farm collectors mug, and journey over to Los Angeles this weekend to attend Tiki-Invasion, and hope to meet many of you Tiki Nerds like me! Aloha!
Greg

Welcome flatearththing(er trading) ! I'm fairly new here also but have been tiki sympathetic for many years. Good move ,hooking up with these folks . Your business and personal sense of worth won't suffer from it. It's the Great rebirth and we are part of it! (I'm buying stock in rum!).....as if I could..as long as you are fairly priced your sure to find many a costumer here. enjoy , Mahalo , another Greg .....Daisy mae ,moondog and lil bro' more of the love .....

Hi everyone! New to Tiki Central.....my husband and I have been collecting tiki/Hawaiian for several years now. Look forward to meeting other collectors....

I've been lurking here for a while now. Moved into a new house with an extra room. Seems like it was meant to have a tiki bar in it. Still under construction, but it's coming along(at least the built in kegerator is working).

Thanks for all the good info on the site!
Brent

Hi Tikiphiles:

I'm a relatively new tiki fan in the DC area (though I went to the Honolulu for years without knowing it was "tiki").

Thanks for all the great info and pics.

On 2006-08-01 22:28, Daisy May wrote:
I'm actually kinda old, but I never post anymore, so I'm kinda new too. What can I say, I'm a lazy asshole. Well actually I'm lazy and busy at the same time. And I'm a flake, so call me on it. And I ramble. And I myspace. And I tiki. And I have another profile named tikijen. I'm not organized.

My apartment aint all that tiki, but that's only cause the landlord doesn't want me nailing thatch to the walls.

I look forward to hearing from y'all oldtimers...

Hi'ya DaisyJen! If you can't tack thatch to the walls maybe you could glue it to thin plywood & attach that to the wall? You'd only need a couple screws to mount the plywood to the wall. If your Landlord has a problem with the flamability of the thatch you can apply flame retardant before mounting it.

Hello everyone,
My name is Tim Keenan and I am a photographer and film maker. I live in the Ojai Valley about 70 miles north of LA near lake Casitas. I have loved Tiki since I was a child when my mother was the designer for the Trade Wind's in Oxnard. I have a Tiki bar that I am building in the spirit of the Trade Wind's which was always my favorite place. Rain at the window's, boat floating in a lagoon lit by tiki torches with 30 foot carvings and trees. Beautiful place, so in the Trade Wind's spirit I am completing the Trade Wind's II and though it will be totally different( I think Tiki eclectic) I hope to bring some of that magic I used to feel going there as a kid, it was like Pirate's of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Are there any places like that anymore? I will post the progress of Trade Wind's II and look forward to getting to know you all.

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2006-08-28 11:48 ]

Hello,

My name is Rob and my wife and live in South Florida Home of the Mai Kai and the Hukiluau.

R

Hei Tikis!
I´m a guy that has had an interest in tikis for a while now, but the actual interest in wood carving did arrive just some months ago.
In May, my neighbor cut down a tree that was blocking the sun, and the stem was left naked on the root, standing there, yearning to be ornamented. I asked if I could have it for making a tiki, and I got it without question.

My issues then started to build up, cause I know nothing of wood, carving or tools. So I´ve had to do my fair share of research through the web. After looking at massive amounts of websites I also did find Tiki Central.
It seems like Tiki Central is one of the better places on the Internet when it comes to info on how to make a tiki, so I´ve kept coming back here several times to gain knowledge before starting on the real deal.

I have, like so many others, to thank Buzzy for doing what he´s doing. I have read about half of his discoveries, noting down and sketching a lot the last days. Brilliant stuff Buzzy! I also actually went to Canada in July to research totems of the First Nations People in British Colombia. They are amazingly great woodcarvers. I have also been to New Zealand and done research on Maori carvings earlier this year. I really love that stuff.

What I need is help.
Since I still know (almost) nothing about carving I hope it´s possible to get in touch with tikis here that are interested in throwing some ideas and suggestions out.

The log I have been so lucky to get a hold on is from a noble pine-wood tree. I have understood that the tree makes a bad one for the fireplace, since it burns so fast, but hope it´s still workable for carving. The size is 2,45m long and 60,5 cm fat. And yes, it weights more than a ton, so I thought to hollow it out (like the First Nations do it) might make it lighter, and then, easier to move.

Here´s some pictures of the log and me.

May Our Fire Burn Forever!

[ Edited by: el Stingray 2006-08-25 07:50 ]

I have moved these pictures to Creating Tiki- other cfafts

[ Edited by: ojaitimo 2006-08-28 11:45 ]