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

Trade Winds 1964 Oxnard, California

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2006-08-06 19:24 ]

Greetings Ojaitimo from Sunny Ventura....there are a couple more Tikiphiles in our little corner of the world outstanding....we will have to get together and have a drink or two

Greetings and Salivations!

After lurking for some time, I've decided to make it all official-like. Especially after meeting a few fellow members at Tonga Hut last month and having one heck of a good time.

I've been a fan of tiki culture ever since my b.f. Wolfe built a tiki bar in my back yard a few years ago. Unfortunately, I had to move, so the bar came down, but my fondness for all things tiki remains.

I'm in the Southern California area, and look forward to many more drinks with you fine people!

Hey Ojaitimo!! Greetings from Ventura. I've been doing some carvings in Ojai recently myself. I would love to see the progress on your endeavor. Please keep in touch. I'm in Ojai often and I'd love to see it.-Vontiki

On 2006-08-06 13:30, Retroslik wrote:
Hello,

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

R

Aloha Retroslik! It is always nice to see some new o'hana from the area! Andy and I are in Hollywood, where abouts are you?

Hi! I've been collecting Tiki mugs and Tiki-era barware for a few years now. I also collect devil-themed barware and glassware. My space for such is very limited so I try to keep my collecting to things I really respond to, and just kind of "represent" certain aspects of Tiki-dom. I really admire the huge collections many of you are displaying here at TC, and I'm learning a lot just by browsing. I really want a seahorse mug now, and I'd never even seen one before visiting TC! I also enjoy visiting old Tiki locations with my friends.

Within the next couple of months, I definitely plan to acquire an outdoor Tiki for my vacation home in Florida. So I'm reading about those, too.

Hello all,more shots of the bar. This first shot is a piece of the Ventura pier that was wrecked by a storm and we we able to salvage it to use as a foot rest. Not sure if this is the right place to post these,should I move these to creating tiki?

I also did a Tiki trail last friday In LA and posted Trader Vic's shots in locating tiki. There are others from Tiki Ti's & Purple Orchid that will be posted soon. Tim

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2006-08-15 07:36 ]

On 2006-08-15 07:33, Ojaitimo wrote:
Here is a progress pica of the bar so far. This first shot is a piece of the Ventura pier that was wrecked by a storm and we we able to salvage it to use as a foot rest.

I also did a Tiki trail last friday In LA and posted Trader Vic's shots in locating tiki. There are others from Tiki Ti's & Purple Orchid that will be posted soon. Tim

Tim, you might want to start your own thread in Creating Tiki/Other Crafts where you can collect these images of your home bar. What're your plans for an A-Frame entrance, ala the Trade Winds? I love the Trade Winds' Left-to-Right Arrow look with the tall A-Frame entrance sticking out into the "Lagoon." Have you begun collecting Tiki & Nautical flotsam to cover the walls & ceiling? Have you thought about recreating the Trade Winds Tiki?

I can't wait to see more images from your Mom's collection!

On 2006-07-04 09:18, Rev. Griz wrote:

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!

Thanks. Sorry it took so long to write back. I'm getting ready to have a total knee replacement so I have been kinda busy getting a bunch of things done around here.

Jack

OK I guess it's time I post something here. I've been around for a few years but kept quiet.
My grandparents yearly anniversaries to Hawaii got me started young with shirts and statues and postcards. And of course all the mugs. Over the last 25 or so years my little collection got added to slowly. Until I found the internet and EBay a few years ago. None of my friends shares this same obsession as most have on here.
I grew up in Chicago and have been in the trades since I was 16. I've settled on laboring.
I've done a bit of carving, mostly on scraps. If you ever do some work on a house around the Chicago area and find a little 2x4 or shim tiki in the wall it's probably mine.
None of my friends really get my little obsession, with exception to my 10 yr old niece that has a few Munktiki and Tiki Farm goodies she loves to collect. And my tattoo artist. I've got 2 tiki tattoos That I'll post as soon as I can work my magic with my photo program.

[ Edited by: fenrir 2006-08-16 17:15 ]

[ Edited by: fenrir 2006-08-17 21:07 ]

Hey all...

I've been lurking here for a while.. Finally decided to join and introduce myself today. My name is Chadwick, I've been a fan of Tiki for a long time.. but just recently decided to collect(and use)recently. I'm currently living in Roanoke, VA.. Not much in the way of Tiki here.. But I do what I can to bring the spirit to my family and friends that visit. I'm currently in the drawing stages of building a year round Tiki bar in my back yard.. we'll see how that goes and I'll post pics as it starts to go up. Well.. Looking forward to talking to yall, and thanks for creating a nice place to sit, relax and talk tiki!

Chadwick.

Greetings one and all,
thank-you for providing all kinds of leads and information on what to see and do in and around L.A.. I'm only here for the summer and I've managed to squeeze in a visit to the Tonga Hut, Puka Bar, and a day at Long Beach Tiki Festival. It also looks like I'll be wrapping up with a night at Trader Vic's, sadly just in time. In the last few days I've met the nicest people, from carvers and artists to bar owners and regulars. I'm looking forward to the Lucky Tiki on the 27th for an art show.
Thanks again to one and all, and perhaps I'll see some of you there.

Roger

Hi

I've been lurking for awhile, so I thought it was about time that I actually post and say hello to everyone. I've really been enjoying all of the threads on Tiki Central, especially the Creating Tiki ones...so many great ideas from so many talented people!

Greetings Freaky Tikis! I've been a lurker for years and have used this board for research many times in the past. Just recently registered and posted however.

I'm a bit of an "old timer" (as in "old age" :wink:) in regards to some aspects of Tiki culture. Enjoyed early Tiki and Hawaiian fun here in the Southland in the 50's and 60's. Several mainland and other Hawaiian/Polynesian themed restaurants we enjoyed for many years.

Locally, places like the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, the old long gone Bahooka on Franscito and the still running Bahooka in Rosemead. Damons in Glendale. Trader Vic's in Beverly Hills. The long gone Don The Beachcombers in Hollywood (fantastic place!) San Diego and Marina Del Rey. Also been going for many decades to the Bali Hai on Shelter Island in San Diego. Dozens of dinners at Disneyland's old Tahitian Terrace. Worked with Disney for many years and know many of the Tiki creators of the Terrace, Tiki Room and Disney's Polynesian Resort in Florida. Know crazy Disney Imagineer and Tiki creator Rolly Crump pretty well.

Have stayed at the Caliente Tropics Motel in Palm Springs many times and enjoy the retro Tiki look of the place and how it's been restored.

In Hawaii in the crazy 60's and 70's I was a regular at Trader Vic's (you can still find an old dusty Trader Vic's sign upstairs at the International Marketplace), Don The Beachcombers, The Waikikian and Tahitian Lanai. The South Seas Village was another great Tiki spot in Waikiki that's also long gone. As is Davy Jones Locker.

Today in the islands we still like to visit Tiki Bars where we can find them, like the Tiki Bar in Kihei, Maui.

I'm a mega Road Warrior and travel hundreds of thousands of miles a year all around the world (and have visited many International Trader Vic's locations). I'm an 8 year veteran of another internet bulletin board that's centered around frequent travel programs called Flyertalk.com and go under the same handle there.

I'm no expert in Tiki at all. Just one of those folks that always had Tiki Torches in their backyards and loved all things tropical and Polynesian.

Anyway...always great to drop in. Often brings back lots of fun and fond memories to read many of the posts here. :)

Ok... So I have an extreme fondness for all things Tiki, in HUGE part because I am Tiki. There have been more people than you can possibly fathom ask me for my real name, what Tiki is and most of them have found ways to either mispronounce it, or make fun of it. I have run across Tiki, here and there all of my life, but this site is FANTASTIC. I have thought many many times about creating a Tiki Bar here in Houston, but have been timid because of the unknown interest of the public in Tiki, but in seeing all of you here, I have a renewed hope! I am dying to know where the interest stems for a lot of you, and am excited to see what info and how many new friends I can find and establish through this website!! GO TIKI!!

Tiki379...glad to see a fellow Houstonian.

Hi, everybody...I'm stoked...terribly addicted to tiki exotica, the day I bought my first TIKI..now I wanna CARVE !!

Hi all!
Just found this place.. Love it so far!
Im a san Franciscan.. Mostly interested in TIBURON TOMMIES stuff!!

Glad to be aboard!!

Aloha!
And I mean ALOHA with every bit of warmth and graditude I can muster. Wow, It's hard to discribe the joy at finding other people with a love for tiki. And what great people - talanted, fun, and damn creative! Everyone I've met through Tiki events has been really nice folks. I just wish I had found all this sooner. I'll tell you, my life was sort of like I had driven down a dead end road. Think I was a bit burned out. I kind of lost the "love for life" thing, ya know?

I had always had a love for tikis, so I talked my partner into naming our new beach towel company something with "Tiki" in it. So we made Tiki Shark, Inc. We got busy 24/7 working our butts off struggeling with all the small company problems all small start ups face. And, I had known about the cool retro thing going on, but... Then, a friend gave me TBOT. And then I picked up the 1st copy of Tiki Magazine. Then I found the Tiki News. Then I found Tiki Central. And Munktiki, and Tikifarm, and the Lucky Tiki, and Shag! I couldn't believe it! There was a whole tiki underground - that wasn't even underground anymore! It's a full on Tiki Pop Culture!

It's so great to be a part of Tiki culture. I feel so damn lucky! I mean, I went to a Tiki Themed Drive-In loaded with the hottest cars and the coolest people and watched The Ghastly Ones rock live! How Freaking great is that?!

Anyways, THANK YOU Tiki Central, and King Kukulele, and Otto, and Nick, and Tiki Tony, and Crazy Al, and Swamp Fire, and 8 Ball, everyone in the tiki culture. My life is now a better thing because of you.

Wow! this is really weird- I am flabergastered- it's the middle of the night, I finally finished a hand crafted Tiki bar at my new home(North of San Fran), and thought that there might be some web content to help me chainsaw a Tiki.....I stumbled onto this site while surfin' around on the odd chance...lo and behold I found a new home.
I knew there was a Tiki underground brewing...and I have done my share of time at old Trader Vics and Trader Sam's but this is ridiculous....I am excited.
Martin Denny albums, Blue drinks, torches, I thought I was alone.

[ Edited by: Bincho 2006-09-02 23:49 ]

You are not alone, welcome to our mecca!

Hya all,

I'm a relative newcomer to tiki culture. I have, however lived in Ft. Lauderdale my entire life, so I have had my share of Mai Kai Tiki mug drinks. Well, my wife and I decided a few weeks ago to do something tropical with my breakfast nook and back porch at the house, and started looking for bamboo and tikis online and wandered in here. I'll probably never get into the "serious collection" aspect much, just looking to decorate the patio and nook (which will become the home of the bar) and make it as authenticly retro as possible.

My hat is off to you serious tikiphiles, but the only thing I collect seriously is plants, tropical plants that is.
If you want to talk Heliconias or Bromeliads, bring it.

See ya,

Chris
Thegreenman

Hello out there,from the sunny south of England.
Been reading-not posting, figured now would be a good time to start.
I have been tiki-fied since way back in the last century,and enjoy the mystique of Tiki in its many forms.
I like to bring a little of the paradise home, and have a modest collection of artifacts and have an on-going forbidden garden project with faux rock, waterfall and exotic(!) planting, coupled with a fully stocked, undercover Tiki bar.(as yet, I have failed to convince my wife to complete the picture by dressing as a savage, in nothing but grass and coconut shells,I am however working on a bribe type arrangement that may change this). As the summer here was so hot,( read drought) paradise did not have to be too far away,(6ft from the back door!). After some beer a few Zombies and a sloppy banana daiquiri, it could have been anywhere, (unfortunately, when you wake up, its not!).At least we had some tropical rain-storms?. We have spent many nights in the bar and will endeavor to continue using it through the Autumn and into the winter, coffee grog type drinks may have to be employed to fend off the damp and cold, any recipes gratefully received!
Thats me done, bottoms up!
Swerve

Howdy all, I'm Jon. I'm new to the whole Tiki thing; my main interest is the sensational sounds of surf music. I recently attended an event (The Hot Rod Hula Hop 2 here in Columbus, OH) and the tiki stuff they had there really caught my eye. It looks like I'll be able to find everything I could possibly want to know right here, though! This is a nice site. Thanks to BigTikiDude for pointing it out to me!

I am new on this board and just wanted to say howdy and introduce myself. My name is Jonelle and I live in Seattle and I loves the tiki!

That's about it for now.....I know some folks here already and I'm looking forward to "meeting" everyone else.....

:o)

Kia ora all from the bottom of the world (New Zealand; what a beautiful bottom! haha) Im a bit slow to finding this...
Lurked for a while, joined a few weeks ago & have started a thread in 'Tiki Carving' in regards to my work. I am a fulltime, self-employed Greenstone/Pounamu/nephrite jade (-its a stone!) carver, specialising in contemporary/traditional Maori Hei-tiki. I invite anyone interested in Maori art or POUNAMU to come and have a peek. Q&A welcome!

Very happy & inspired to be amongst you all. Thank you! Tama 'The Terrible' :)

Thought Id throw in a pic to tempt you further...

Cheers, TTT

[ Edited by: Tamapoutini 2006-09-08 03:55 ]

Aloha all, guess I should intro myself, been lurking hear nearly a year now, I make vinyl stickers, started out doing custom stickers at Kobeys swap meet in San Diego, til Cobain from Tikiland found me one day, now I'm totally obsessed with Tiki. My wife thanks you Cobain! She thinks I've lost my mind. Made some custom logo's for him, ran his store frequently, started collecting mugs and doing buying trips for him to Tiki Farm. Now I've been busy making Tiki Farm logo stickers, that image is burned into my mind forever now. Thanks Holden!
At Tiki Oasis 6 we ran Tikiland's booth, well me and my Tikifreak kids, I tell ya what a crazy weekend, met lots of cool people, bought lots of cool stuff, my daughter won the costume prize. [I worked for 2 weeks on that costume] Anyways I feel I've found a new home in the Tiki community.
Met Bay Park Buzzy at Oasis, was walking by when he was setting up, as a bunch of his Tiki's starting falling like dominoes. Caught a big Tiki and helped him out.
Anyways I started getting the itch to carve and started reading his carving posts, decided to contact him and trade some stickers for some logs, found out it was the same dude from Tiki Oasis. Intro'd him to Cobain at Tikiland and now you can find his work there. Now I've moved on up north of Seattle, on Whidbey island.
Anyways I'm in need of some work if any Tiki Artists out there are interested in having your works turned into a sticker, possibly mass produced, I'm your man.
I just finally unpacked from the move, got caught up w/ Tiki Farm, and have a few of my own sticker creations on ebay, search user id: stikitikidesigns
Will see ya all at Tiki ART 3!
Mahaloz!

On 2006-09-08 19:40, Stiki Tiki wrote:
Aloha all, guess I should intro myself, been lurking hear nearly a year now, I make vinyl stickers, started out doing custom stickers at Kobeys swap meet in San Diego, til Cobain from Tikiland found me one day, now I'm totally obsessed with Tiki. My wife thanks you Cobain! She thinks I've lost my mind. Made some custom logo's for him, ran his store frequently, started collecting mugs and doing buying trips for him to Tiki Farm. Now I've been busy making Tiki Farm logo stickers, that image is burned into my mind forever now. Thanks Holden!
At Tiki Oasis 6 we ran Tikiland's booth, well me and my Tikifreak kids, I tell ya what a crazy weekend, met lots of cool people, bought lots of cool stuff, my daughter won the costume prize. [I worked for 2 weeks on that costume] Anyways I feel I've found a new home in the Tiki community.
Met Bay Park Buzzy at Oasis, was walking by when he was setting up, as a bunch of his Tiki's starting falling like dominoes. Caught a big Tiki and helped him out.
Anyways I started getting the itch to carve and started reading his carving posts, decided to contact him and trade some stickers for some logs, found out it was the same dude from Tiki Oasis. Intro'd him to Cobain at Tikiland and now you can find his work there. Now I've moved on up north of Seattle, on Whidbey island.
Anyways I'm in need of some work if any Tiki Artists out there are interested in having your works turned into a sticker, possibly mass produced, I'm your man.
I just finally unpacked from the move, got caught up w/ Tiki Farm, and have a few of my own sticker creations on ebay, search user id: stikitikidesigns
Will see ya all at Tiki ART 3!
Mahaloz!

Hi "Stiki" - great to see you here! I can vouge for Stiki & his family (except mom:) that they've been bitten HARD by the Tiki bug. They're a very enthusiastic & creative group. Before they split for Seattle, each of his kids carved me 2' Tikis and they're really good (if you ever stop by Tiki Farm, I've got them on display in my office).

Anyways, they do great sticker work and if anybody wants some Tiki Farm stickers, stop on by the Farm.

On a separate note, we're about 25% completed on our new Tiki Bar, which we've aptly named "Mugoomba" ("MUG"oomba). Say the following out loud... it's fun: "Welcome to Mugoomba!". The Grand Opening Party will be Sunday, Oct. 15th from 4-9pm (there's a thread on it in California Tiki events).

Holden

[ Edited by: smogbreather 2006-09-09 13:33 ]

Thanks Smogbreather, wish I could be at your bar opening. Am saving up to make it to Tiki Oasis 7 next year though, probably run Tiki Land's space again, I'm sure Buzzy will need help.

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and impressed with the sheer talent and interesting people I see here!

I am a freelance writer living in Florida near Venice and am a big collector of vintage tropical things from the 20s-50s including lots of Hawaiiana, Floridiana and some tiki items. I live a short distance from the studio of the late, great tiki carver and my dear friend David Landry, whom I miss so much every single day. I'm honored to own a couple of his carvings and I know his spirit is still a big part of all of us who knew him.

I have a cool '40s rattan tiki bar with vintage barkcloth seats, lots of old tropical prints and paintings, Turner, Bernard, Shirrell Graves among others. I play ukulele like crazy and I love it. My favorite artists are the old Hawaiian performers like King Benny Nawahi and Sol Hoopii.

I am going to try to make it to Hukilau this year, sounds like a blast. Anyway, just wanted to say hi.

Hi there,

I'm Slink, from Australia.

Hi,

I’m in Liverpool in the UK and have been into Tiki for a while now. It can be a bit of a Tiki desert in the UK, particularly in the north, but somehow that makes it more miraculous when you do find Tiki related items in this part of the world.

I guess I got into Tiki through exotica music. Around the mid-nineties I remember reading about Les Baxter and Martin Denny in the “Incredibly Strange Music” books. I loved those books; they opened up a whole new world. When I heard that music it was like a revelation, I just “got” it straight away.

While reading about exotica I was seeing “Tiki” mentioned often, being from the UK I had no idea what this was, but it sounded interesting. Gradually the mysteries of the Tiki world opened up before me and I eventually visited my first Tiki bars on a trip to San Francisco in 1999. That was it - my fate was sealed, I would be forever in awe of the power of Tiki.

So, the Wahine and I have been gradually putting our own Tiki room together; is there really anything better than being surrounded by bamboo, mai-tai in hand, listening to the soothing sounds of exotica?

Anyway, I’ve been lurking around here for a while, enjoying the forums, and thought it was about time I joined in and made a contribution.

Mahalo,
Jungalero

Ok, I'm posting vs lurking (and posting in the right thread this time), prodded by HumuHumu and pulled out of the tiki closet by her recent blog about my old retro article "How to Build a Tiki Bar." http://blog.humuhumu.com/2006/09/05/how-to-build-a-tiki-bar

Been into tiki culture for a while, saw a picture in the ReSearch book on Retro Swing of two gals with a very simple tiki bar in the corner of their apartment. Looked like they tacked bamboo matts to the wall and ceiling so I figured I can do that, I gotta build me a tikibar. Friend of mine was the editor of Atomic Mag at the time and asked to do a spread as I built it. And off course we had to create it in the vein of a popular mechanics how-to project.

I have a small mug collection, not to right home about but I do like to get serious about vintage coctails. Is there a place her to post about this wonderful topic? Gotta post recipe for a Coconut Lime Ricky (but I bet everyone knows it already, sigh).

frankyboy

Welcome frankyboy,

Is that an outline for a hairbrush on you pegboard? I too find a good, stiff hairbrush vital to most home-improvement projects. Also a good, hot curling iron and a tomato knife. You can post your recipe in the Drinks & Food category. Hit the Search button at the top of the screen first to see if anyone's already posted a recipe to a Coconut Lime Ricky (hint: they haven't), then please share it with us.

Sabu

On 2006-09-14 11:14, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:
Welcome frankyboy,

Is that an outline for a hairbrush on you pegboard? I too find a good, stiff hairbrush vital to most home-improvement projects. Also a good, hot curling iron and a tomato knife. You can post your recipe in the Drinks & Food category. Hit the Search button at the top of the screen first to see if anyone's already posted a recipe to a Coconut Lime Ricky (hint: they haven't), then please share it with us.

Sabu

We needed a hairbrush to whip the photographers girlfriend. A tomato knife, hmm,I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing. Coconut Live Ricky recipe going up, thank you.

Aloha to all...

How I found this place, I have no idea! LOL

But I HAD to join right away, as I am a Tiki obsessive gasp person also!

Started with my 4 ft carved Ooga Boogah, as he has been named. Given to me by a friend because when he got drunk, he swore it stared at him, lol. It's an awesome piece. Perhaps when I learn to post pics in here, I will get one up.

I would love to build a Tiki Bar one of these days, and am currently looking for a home that it can be incorporated into.

This looks like a fun place to hang out! I have alot of reading to do when I have the time!

Until then...
TikiLuvah (from the Gulf Coast of Tejas, near Kemah/Seabrook)

I am brand spanking new to this forum and this music. I was on hold with GoDaddy technical support yesterday, and so disappointed when my wonderful music was interrupted by a skilled technician! Fortunately I had to call several times before my problem was straightened out and now I'm hooked. I asked what I was listening to - I got no straight answer beyond what I already had heard - some swing, some luau tiki music - all glorious! I called the corporate office to get some answers - no luck. I want more - I really want some of that hold music - but don't know where to begin. Can anyone help me out?

Uh Oh, I think my website might be on the fritz again!

Sasha

I think what you're looking for is Exotica, Try vegasvics.com for starters.

Also try luxuriamusic.com,they have a great stream but it's a mix of alot of different styles, they have a great show that fits what you're looking for but I can't remember when it's on, their site will have it. I have a one hour on live365 where I play exotica, 50's latin jazz and space age bachelor pad music, station is yehoodi, my show is on tuesdays at 3pm, and friday's at noon (est). I put up a new show every two weeks.

also, run to the record store or amazon and get Martin Denny's Exotica collection and Taboo by Arthur Lyman. You'll be happy for a while. Emusic.com has tons of arthur lyman, some martin denny and a lot of uke.

Thank you so much! Ah, I've fallen so hard for this stuff - I'm just drifting through the house - luxuria music is sounding like just the thing and it's free in itunes. I'll check out all of your recommendations - I'm thrilled so far. Even my kids love it!

Hello Everyone,

I registered a while ago and have only started to post recently. I found out about this site from the Tiki News emails and I’ve always enjoyed reading about upcoming Tiki products and events. There is a lot of fun stuff on here.

I was raised in Huntington Beach and I have some tiny memories of the Corona Del Mar Don the Beachcomber and Santa Ana’s Kona Hawaii.

I will try to not post anything useless but it may be too late.

• Boris

hey all i have been lurking here for awhile now and thought id say hi!
i actually went to my first tiki event a while ago at the mission tiki drive in and was hooked:)

Hey, I've posted already (in the thread about Robertiki's new bar Thatch that's in my hood), but wanted to come and introduce myself formally.

I'm Michael, I'm 33, and I just dropped out of a 13 year career as an IT guy for UPS to become an RN. I'm getting a second bachelor's degree and have somehow willingly agreed to take on the role of poor college student again. I hope to be working in an ER by 2011. :)

I've travelled to Hawai'i around 17 times so far in my life and I can say that without reservation that if I have a spiritual home, it's in Kapalua Bay on Maui. Maybe not since they just sold the hotel to turn it into condos, but the sea will always be my home. I love the people, the food, the culture, the weather, and the diving.

I'm an avid follower of all things tiki, though I can't say that I own a ton of it. But I'm here to learn, meet some great people, and have an even better time. I hope to hit Thatch for the grand opening and share the experience and a bunch of great pictures. :)

Cheers.

Hello my name is Marcel, and i am from Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
I have a wife called Natascha and a 7 year old son called Keanu.

I am restoring a 1959 Ford ranchwagon and i am making it all Tiki style.
I am also turning my house in to Tiki style, i just finished the front garden and now i am doing the bathroom.

I also do some airbrushing and i made my first tiki carving last week

greetings
Tiki Rodder

Aloha! I have known about TikiCentral for some time and have finally got up the guts to join. I was lucky enough to have grown up on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, although I now live in N. California. I am a cocktail enthusiast,both the making and the imbibing.My husband and our pals are willing guinea pigs. I love all things tiki and hope to meet and chat with fellow enthusiasts. Okole maluna!

Aloha Hale Malia and welcome to TC.
Where in No. Cali. are you?

Hi All,
My name is Ferenc, I play with the band Pollo Del Mar in San Francisco. I grew up tiki in a house full of Easter Island statues on a street named Kia Ora. I know a lot of you from the surf music scene, and I have been to 3 Tiki Oasis. I will probably just lurk and learn. It's great to be here!
--ferenc

Hey Everyone,
I am new and ready to join the insanity of tiki mug appreciation and collecting. This could get scary for my bank account as I have been known to get fanatical about other collecting( you should see my vinyl collection). Anyway, good to be here and I look forward to learning and sharing!