Hi all,

I'm very excited to introduce myself here and post that our first products...two tiki mugs and a coordinating tiki bowl...will be available soon, just in time for the holidays.

As I'm sure many of you know, SHAG re-envisioned the Pink Panther for the character's 40th anniversary, and we're bringing you these officially-licensed, Limited Edition products for a very limited time.

The two mugs each feature SHAG's character art of Pink Panther and the Inspector, and the bowl has a really fun, triangular design with Pink Panther on one face, Inspector on one and Fez Monkey on the third.

All three products come packaged in color boxes featuring more of SHAG's great Pink Panther 40th Anniversary illustrations.

I hope you'll come check them out...and if you want to order, please do so quickly as we haven't even sent out our official press announcements yet and have already sold a bunch of them (behold the power of MySpace haha).

Here's a link to the site where you can find all the info as well as the order form:
http://www.wondrousarts.com

Thanks for taking a look and enjoy!

I'm sure you'll sell truckloads of these (and they do look good for the price), but I'm struggling to see the connection between the Pink Panther and tiki other than the lucrative commercial potential. I'd buy that scorpion bowl in an instant if it didn't have the cartoon characters plastered all over it.

I'm with Paipo, it's not exactly two great tastes that taste great together. What's the connection? Like Paipo said, the quality looks perfectly good, but the tiki/Pink Panther combo looks really forced to me. I don't get it.

My take is... they are Pink Panther collectibles with a tiki theme, not tiki collectibles with a Pink Panther theme. So the main consumer will be PP fans, but a few tiki fans (kingstiedye?) might buy them just to have to keep their collection complete.

Hi all,

Thanks for looking and for the comments. For me, the connection was SHAG more than anything, and the Pink Panther 40th Anniversary art he did had some tropical elements to it as well. And as we all know, that Panther can Party :wink:

And being a Pink Panther fan, a SHAG fan and a tiki lover, you know what they say, do what you love, right?

Plus, come on, Fez Monkey?! How can you NOT love a good Fez Monkey?! Haha...

P.S. They are both a tiki collectible with a Pink Panther theme AND a Pink Panther collectible with a tiki theme. They are not, however, a dessert topping and a floorwax.

Lou Zucaro - Wondrous Arts™

"The Most Wonderful Toys & Collectibles for Happy Kids of All Ages"

http://www.wondrousarts.com

[ Edited by: WonArts 2006-11-01 14:34 ]

To me it doesn't really matter that there may not be a Pink Panther tiki connection. I just think that they're goofy-fun!

Once bought a sculpture of a juggler riding a unicycle, all made out of nuts and bolts. Is there a connection between juggling and hardware. Nope, but it sure makes me giggle!

Who cares what they look like. These are going to sell out so I say buy 'em now and resell them to the Shag drones on ebay for big bucks. Thanks for the heads up WonArts!

Are these Tiki Mugs made by Tiki Farm??? If not who are they made by???

Hi again,

They are made by my company, Wondrous Arts, however we worked with Holden & Tiki Farm to produce them.

Did you design them? If not, which artist?

On 2006-11-01 16:53, WonArts wrote:
Hi again,

They are made by my company, Wondrous Arts, however we worked with Holden & Tiki Farm to produce them.

Gee, I don't think WonArts was expecting the Spanish Inquisition! But as long as we're giving the third degree, who did your company logo? it looks a bit like Derek Yaniger.

Why, yes, it is in fact work of the very talented Mr. Yaniger.

His stuff is great :)

Thanks! Sorry, didn't mean to sound like the third degree. Just curious. :)

On 2006-11-01 16:06, Hakalugi wrote:
Who cares what they look like. These are going to sell out so I say buy 'em now and resell them to the Shag drones on ebay for big bucks. Thanks for the heads up WonArts!

Sadly, this sums it up quite well for me. I would probably buy some myself if I lived in the US, just so I could resell them in 12 months and buy some mugs I actually liked. I do care what a mug looks like - it is the main reason I would choose to purchase a mug, rather than the fact it is branded with a particular popular artist's name.

I don't think we're giving the guy the 3rd degree - he had never posted here before today, so I think it's natural there's some curiosity when someone just appears out of the blue with 5892 mugs and bowls for sale.

so is anyone going to pre-order one? I'm thinking about it...these look cool

I ordered a set. They're just fun!

hmmm, it looks like the payment/information page isn't secure (HTTPS) i'm a bit concerned about giving out my credit card info on an unsecure site.

I don't mind the questions...

I'm a long-time tiki lover, and have lurked and occasionally posted here as "me" (rather than as WonArts) several times within the last couple years...but mostly lurked haha. I don't have nearly as much cool tiki stuff as a lot of you here, but I do have a nice little collection of tiki mugs (40-50 I'd say, both vintage and newer) and a few carved tikis & some fun art in my "tiki room" (the family room).

Anyway thanks again for reading :)

The site is definitely secure...we use Thawte SSL which is industry standard (they're owned by Verisign) and the site defaults to secure mode when you get to the payment screen. You can force it into secure mode on the entire site if you want to by throwing the 's' in there :wink:

And on the main product info page, you can see the Thawte seal, which is dynamically checked in real-time through Thawte directly (it's not a static graphic, so if it says the site is secure, that means it was checked and authenticated right then and there).

I am with aloha.taboo!! These are just some silly fun, and at 55 bucks for all three mugs, it is a steal for SHAG. And ya gotta love the monkey - who doesn't love the monkey.

mg

There is another connection between the tiki world and the Pink Panther. The following is from the Wikipedia entry for Peter Selers.

"He was an incredibly versatile artist: an excellent dancer, a drummer good enough to tour with several jazz bands (an excellent clip of him drumming exists when he was a guest on the Steve Allen show in 1964), and a skillful player of the ukulele and banjo (family legend has it that Sellers' father actually taught George Formby to play the ukulele)."

Somewhere there has got to be a recording of Peter Sellers playing the Pink Panther Theme on his ukulele.

Vern

I just don't think I can get past the Pink Panther junk. If it didn't have it, I would definitely buy a set. The monkey looks great. I'm not so sure buying these to resell on ebay is the best idea... Who knows though.

All settled then. Those of you who don't like the design, go away. Those who do should be allowed to buy it without the critics sounding off.

On 2006-11-01 22:14, Kitty wrote:
All settled then. Those of you who don't like the design, go away. Those who do should be allowed to buy it without the critics sounding off.

Kitty's right. I am disgusted that some of you are expressing opinions that others might disagree with. Everybody please just go away.

I'd be very interested if they didn't have the Pink Panther characters on them. Good luck with it. Even though it doesn't fit my particular aesthetic, I'm sure they'll sell well, and I support the idea of more artists putting more ideas out there since I'm bound to like some of it.

However, I thought this was an interesting claim from the website, "Our tiki scorpion bowl, perfect for that drink for two, features a unique triangular shape..."

It's strange that no one else ever thought of making a triangular tiki bowl. Oh, wait...

-SV

However, I thought this was an interesting claim from the website, "Our tiki scorpion bowl, perfect for that drink for two, features a unique triangular shape..."

dude, that doesn't mean he invented it...he's just saying it's unique...chill

On 2006-11-02 00:57, artroodeetoo wrote:

However, I thought this was an interesting claim from the website, "Our tiki scorpion bowl, perfect for that drink for two, features a unique triangular shape..."

dude, that doesn't mean he invented it...he's just saying it's unique...chill

Don't mind him, he drank to much haterade today.

ordered my set, will you be giving a warning before I get charged? I've been drooling over these since I saw em the day Holden got em in.

On 2006-11-02 05:29, Stiki Tiki wrote:
ordered my set, will you be giving a warning before I get charged? I've been drooling over these since I saw em the day Holden got em in.

Why thank you! Yeah, we'll let everybody know when they're getting ready to ship and that's when the order / payment will be processed.

Thanks much!

I will be honest, and say that my first reaction to this mug was ...'What the ...?, but more in a mystified curious accent than a visceral shout of anger.

But the more I think about this mug, the more I like it. One can interpret it in so many ways. Is the Pink Panther hiding from the Inspector by crawling into the tiki's mouth? Is the Tiki mouth meant to represent the television screen itself? Or is this one of those Cannibal tikis, annoyed by the sound of too-loud early Saturday morning television sets, about to take revenge by biting down on a Pink Pu-pu offering?

I like the pink accent colors. I already own Munktiki's drunken Pink Elephant mug, and an additional Pink Panther mug will fit in well with that early 60's pink Pop Culture vibe.

I like it because the whole exotica nature of the Pink Panther theme. Everytime I see the Pink Panther character, I can't help but to think of Mancini's Pink Panther Theme - I love that song whether it is done by the Hollywood Studio Orchestra (on the Ultra-Lounge CD), or by Oranj Symphonette (from the Shots in the Dark surf compilation), or by Mancini himself. I have created a personal mix CD that include this song, along with other spy jazz and Hawaiian music, and it all fits together nicely.

And I do like it because it stretches the boundaries of tiki a bit, into the world of cartoon figures, without being too garish. I think it is quite tastefully done.

Vern

What bowl is this?

On 2006-11-02 09:07, teaKEY wrote:

What bowl is this?

It looks sort of American Indian to me.

Quote:

On 2006-11-02 00:57, artroodeetoo wrote:
Quote:

However, I thought this was an interesting claim from the website, "Our tiki scorpion bowl, perfect for that drink for two, features a unique triangular shape..."

dude, that doesn't mean he invented it...he's just saying it's unique...chill

------------------------------------------------------------------Quote:

On 2006-11-02 00:57, artroodeetoo wrote:
Quote:

However, I thought this was an interesting claim from the website, "Our tiki scorpion bowl, perfect for that drink for two, features a unique triangular shape..."

dude, that doesn't mean he invented it...he's just saying it's unique...chill

Don't mind him, he drank to much haterade today.

u·nique
adj.

1. Being the only one of its kind
2. Without an equal or equivalent; unparalleled.

Actually, I hope they design more items that I actually will be interested in buying. However saying that a tiki bowl with a triangular shape is "unique" when it's been done before suggests either: they believe it but are wrong, know it's not true but don't care, or don't understand what the word means. Maybe the latter is what is going on here. Perhaps they meant "notable","remarkable","unusual","distinctive","standout", or something along those lines. I made the (perhaps unwarranted) assumption that they were using the word correctly. In that case, my comment would have been right on the mark.

Whatever. I was trying for wry humor, but I guess that online communications is just the wrong medium for that. Lesson learned. Though I have to say, the next time I see a vendor making claims that seem dubious, I'll be a bit shyer about bringing them up here.

As penance, I will add a bunch of happy emoticons, and I will type each one, not just cut and paste.
:-> : ) :-0 ;>) {.-) :wink: :*) ;-> '-) :) :D |-) :'-) :wink: |-D |-) :-> (can't think of any more)

-SV

yeah email/online content is always perceived as negative at first...no worries dude.

On 2006-11-02 09:07, teaKEY wrote:

What bowl is this?

It's the Wigwam Mystery Bowl!!! :)

Cheers,
Jeff

Well...it's gettin' pretty heated here. Now I must chime in. A while back Holden asked me to design these mugs for Lou. My first reaction was "what?".
Not an "Are you crazy?" kinda 'what' but a "how can I make all these elements work together" kinda 'what'. Quite a daunting task to incorporate Tiki, Pink Panther and Shag in the same product.
I took it on as a challenge basically, which turned out to be an enjoyable one. And from some of the comments I've seen, many folks are enjoying the end result. That's what I love most about the work I do....happy campers!
Some don't like them or are fence sitting until someone else says it's "cool". No problem. I cringe every time I see an old Tiki Bob's mug. I think they are ghastly. I'm entitled to that. You are entitled to your opinion.

Lou is a great guy and fun to work with. His product is first-rate and he believes in it. So buy em if ya like em!

Personally, I will nudge him for my obligatory free sample.
NUDGE, NUDGE, LOU :).

Now you kids play nice.

On 2006-11-02 18:29, squid wrote:
Personally, I will nudge him for my obligatory free sample.
NUDGE, NUDGE, LOU :).

Hey, you know there's no nudg'in necessary! You'll get your samples with my pleasure!

I'm super happy with the work you did and I'm delighted there are so many people already who've told me how much they like them. As for those who don't like them, as you said, everybody's entitled to their opinion...it's all good.

On 2006-11-02 00:10, serious voodoo wrote:
I'd be very interested if they didn't have the Pink Panther characters on them. Good luck with it. Even though it doesn't fit my particular aesthetic, I'm sure they'll sell well, and I support the idea of more artists putting more ideas out there since I'm bound to like some of it.

However, I thought this was an interesting claim from the website, "Our tiki scorpion bowl, perfect for that drink for two, features a unique triangular shape..."

It's strange that no one else ever thought of making a triangular tiki bowl. Oh, wait...

-SV

is it just me or is that Menehune bowl the world's strangest looking triangle? I know that bowl & the others (except for that last one - man, seriously, that is bufugly... do you actually own it?) The PP bowls contours are unique - I agree with Lou. I'm unique in that this post is my post and there are none others like it.
Holden

Well, I LOVE them!-the Pink Panther is my favorite cartoon character (my kids can't believe when I tell them there were once only cartoons on Sat. mornings)...

Wow - count me among the befuddled. There is no link whatsoever between the Pink Panther and tiki - n o n e. Why not celebrate the 75th anniversary of SPAM with a yellow and blue logo-emblazoned tiki tumbler? SPAM's quite popular in Hawaii.

If you love it - more power to you; buy two since Holden and Squid get some of the money and I respect their other work. I don't get it, other than as another sign of the growing purposeful collectibilization of tiki. "New from the Franklin Mint. . ."

On 2006-11-04 21:26, Koolau wrote:
Why not celebrate the 75th anniversary of SPAM with a yellow and blue logo-emblazoned tiki tumbler?

Who told you about the new secret project?

Now THAT I would buy!

On 2006-11-04 21:26, Koolau wrote:
Wow - count me among the befuddled. There is no link whatsoever between the Pink Panther and tiki - n o n e. Why not celebrate the 75th anniversary of SPAM with a yellow and blue logo-emblazoned tiki tumbler? SPAM's quite popular in Hawaii.

Sooo...when the Bamboo Ben Cartoon Mug comes out, there will be no link whatsoever with tiki also. :)

On 2006-11-05 08:05, RevBambooBen wrote:
Sooo...when the Bamboo Ben Cartoon Mug comes out, there will be no link whatsoever with tiki also. :)

:o Only if da bowl is triangular, Reverend Boo... chocolate cigars anyone?

Flip-flOp-fLipPp...

I'd buy a cartoon Bamboo Ben mug too.