coco joes

got a question here .are coco joes still being made and sold? i just scored a couple from a thift store,1st one 5" KU TIKI #110, the other 11"ALII LONO.# 123. the thing is they are still shrunk wraped in clear plastic,with little plactic orcids at the base. and they are perfect,labels on the back are pristine. are these NOS or someone re-maketing them and then dumping at a charity store.OR, could the just have been puchased not all that long ago?when did production stop ,if it did? THANKS TD

[ Edited by: TIKI DAVID 2005-12-29 14:39 ]

CJs went out of business a few years ago - maybe 1998, give or take. BUT they live on in a couple ways other than secondhand. Some of their designs show up incorporated into Chiefly tikis from the present day. For an example of the Chiefly comparison with a CocoJoe, here's a pic cross-posted from that old picture thread on CJs and HIP.

Old CocoJoes on the left, new made-in-China Chiefly on the right.

Also there seem to be some contemporary sources of new CocoJoes stuff. I'm not sure what's the story, but I saw a whole bunch of CocoJoes for sale on the shelves of a giftshop in the int'l section of the Honolulu airport 2 or 3 years ago. They had a cheaper look though, like someone fabricated them by making a mold straight off of a handful of original CJ figures. Lots of little dings and bubbles. But anyway I'm guessing you're talking about the Alii Lone like the tall black one in BK's post, and that's one of the more oddball CJ designs, and definitely not one of the remakes I saw at the airport. So that's probably NOS.

-Randy

I ran into the owner of a trophy shop who buys new versions of Coco Joe's and HIP items to put on his trophies. He said that a guy in Sand Island (near La Mariana) makes these. I've bought a couple of tikis at the swap meet with HIP markings, but with CoCo Joe's paper labels. Some of the supposed hapawood items look like white plaster stained brown, kinda of crummy looking...the newer ones are also lighter in weight, not really lava like anymore. hoku

I was in Waikiki last week, and they are selling new Coco Joes items in the ABC stores. The new ones are poorly finished, they look and feel like plastic, are lighter in weight, and the rhinestone eyes are very cheap without any sparkle. You can definitely tell by looking at them, that these are not the same quality as the ones from the 1970's.

It might be hard to tell the difference in a photograph however, so I'll be much more hesitant to buy Coco Joes items on e-bay now.

I was going to post this in Tiki Finds at first, but then decided to see if I could find a better thread, and here it is!
So, not exactly a "tiki find" this weekend, but my folks just got back from a few days on Oahu and gave me, of all things, a CocoJoes Ku that they found AT THE AIRPORT! It's identical (almost) to the HW137 that CJ used to produce. I found an HW137 a few months ago at an antique shop for $10, and my folks bring one home from Hawaii. Imagine my surpise when they tell me they bought it at a gift shop in the Honolulu airport.
Here's a shot of the original HW137, not a great shot:

The one I just got is a little smaller, maybe by 1/2 an inch, and the color is darker. Unlike Ookoo Lady's experience, this thing I've got is pretty hefty, and pretty comparable to the original. The wood grain looks a little more fake, but that's the only noticeable difference. There are some other subtle changes-- label color and text and the addition of what appears to be a copyright date, but if this is a cheap remake, it's a pretty good one! I'll try to post a picture of them side by side when I get home from work.
Crazy!

So here's the side by side pictures of the old and new Coco Joes. The new one is on the left in all pictures, the old on the right:

The labels on the back

The markings on the bottom. Note the c. 91 on the new one.

I've noticed the copyright symbol and dates on several of my old coco joe and hip original items.

So, just got back from the Hawaii vacation a few days ago (see the Hawaii vacation tips thread over in tiki travel for the full travelogue). The airport gift stores and actually a few of the souvenir stands in the international marketplace in Waikiki not only carry the new CocoJoes, but I also saw a few HIP tikis while I was walking around. They don't have the nice look of the old ones, but the nice thing is that I've seen some CocoJoes pieces that I didn't even know existed. Better yet, I was able to buy some of those designs. Granted, it's a relatively cheap copy, but it's better than nothing.
One of the stores in the Honolulu airport carries the big ones, like 12" tall, for $24. Not bad, but I couldn't get one. I didn't have any room left in backpacks or duffel bags for even one more tiki! The horror!

From what I hear, there is a guy still making CoCo Joes figures near Sand Island (La Mariana area). A friend who was at the CoCo Joe bankruptcy auction a few years ago said someone bought the company name. The funny part is that they seem to be making some of the HIP figures also, but they have CoCo Joe labels on them...sounds like dirty pool...Aloha, Freddie

On 2006-11-10 01:56, HOUSE OF KU wrote:
From what I hear, there is a guy still making CoCo Joes figures near Sand Island (La Mariana area). A friend who was at the CoCo Joe bankruptcy auction a few years ago said someone bought the company name. The funny part is that they seem to be making some of the HIP figures also, but they have CoCo Joe labels on them...sounds like dirty pool...Aloha, Freddie

That's exactly the case. The HIP tiki I bought says "A HIP Original" on the bottom, must be part of the mold, and then on the back is a CJ label. Whoever bought the company must have molds from both CJ and HIP. It's a shame the quality isn't the same. The older CJ tikis are obviously a little better when put side by side. Still, I'll take a cheap reproduction over a non-existent original.

Here's one on ebay, a HIP design with Coco Joe's branding - quality looks poor.

When we were at the Hala Kahiki for the Exotica event in 2003 (man, has it been that long?), their gift shop had a whole kiosk of Coco Joe stuff. At first I thought it was some kind of leftover overstock that they still had for sale given their own long heritage as an establishment. Kinda like how you can sometimes find rare old booze in old liquor stores.

But being the CJ nerd that I am, I recognized some quality differences that suggested those were some kind of new repros. I also noticed a "HIP-o-Joe" like what you describe - an old HIP figure with a Coco Joe label. You could still see the HIP writing on the bottom under the thick globby finish. So, having a nerdy collector image to maintain, I bought a bunch.

-Randy

Does any know if this is a Coco Joes?

A friend of mine gave it to me on his second trip down to visit after seeing that the house went tiki. I think he said a boss or coworker gave it to him in the 70's after coming back from Hawaii.

I think that opener is by "Pied Piper".

-Randy

I borrowed these pictures from a recent ebay listing for educational purposes
Advertised as "vintage hawaiian statues"

Does anyone strictly collect "Polyart" items? I might start a Polyart collectionsomeday...

Borrower Buzzy Out!

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2009-10-08 18:46 ]

On 2006-11-11 12:56, Paipo wrote:
a HIP design with Coco Joe's branding - quality looks poor.

Here's the picture from that ebay sale:(I hate it when the ebay link disappears)

I think the person was kind of unclear in the description. The big one was called a "Cocojoe with his little sidekick." The big one is exactly like this HIP that I have


The little one is definitely a Coco joes magnet.
I find a lot of people that sell this stuff on the internet do not know if it is a Coco or a HIP. Without a picture of the bottom or having it in your hand, it's hard to tell. Some people just list them as Hawaiian statues or Lava carvings, without mention of manufacturer.

Buzzy

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2006-11-25 14:53 ]

I heard you'd been bitten by the coco joe's bug Buzzy, about time you get a hobby!
I have the matching bottle opener I mentioned earlier to your hip, send me your address and it's yours!

He did say in his description that that both of those were actually stamped "Coco Joe's Hauoli" underneath, so it looks like someone used or bought the brand and applied it to whatever molds they had.

That Kala Nui in the wood look is nice Buzzy - could you transcribe the legend on the back? I wish these guys weren't so expensive to ship so I could buy more - to me they are the coolest of the tiki collectables, because they are tikis in their purest form.

Speaking of Kala Nui, I did treat myself to this the other week:

Anyone seen another like it before? It's a very heavy and quite a bit like dental plaster. I don't think it's an original carving as the surface looks a little soft to have been tooled directly, but the inscription on the base looks to be scratched straight into the plaster, especially the "T49" part. I'm wondering if this is a first-generation casting of an original carving which has then been used to make the master molds. I saw another thread where the guy whose Dad founded HIP posted, so I might try and track him down.

Paipo,

Here is the Wahine I have for you here. Does this look like something you would want?

-Gman

Not the most comely of wahines, is she G - anyone know the story behind these? I think I could find a space on the lava shelf for her!

That lovely lady is a "fertility" goddess, if my memory of the tag is correct...

Paipo: Here's a photo of the tag that you asked about

The light brown one I have has "1973", where your mold has "T-49", on it.

The black ones have this on the bottom:

T-49

You might have the mold for the black ones...

Buzzy

Awesome, thanks Buzzy! One of my favourite things about these guys, other than their extreme "tikiness", is the bogus legends that they made up to print on the back. They just add to the appeal.

On 2006-11-25 17:07, Paipo wrote:
He did say in his description that that both of those were actually stamped "Coco Joe's Hauoli" underneath, so it looks like someone used or bought the brand and applied it to whatever molds they had.

Speaking of Kala Nui, I did treat myself to this the other week:

Anyone seen another like it before? It's a very heavy and quite a bit like dental plaster. I don't think it's an original carving as the surface looks a little soft to have been tooled directly, but the inscription on the base looks to be scratched straight into the plaster, especially the "T49" part. I'm wondering if this is a first-generation casting of an original carving which has then been used to make the master molds. I saw another thread where the guy whose Dad founded HIP posted, so I might try and track him down.

Aloha, Paipo. If I remember right, the person listing that Hip tiki (KALA NUI)also had some Coco Joes Hauoli figures in his other auction, I think that part was a typo...Concerning your new treasure(I bid on it also) this was a factory working model that they used when adding any info on the bottoms. I missed another Hip plaster cast (Hula girl with partially carved back) at the local swapmeet about a month ago, about a week before this one was put up for auction...I think this came from the same vendor at the swapmeet. Aloha,Freddie :tiki:

On 2006-11-28 03:29, HOUSE OF KU wrote:

Concerning your new treasure(I bid on it also) this was a factory working model that they used when adding any info on the bottoms. I missed another Hip plaster cast (Hula girl with partially carved back) at the local swapmeet about a month ago, about a week before this one was put up for auction...I think this came from the same vendor at the swapmeet. Aloha,Freddie :tiki:

Thanks for that Freddie - along with what Buzzy posted it explains it pretty well. I guess they cast these from the original mold of the master carving, scratched the number ino the bottom, then made the mold from that for the resins. I think the original carving might have been some sort of wood looking at the textures on my plaster one.
So have you got a pretty good collection of these too? I tried resurrecting the other Coco Joe's/HIP thread to see if the images could be fixed, maybe we could just use this one for general discussion or posting our collections.

So have you got a pretty good collection of these too?

Yeah, I got a few....a few hundred...I seem to have a weakness for lava-like figures :roll: plus they still seem to pop up at the local collector shows and swap meets.

I love these Coco Joe's plaques. I have 2. I've seen 5 different ones, either on the internet or in Tiki Quest (still waiting for Amazon to deliver my Book of Tiki so I don't know what's in there). Does anyone know how many different plaques were made? I looked at one of the older threads and I can't see a lot of the pictures from back then. Maybe we can have those pics resurrected?

These are my 2 plaques. I have no idea if these are originals or not.

The plaque with the Hula girls has Coco Joe sticker on the back and tag attached.

The plaque with topless Wahines and fruit basket has Coco Joe sticker but no tag.

[ Edited by: khan_tiki_mon 2006-12-02 11:01 ]

I think the plaques are my favourite lava pieces of all. I have these 2:


I think the tiki/wahine one is my #1 favourite tiki object out of just about everything I've ever seen in books or online. The sculpting is superb, with the artist achieving a really good illusion of depth and perspective using only very shallow relief. I'd love to know who designed some of these pieces.
Maybe this could just be the Coco Joe's / HIP thread where people share their collections...I got a reply from boutiki who said he will upload the catalogue (MIA from the old thread) he has again at some point. In the meantime, keep posting stuff...I want more!

The one plaque posted by Paipo is on page 175 of Tiki Quest - described as "Wahine makes offering to Tiki". I think that one is so cool and is my favorite of all the Coco Joe's plaques I've seen. I started out collecting mugs and I've been branching out. One of those "Wahine/offering/Tiki" plaques came up on e-Bay several months ago. I dropped out of the bidding at $35 and it ended up going for $78 I think. Plus shipping and you're approaching $100. Completely ridiculous I thought. Couple of months later, another one comes up. I said I'll keep my eye on this one. Got busy with a life and when I checked back it had sold for something like $28 or $30. Doh!! I hate it when that happens.

It pays to keep an eye out...I've seen a few of them go for around $35, but I think they're totally worth that. It's a substantial and impressive piece, and it has been featured in 2 books - there is a very atmospheric pic of it in the BoT too (which is where I first saw and coveted it). I'd be interested to know what the label on the back of that one says if anyone has one still intact.

v TC Thread v

myspace

[ Edited by: Paipo 2006-12-03 11:44 ]

These two just went for $98.00 on ebay today...

buzzy

On 2006-12-03 11:41, Paipo wrote:

I'd be interested to know what the label on the back of that one says if anyone has one still intact.

---

v TC Thread v

myspace

Jus' ask braddah Paipo! :D

Kia Ora!

Flip-flOp-fLipPp...

On 2006-12-03 11:41, Paipo wrote:

...there is a very atmospheric pic of it in the BoT too (which is where I first saw and coveted it). I'd be interested to know what the label on the back of that one says if anyone has one still intact.

Thanks, Paipo, for acknowledging my efforts to light that piece interestingly. My experience as a cinematographer came in handy when photographing all the objects for the BOT, and these wall plaques ARE a challenge...not only to light for photography, but also for display: When hung in an area that does not get much light they just turn opaque black. At home, I now have that one lit by a hidden light bulb just below it, so it gets some hard edge light, which brings out the great lava texture of the background and makes one take notice. Unlit, these are just passed over by the eye.
I was a little worried readers would expect the red glow be part of the piece, so I am glad that Tiki Quest shows it in natura, and clears up that possible misconception.

And thanks T.J for posting the label, I had never seen or read it. This IS on of my fave Tiki artifacts, too.

On 2006-11-26 16:53, Paipo wrote:
Not the most comely of wahines, is she G - anyone know the story behind these?

Last weekend when we were up in Oregon to celebrate the holidays with my family, I got this great gift from my brother. It's a Coco Joe's letter opener that belonged to my grandmother. She probably got it in Hawaii in either 1977 or 1980 (she was in Hawaii in February 1977, when my brother was born, and again in December 1980, to visit us for Christmas). If anyone can pin down a more accurate date for me, I'd love it. It's got a nice weight to it, and the details are nice & sharp. So is the blade on it -- I think it may have been sharpened by my grandmother. How sharp are the Coco Joe's letter openers, generally?

All the pics of it: http://photo.humuhumu.com/v/cocojoes/

I've got that one too - it came with the three tiki plaque I posted earlier.

Unfortunately part of the label is missing at the bottom, but it does say:
"KU TIKI - Made with lava, Ku, the Ancient Hawaiian God of Achievement makes an ideal gift for office or home. (No. 270)"...followed by the standard "Made in Hawaii with LAVA" and Coco Joe's brand.

Yours does look like it's been sharpened with something, the edges on mine are pretty flat.

I started collecting Coco Joe’s when I was in high school, Friends would go to Hawaii for vacation and I would ask them to bring back a Tiki.

I don’t why I removed the tags from the back of my first two, I guess I thought it looked better but I still saved them and looking at them the other day I noticed they have dates printed on the back, which I think, is cool.

I’ve had the Tiki’s in a box for about 6 years now and I got them out after reading this thread.

Unfortunately Lono has thrown his back out after being improperly stored for so long and the Lucky Tiki is also a little off balance. Does anyone know how to return these to their original shape? Currently I have the Lono Tiki flat on it’s back hoping that might help.

Lono explains to Lucky that his back is screwed up.

Lono needs the Cocochiropractor!

I've seen a few on ebay that looked like that...weird. I guess they must droop with age! Maybe you could lie him on his back in the oven, on a tray covered with baking paper, and gently heat him?*

*I accept no responsibilty for fumes, fire damage or tiki vengeance.

Thanks Paipo,
I've placed it near the heater and I'm hoping that being there through the winter will help.

Some of my best "leaners"

Degenerative disc disease, just like me...

Buzzy

I cured a 12 inch hip tiki of it lean. Take a large skillet and add 1 inch of water. When the water starts to steam put the tiki in. Let the tiki sit a few minutes, the take him out and place him on a hard flat surface. Push down on him to start to remove the lean, then put him back in the water. This will take several tries, check the tiki using the 90 degree angle formed by a shelf or cabinet. Good luck!

Thanks Bay Park Buzzy and Big Kahuna, I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one this has happened to. This weekend Lono could be headed for the frying pan.

On 2006-12-19 02:07, Paipo wrote:
I've seen a few on ebay that looked like that...weird. I guess they must droop with age! Maybe you could lie him on his back in the oven, on a tray covered with baking paper, and gently heat him?*

Paipo, thats pretty close to what worked for me...Preheat oven to about 210 deg for about 10 mins and place victim...ah, I mean, um, ha ha, tiki on a cookie sheet(back side down) and bake for about 10 min. on the top rack. Increase heat to about 230-240 for another 5-10 min. Time to check firmness of your Tiki :oops: Take cookie sheet with Tiki out of the oven and determine which half of the Tiki needs to go down...I squared up the base of the Tiki to the cookie sheet and pushed down the top half of said Tiki...I use a piece of silicon to push the hot Tiki)The Tiki should be slightly soft and springy, wanting to bow if not held down. If not springy, heat a little longer. If you can straighten the Tiki, it's time to place something, (pyrex baking pan) to hold any correction in place until the Tiki cools. Times and temperature may vary depending on the thickness of the piece and resin used. Keep watch when heating , so not to over cook/melt item.

back surgery survivor on rt

HIP Tiki, small, med. and large (14 in)
Hoohoo,first post with picture :D

On 2005-12-30 07:31, ookoo lady wrote:
I was in Waikiki last week, and they are selling new Coco Joes items in the ABC stores. The new ones are poorly finished, they look and feel like plastic, are lighter in weight, and the rhinestone eyes are very cheap without any sparkle. You can definitely tell by looking at them, that these are not the same quality as the ones from the 1970's.

I was horrified when I found that the only "new" Coco Joe's figures to be found were horrible knock-offs with cheap (and stinky) paint jobs. They also have plastic jewels crammed into their eyes. I bought a couple, pried out the jewels and re-sculpted the eyes with epoxy putty. I then stripped off the paint and refinished them. My only regret is that in doing so I lost the labels on the backs.

The sculptor who worked for the original CJs was well worth the money they paid him/her. Hey Coco Joe Sculptor! Are you out there on TC somewhere? Show us what you've been up to!

The above complaints seem quite ironic, considering that Coco Joe's Tikis were always the cheapest, most mass-produced Tiki items out there. But obviously, there is no limit to the loss of quality and devolution in mass consumer culture, it can always go lower!

I was not gonna have any CCJ's/Hip wares in the BOT initially, because A.) They were Hawaiian, not mainland-made, and B.) the stuff was still so readily available when I began my research. But in due time I realized the fact that, apart from their typical Tikis, CCJ's produced a number of very unique and creatively stylized items in the 60s and 70s, and I fell in love with those wall hangings. These now seem like Rembrandts compared to the remakes. :)

This manly 1975 HIP pen holder is a nice sculpt:

..and, since so many images on the old CCJ's thread are gone now, another of my favorite CoCo Joe's items, the Tiki Pipetray:

Also a nice concept, with good detail, is this Tiki village letter holder (with no company ID markings):

Wow. The letter holder rocks. I've never seen anything like that before! Bigbro-- you never cease to amaze!
Thanks for sharing!

On 2006-12-21 13:38, bigbrotiki wrote:

This manly 1975 HIP pen holder is a nice sculpt:

Companion piece of the warrior


. another of my favorite CoCo Joe's items, the Tiki Pipetray:

Another CCJ pipeholder

Also a nice concept, with good detail, is this Tiki village letter holder (with no company ID markings):

Aloha, Freddie :tiki:

New additions to the family...the Lovestick is my new favourite piece - can't wait to wear that bad boy out!