For Jet City Shoppers

I missed a #5 bus from the zoo the other day (nephew Auggie's fault, he insisted on an examination and explanation of a dried berry he spotted on a shrub) and it turned into a good thing when I stumbled upon The Daily Planet antiques. The place turned out to be just what a junk shop should be, crammed full of all sorts of stuff with a knowledgable and friendly staff. I didn't want to miss another bus so I asked one of the owners "Do you have any Tiki mugs?" and instead of asking back "Tipi mugs?" (which happened at another shop recently) he said "Right back here..." and led me to a shelf that had several Beni Hana, recent Trader Dicks, and odds and end mugs. Then he made me cringe when he said "This shelf was pretty full a while back..." I bought a green Harvey's Sneaky Tiki mug for $4.50. The other mugs (nothing noteworthy) also had thrift store prices. I looked around the shop some and most the prices seemed sensible. A really swell place with affordable stuff.

The Daily Planet is at 6016 Phinney Avenue North and is "Open daily". (206)-633-0895.

Seattle tourists: This stretch of Phinney/Greenwood is one of Seattle's better junking areas, with shops featuring everything from large European furniture to vintage clothes. There are also shops that sell interesting new stuff and quite a few popular and affordable restaurants and pubs. It's in the north end of Seattle and is easy to get to from downtown or I-5. From I-5 go west on 85th. 85th crosses Greenwood Ave, if you go left/south on Greenwood it becomes Phinney. There are a couple shops near 85th and more along the way south. If you go right/north on Greenwood you will eventually come across Leilani Lanes (10201 Greenwood Ave N), Seattle's sort of Tiki bowling alley.

woofmutt: nice score!

i had that same "sinking feeling" when the lady at the west seattle antique/junk store replied "oh another couple was in here looking for tiki/polynesian things for thier walls too"..

i've had next to zero luck in my thrifting adventures in seattle (except for finding more and cheaper vintage bamboo furniture after i already bought other stuff) argh.

elicia

Yeah I just heard the same sort of thing this weekend..."Oh you should have been in here last week, we had gotten in a tiki bar that came with 35 mugs, sold it all the same day." I think they just do it to see "the look" on our faces.

When shopping for cool junk my anti-anxiety mantra is "You can't own it all..." (Which is generally true unless you're Basement Kahuna). You also have to remind yourself that on any given day some family members somewhere cleaning out Auntie Selma's house come across some Tiki mugs and say "My, how hideous!" and toss them in the trash.

Due to these posts, I stopped by there the other weekend to see how picked over the tiki stuff was at the Daily Planet. Pretty picked over, as it turn out. However, I was able to talk to the owner a bit. Really cool guy who said he used to bartend all over the west coast. He seemed pretty familiar with the stuff and was jealous of his contacts in other states who have so much more tiki stuff to choose from. I also had the pleasure of bumping onto some other tikiheads there as well. Puamana and Selector Lopaka, I do believe. And had the displeasure of watching them leave with some really cool mugs from Hong Kong! :( So it goes...