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

I finally registered... Took me long enough! I live in Jacksonville, Florida, and enjoy tiki, polynesian pop culture, exotica music, and lots of other related stuff. I'm originally from Orange County, California, and grew up around Tiki and Googie architecture. Went to my first Hukilau in 2007 -- loved it! Can't wait to go again this year. Looking forward to seeing everyone here in the forums. Would love to hear from other tikiphiles in and around Jacksonville, Florida!

Hello All!

My name is Scott and I'm a Tiki-holic! :)

I am a total newbie to the world of Tiki, but I have bitten by the bug HARD! I have always loved everything tropical and escapist...living here in Chicago you almost need to be!!!

Well, here is a little back-story to fill you all in on how I discovered my love for tiki....we had a finished basement on our house...functional but VERY stale...brown paneling, brown indoor/outdoor carpet...lame paper-backed drop ceiling. Well, in September of 2006 there was a sizable flood and we had 3 feet of sewage in there...NICE! We gutted it and ins. covered nothing. We got a check from FEMA, but it paid for maybe 1/2 of the cleanup costs. long story short...it still remains unrepaired...carpet ripped up...walls only 2/3rds paneled (I cut off the bottom part during the gut)...and it has now turned into a dump-all storage area for junk and old toys my 3 year old has grown tired of.

I was looking for a little motivation to remodel the basement getting a start with the help of a check from Uncle Sam...but we decided to drywall this time as well as knock down a wall giving us more living space and thus shrinking the laundry room....I was not stoked to start this endeavor...until the epiphany...a tiki bar!!!..A little help from google and here I am!!!

I lurked for 2 weeks and saw all the totally amazing things you all have done and I am hooked!

I got clearance from the wifey and hopefully will start the big clean-up/frame up of the basement this weekend!

I have been drawing feverishly and have a bunch of ideas and a handy father living next door (insert your "Everybody Loves Raymond" jokes here)..we'll see what I end up with.

Wow...this post turned into a bit of a novel...sorry for that...guess I better go get some actual work done before my boss gets pissy!

Mahalo~

Hi,

I love tiki style, exotica music, surf music, south seas, etc. The thing that makes me an exception is that I don't drink. Well, I love a virgin exotic drink. I know what you are thinking, what's the point? lol, but I simply don't drink. I'm glad to be here anyway.

That's a good moniker. I know people that don't drink, I know people that don't eat meat, I know people that don't eat. They are all welcome here. This is the one place were socializing is free from the need of consuming food and drink. :)

You don't have to drink to be a tikiphile, but it does help.

Hi all!

I'm new to the forums and hope to make some new tiki friends! I have been collecting tiki and luau related deco and whatnot for about 5 years but had to give up some of the collection when I moved to California last year though now I'm trying to rebuild my collection. I love traditional Hawaiian music and exotica stuff as well and love my tiki drinks! Though over the years I have become a vegetarian so eating out at Polynesian and Tiki places has been different than it used to be. So that's me and my tiki love...I'm looking forward to learning more and making some cool finds around here!

[^_^] Jess

hey hey everybody.....my name is anthony and ive been a fan of tikis and polynesian pop 4 a lil bit now. started as a small tiki mug collection and has grown. over here in jersey there isnt much access to tiki culture so i really have to search. its nice that there is a site like this for newbies like me. seems like a very cool and informative site and it will be really cool to make friends that are also into polynesian pop. rock on!!

hello evrerybody,... i don't speak very vell english but i try.

i live in france in Paris.... ...
i try to make few tiki

je continue en francais, desolé pour ceux qui ne comprennent pas :wink:
je travaille un peu le bois et dernierement j ai fais quelques tiki pour en faire des pommeaux de levier de vitesses.

voici un exemple :

thanks see you later

This is a test and intro. Yes its me Carlos, I collect Tiki and Polynesian, new and vintage. Im am a Tahitian drummer with Nemenzo out of Daly City. My Tiki friends know very little about current Polynesian events and culture, and my people on the Polynesian culture side know very little about the "Poly Pop" world. I like both and enjoy both worlds. I will try to invite T.Cers to some poly events.

welcome one and all!

carlitos they are 2 very different pics you have shown us there!!! don't tell me the 2nd pic is part of your polynesian act!!! :lol:

I think its great that you enjoy both "polypop" and authentic polynesia - I am the same. I am from Australia so have been more exposed to real polynesia than the american polypop stuff. I have hosted a tiki event in Australia and was lucky enough to have Tahitian dancers that were just amazing, and I've also had the pleasure of visiting Tahiti (but only as a layover for 28hrs!).

Hi All, I've been registered here for a while but haven't posted due to password issues (can't remember 'em to save my life sometimes). I'm Terra - my husband Big Mike is an artist (sculptor/carver mostly) and we've done a few events, so I may have met some of you in person.

My intro to tiki, like many others I'm sure, was the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. It was a favorite for me when I was a kid. I spent a number of years as a professional lush :) and came to love tropical libations - although I don't partake much anymore now that I am a Mama.
I really got into tiki, though, when my husband and his friend (Stone Primitive) were doing these cool concrete trophies for local paddle boarding contests. If anyone's ever been to Hennessey's Tavern, you've probably seen them.

A couple of years back, Mike busted out the sculpting tools again and we've been easing our way into business for the past year or so. It's been a fun ride so far. I look forward to meeting many of you at various events this year!

Terra
Swangulo Design - Tikis by Big Mike
http://www.myspace.com/swangulo

Aloha!

I've been a long time Tikiphile (and an occasional lurker on Tiki Central). I have met a few of you at various gatherings around the Bay Area, but I just wanted to give an official "aloha" and say that it's nice to be here.

Cheers!

(I'm on the right)

Welcome Welcome Welcome to all the new folks. There is just tons of stuff to see on this board and the TCers are so knowledgeable and helpful. Make it to some of the tiki events if you can...the artists are amazing!!! Have fun. :D

I'm new here, sorta new to Tikis, but not at all new to making pottery. I'm approaching the madness from the sculptor angle, and so far, it's been a blast.

Thanks to Chris for sending the link to this forum!

Mahalo !!

Hi All,

Greetings from the Hawaiian part of Burbank, CA.

Am here with Futura Girl, telling me I must post a post to all you excitable Tiki nuts out there. She says that this is where the stuff is and we had to get the smelling salts out. Within 20 feet are big giant vintage Tiki's, Show case stuffed full of mugs, tikis great and small , blow fish , Hula girls , post cards , jewelry , were gonna run out of space to list it all............

Come check it out.

http://www.LADYPETERSWHIMSY.COM

Your website crashed my computer!

On 2008-04-19 14:10, ladypeterswhimsy wrote:
Mahalo !!

Hi All,

Greetings from the Hawaiian part of Burbank, CA.

Am here with Futura Girl, telling me I must post a post to all you excitable Tiki nuts out there. She says that this is where the stuff is and we had to get the smelling salts out. Within 20 feet are big giant vintage Tiki's, Show case stuffed full of mugs, tikis great and small , blow fish , Hula girls , post cards , jewelry , were gonna run out of space to list it all............

Come check it out.

http://www.LADYPETERSWHIMSY.COM

Uh lo ha
dis is wun good place fo hang.Planty stuffs fo check'um out braddahs n sistahs.
U ken hit me up sumtime wen you like stay dakine uno.
Muh ha loz

[ Edited by: Pakalolo Roquor 2008-04-24 11:06 ]

[ Edited by: Pakalolo Roquor 2008-04-25 10:33 ]

Hey folks!!!

Registered the other day.... relatively new to Tiki... attended the Tiki Farm sale last weekend - what a great gathering!! looking forward to meeting more of the artists and seeing all the cool stuff!!

Mahalo.

KahunaKev

Just wanted to say Aloha, been a long time Tiki collector and this website dosent make me feel like such a tiki degenerate. Its sort of like group therapy that just encourages your obsession. No 12 step program here braddahs and sistahs! Suck em up!

hey everyone! i'm melanie, i work at UMG. whats up

Hello everyone - my name is Sushma i am from the UK, been visiting this site for a while just recently officially joined.
Looking forward to speaking/meeting anyone - don't have anything as cool as this in the UK.
Intending to come to San Diego all by my lonesome and hopefully get a ticket to Tiki Oasis 8 and fully throw myself into the wonderful world of Tiki, California style!!!

I am excited as hell - 3 months away!

Really like meeting new people especially from different walks of life and those who think outside the box.

Add me on msn or myspace by clicking my profile name and make another friend if you like what you see.

xoxo

Sushma

Just got back from Forbidden Island, in Alameda, CA. Tiki mug release party; GREAT time at a top-notch place.

ANYhoo, lots of folk there told us we simply MUST register here, and get goin', or we couldn't really 'be tiki'.

So here we are, because we want to 'be tiki'.

Ole-What's-'er-Name will be registering soon, but she's trying to get something Irish/Polynesian going, and let's face it: that won't be easy.

But we're here. Thanks to the cool people we met today.

[ Edited by: Unknown God 2008-04-27 20:38 ]

Hey everyone,

After a bit of lurking I've decided to join up here. Been a "tikiphile" most my life (growing up in So. Cal helped). Nice to see so many like-minded folks here. Since I'm tired and don't have much to say right now, I'll leave it at that =)

On 2008-04-19 16:14, beadtiki wrote:
Your website crashed my computer!

On 2008-04-19 14:10, ladypeterswhimsy wrote:
Mahalo !!

Hi All,

Greetings from the Hawaiian part of Burbank, CA.

Am here with Futura Girl, telling me I must post a post to all you excitable Tiki nuts out there. She says that this is where the stuff is and we had to get the smelling salts out. Within 20 feet are big giant vintage Tiki's, Show case stuffed full of mugs, tikis great and small , blow fish , Hula girls , post cards , jewelry , were gonna run out of space to list it all............

Come check it out.

http://www.LADYPETERSWHIMSY.COM

Get a new computer...LPW is a great store !

Hello all.. and thanks for all the cool pics and good advice.

I have just about finished my tiki bar thanks to the members here helping me decide on what to use for the bartop. Im in western NY near Rochester. I Love tiki stuff and have always wanted an outdoor bar. We put a pool in last summer and wound up having th perfect place to put it.. here it is!
Thanks again!

click to get the full size image

Aloha! Whew what a great influx of new blood. Make sure to spend time looking around and have fun.

On 2008-04-10 17:53, Carlitos wrote:
This is a test and intro. Yes its me Carlos, I collect Tiki and Polynesian, new and vintage. Im am a Tahitian drummer with Nemenzo out of Daly City. My Tiki friends know very little about current Polynesian events and culture, and my people on the Polynesian culture side know very little about the "Poly Pop" world. I like both and enjoy both worlds. I will try to invite T.Cers to some poly events.

CARLOS!! This is Woody! I had no idea you were a Tahitian drummer. Tanya was doing Tahitian dance in the Sunset before she moved to San Jose... I used to go to her practices to check out the dancing but listen to the drumming... I love it. Let us know when you guys are performing.

Howdy all! New to tiki central, but not tiki! My beloved and I, who has just registered here as Unknown God, threw a righteous tiki bash as our goodbye party when we moved to CA from Tampa. We went to the mug release party at Forbidden Island last week, won a mug (woo hoo!), and met some awesome people. We're looking forward to going to many more events, and meeting more of our tiki brethren!

On 2008-05-04 17:18, Taurua wrote:
Howdy all! New to tiki central, but not tiki! My beloved and I, who has just registered here as Unknown God, threw a righteous tiki bash as our goodbye party when we moved to CA from Tampa. We went to the mug release party at Forbidden Island last week, won a mug (woo hoo!), and met some awesome people. We're looking forward to going to many more events, and meeting more of our tiki brethren!

Aloha Taurua! Congrats on winning the mug! And welcome to the West Coast.

On 2008-05-04 18:13, Haole'akamai wrote:

On 2008-05-04 17:18, Taurua wrote:
Howdy all! New to tiki central, but not tiki! My beloved and I, who has just registered here as Unknown God, threw a righteous tiki bash as our goodbye party when we moved to CA from Tampa. We went to the mug release party at Forbidden Island last week, won a mug (woo hoo!), and met some awesome people. We're looking forward to going to many more events, and meeting more of our tiki brethren!

Aloha Taurua! Congrats on winning the mug! And welcome to the West Coast.

Thanks! We're enjoying the West Coast, thanks! Are you in the area?

Just joined, and very glad to have found the group! Very much new to tiki and the tiki lifestyle! My wife and I bought our first house last year, and we're slowly but surely making inroads into making it the mid-century mansion (well, not quite a mansion) we want it to be. Just bought our first tiki (at Armstrong Garden Center - say what you will, I think it looks very cool) and am building a little tiki grotto in the backyard for it. Still learning the ins and outs of the culture: hope to make it to Tiki Oasis later this year, but I travel a lot for business and there's a strong possibility I'll be out of town that weekend. But if not, we're there for sure! Anyhow, if anyone has any advice for low-cost tiki resources in San Diego we're all ears.

Glad to be aboard at Tiki Central!

Welcome aboard! You'll find a wealth of information here -- whether you want to create a "true tiki" environment or just the "essence of tiki". Beware, some of the Kool Kids of Tiki Central may enter with guns blazing. That's just their way of showing how much smarter they are than the rest of us. But don't let them scare you off -- this is a fun place to hang out and a great place to learn. Even the Kool Kids can help you learn, once they're through with their Welcome Snark. :D

Post pics of your new tiki and progress pics of your grotto!

[ Edited by: JanetMermaid 2008-05-05 16:36 ]

Hey guys, I'm new here. Looking forward to meeting you all, and I'm hoping to make my first tiki statue within a month. Any tips and/or techniques would be welcomed! Thanks!

On 2008-05-05 16:35, JanetMermaid wrote:

Post pics of your new tiki and progress pics of your grotto!

Thanks so much for your kind words of both warning and welcome - looking forward to being a part of the community! Here's a pic of the 'tiki grotto' - the plan is to ultimately replace the slats along the back with bamboo or some other appropriately South Pacific material. Of course we're going to leave the Crown of Thorns as is. The ferns and the rocks are all new: it was just dirt and some bark ground cover prior to our purchase of the house. Given our style, we're admittedly going more for "Taste of Tiki" or "Essence of Tiki" than full-blown Tiki, but who knows what the future may hold!

Anyhow, we're open to ideas, suggestions, affordable solutions, you name it, since we're new to the scene! Thanks again for the welcome!!

Aloha All
I've found my self stopping here more and more, so I thought I'd drop in.
I'm from Dayton, Ohio. And own a Shop, Daddy Katz.
I feature, Kool Kustom Kulture, hot rod, Tiki, Mid Century...
All the Kool stuff we enjoy.
http://www.daddykatz.com
Look for my new website on June 1st, and new location July 1st

Hello, got into Polynesian culture after being fasinated with an Easter Island tiki in a book when I was a little kid, then started surfing, just now starting to warm up to the pop culture side of it. I'm very interested in a variety of cultures, food, and music from all over the world.

Aloha All!!!
KuKu Kev here, Just thought I'd give a shout out...
How I got here is a long story but in a nutshell (coconut that is with lotsa rum, yum! hehe) I was raised in San Diego, used to play around the Bali Hi where my step dad took us fishing in the mid sixties.

Surfed and danced through my teens and took lotsa trips to Hawaii (mom worked for an airlines). Joined the U.S. Coast Guard and traveled all over the South Pacific in the late seventies.

So during this time picked up a strong lust for the "culture" and wound up in Newport Beach working as a bartender at NHYC. It's a yacht club in case yer wundering where I learned to build those fun rum libations that had always put me in a haze.

Fast forward to the present, so I was in Waikiki to surf some killer south swells 2 years ago and wandered into Thor's newly opened gallery Thor Stor. He still had most of his original paintings there for sale. Well I left without purchasing one and a few months later back on the mainland I managed scrounged up enough to buy one. Trouble was he had sold them all. DOH!!!

Well, awhile later he created a new series, "The Tiki Bar Series" and his first piece was inspired by a bar in Florida titled "The Hukilau Bubble Bar" and depicted four tikis drinking out of people mugs while a classic real life mermaid show took place behind the bar through a big window.

WOW!!! I was floored, contacted Thor and bought the original. That bar is the famous Wreck Bar in The Yankee Clipper Hotel and so I just had to see this place for myself. Upon further research I found out about the Hukilau...

So here I am and the magic of this years celebration for me is it falls on the weekend of my 50th. birthday and so I can't wait to go. I will be traveling solo and hopefully will meet some insightful folks who can help me out with info and maybe aqua int myself with some new friends before I get there.

Does anybody know of a good place to rent a beach cruzer bike. Is there good surf. Do I really need to pack a pair of paints? Never have in Hawaii, just shorts.

I am staying at the Clipper, have my Big Kahuna Pass and will be doin the Mai Kai thang... So let me know how much fun am I gonna have.

Mahalo!
Kev

[ Edited by: KuKu 2008-05-07 20:16 ]

Welcome from Big Sur here, Ku

Hi all,

I found this site while looking for info about some tiki mugs that had been packed away in my basement for 15 or 20 years. That was about 5 weeks ago and since then I've added about 40 more mugs to my new collection. I also now know the right way to make a Mai Tai, thanks!

I am helping my wife plan a Tiki-themed wedding for her sister. Think of how impressed she will be when I pull out all the knowledge I unearth in this forum! It ought to get me out of a few chores at least! I've already got some ideas just from the pics on this intro thread. I look forward to talking shop with all of you!

Hi everyone,
Just a quick hello as I'm a Newbie. I've been looking around for quite some time, and I got to say that the Tiki info here is quite amazing. I'm new to the board, but not exactly new to tiki as I've been a collector and fan for many of my 38 years. My first intro to tiki was actually a family visit to Disney World, where I became obssesed with the Enchanted Tiki Room. All of us kids were allowed to pick one souvenir, and I headed straight for the Polynesian resort where I bought my first tiki mug. I still have it to this day. It sets in my kitchen next to my pineapple cookie jar and hula girl salt and pepper shakers, to name a few items. Glad to be here, and thanks so much for this great, great forum. Hard to find tiki news here in Knoxville, TN.

I have been hosting annual Tiki parties for a few years now in Palo Alto with a hundred or so close friends. I am proud to say they are the kind of parties where best friends little kids grew up looking forward to them. I am interested in getting to know other tikifreaki's in the Bay Area... I dropped in on Tiki Oasis last year but only had a few hrs in San Diego ....I felt like I was home among 'my people' and hated leaving....sigh...One of my requests at my parties was to find the real crap not the plastic party store crud as you mention in the dogma of Tiki Central. Offerings to the patio are always welcome. It it heartening like molten lava to have this forum....Drop a line if you are near...or far.....

Welcome to new members barnegan, Mount Tiki, and Twistedest!

I hope you find all the information you're looking for, whether you're throwing a party, collecting mugs, or building your new bar!

Great Minds Drink Alike

[ Edited by: Tikiwahine 2008-05-24 00:44 ]

Hi!

I'm a relatively new Tiki fan, having only just really gotten in to it in the last few months. I live in London, UK - so finding Tiki culture over here is pretty hard.
I recently checked out Trader Vic's, Mahiki and Trailer Happiness and look forward to checking out a few other places as well.
I guess I was drawn in by lingering memories of a Hawaiian holiday 4 years ago and an increasing taste for rum cocktails.

Aloha Blue Octopus! Mahiki is my personal favorite, but you should also try South London Pacific. It is fabulous. Good luck in the hunt for tikiware.

Hi there,

The names Joe.

Recently found this forum after and already learned a great deal from reading some of the threads.

I'm jealous of some of the finds - there is very little Tiki here in England(bar the odd Butlins Mug) so most of my purchases have come via eBay.

I did recently visit Chicago on a record buying trip to the U.S. so I picked up a couple of souvenirs (as well as a few libations) from Hala Kahiki.

I'll be over in the U.S. again early in the New Year, probably East Coast so any recommendations would be great.

I've just booked to go to a non-tiki weekend with friends in Oslo - so I'll be sneaking off to visit the Kon-Tiki Expedition museum.

I'll post some of my better finds/purchases when I sort the pictures/camera out...

Bye for now.

[ Edited by: Pikeys Dog 2008-06-03 15:59 ]

[ Edited by: Pikeys Dog 2008-06-03 16:00 ]

Hi There,
My name is Jay
I have been carving bone and a little wood for around six months.
i will post some pics this week .
thanks again
J

Welcome Jay & Joe!

Joe - my boss just spent 6 months on assignment in England and I asked him to check out any tiki places. He came back empty but brought me some whiskey candy so all is forgiven :wink: