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

Welcome all! A special hello to upper midwest residents who I will hopefully meet at Foundation or in Chicago sometime soon!

Hello to all! Love Tiki music, Tiki mugs (I even have a Kon Tiki mug I bought at the Kon Tiki museum in Oslo) and Polynesian food and drinks. (Just made Trader Vic's Hawaiian Pork Roast and Sam Choy's Tahitian Shrimp Soup.) And a great admirer of the French discoverer of Tahiti, Bougainville.

Aloha Tikiphiles,
It took me about 30 seconds from stumbling on this site to become a member. What a sweet resource! I am not going to get a thing done today because I am glued to this site. I have always been inspired by Polynesian cultures and tiki carvings. Large collection of Aloha shirts, carved tikis and various masks from my travels define my laid back attitude. I live in San Diego and I have a few palm trunks that I want to begin learning to carve on. This seems like a great place to start.
Mahalo to all that share skills and resources.

Hello to all!
I lurk no longer. This has been such a killer reference site.
Many kudos to the architects. Cheers :drink:

Hello's

I should have introd here 5 yrs ago, well im a lil slow :wink: Im here now tho
No more lurking
:wave:

Aloha! My wife Mary and I have always loved all things tropical and we have been cavorting around with the Tiki scene for a few years now (our trips to Hawaii, the many art shows, the Tiki Invasions, the Tiki Crawl ’06 (S.F.), the Hukilau ’07 (Florida.), a few Tiki Festivals (Long Beach), and a few Oasis’). We have also spent time and money renovating our Laguna Hills condo, transforming in into a Polynesian nightmare. It’s actually a work in progress…(Crazy Al knows). Anyway, we realized we should get serious and actually register with this site (duh). So I went first. Although some of you have come to know me as Maui Matt, I saw that a registered member already has that name. Uh –oh. Didn’t want to copy or modify, so I got to sippin’ and thinkin’….. Then came an hour of researching Tiki/Polynesian names; flipping through books, surfing the web, and checking the member list (it was crazy believe me). I felt it should begin with M and/or sound good with Matt preceeding or following. Should it be swank and clever? (Macadamia, Mango, Mr.___, Mai Tai, Mojo, Maraschino) or linguistically profound? (Moana, Mana, Mahi, Maki, Makemake, Mele) Historic? (Moorea, Moai, Molokai, Marquesan, Molokini, Menehune, Mai Kai) or from a drink? (Mai Tai, Midori Sour, Mojito, Martini?). Yes, I thought of Matiki. Yes that one’s taken. There were alot of other obsure ones and I won’t even comment on what the wife wanted…(sigh)

I’ve always liked Moai’s, so I finally settled on Moai Matt. (Wikipedia describes it as: “A monolithic human figure carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) between 1250 and 1500 CE”… and…”the 'living faces' (aringa ora) of deified ancestors”. Umm…yeah. Anyway, it sounded catchy and cool, authentic enough, similar to my last moniker, and easy to remember - even when in a drunken haze. On that note, I raise my mug to the 21 other Tiki Centralites who have embraced Moai as part of their sobriquet.

So now it’s official. Moai Matt. My new name. Not to be confused, mind you, with MAOI’s. (I know, I know. I have too much time on my hands).

My wife promises to register very soon here with her own new name, so stay tuned. All we need to do then is give them a test drive at the next Tiki event…Speaking of events, a big shout-out to Bamboo Ben for his “nooner” last Sunday. My wife and I both went and we had bunches of fun. Food was great and the bands rocked! Most especially, a big thank you to our T.C. friends out there for making us part of the ohana all this time. We look forward to many more festive frolics in the future (?)

See ya’ all next time. Oh, be sure and look for me. I’ll be one of many with a Moai pendant around my neck. But I’ll be the only Moai Matt.

I am very excited to me making my first post! As a long time lover of all things vintage and all things Hawaiian/Polynesian( ie; food,drinks,dress,music,decor,...did I say drinks??)it was inevitable that i end up here.I actually found out about this forum from another forum that i have been on for about 4 years, where there is a tiny section on Tiki, but ...WOW. After sneaking Hawaiian decor into my home for years and dragging home "Tacky old stuff", and insisting on hosting a Luau instead of elegant, grown up dinner parties..i am surrendering to the consuming power of tiki.I have loved seeing all your collections and Tiki bars and have much to learn, but look forward to spending some time here and eventually posting some pics of my own Tikified abode.:)

Aloha all!

I've been an avid tiki fan for years. I heard about this forum and I signed up as soon as I found the page. Also, I'm making Chicago and during the school year, Ames, just a bit more tiki. And pending my degree (Interior Design), I hope to bring tiki back!

After seeing the Tikiyaki Orchestra on New Years Eve I was blown away! I was led to Tiki Central and it has been a whirlwind of adventure ever since. We have attended several events, been to Oceanic Arts, Purple Orchid, Frankie's Tiki Bar in Vegas, Tiki-Ti, the new Trader Vics and it goes on. My husband and I are excited to be attending our first Tiki Oasis this year and look forward to meeting more of the faces behind the screen names. I truly am "bewitched" by all things tiki, thus my screen name. We are finally turning our patio into a Tiki Terrace now that we have found so many wonderful artists and resources for Tiki!

My attraction to Tiki, Exotica etc began as a toddler in the Enchanted Tiki Room. I have fond although vague memories of Kelbos, Don the Beachcomber and the Original Trader Vics. I had long thought that type of lifestyle was gone. I once told a friend I was following the Tiki and he asked me to explain. I said "Well.... I mean in the figurative sense rather than the literal..But if a Tiki sprouted legs and started walking yes, I would follow. My concept of Tiki the... Island style escapism is what I follow. It is an attitude. The music, the vibe, the hypnotic rhythms, the spirit of Ohana" ....It is so funny that all of what I was talking about was going on right under my nose all the time! :)

This website has been such an awesome resource and I am so excited to have a place to share and learn, I have been blown away by the awesome talent that I have seen and overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge that so many of you have. I have read both Modern Tiki and Book of Tiki. I am also working on Kon Tiki and Aku Aku. I have a lot to catch up on!! There were so many things out there that I was unaware of I am almost embarrassed to admit I am a native southern Californian! Oh well at least I know now! Better late than never. Mahalo Tiki Central.

hello Bewitched by Tiki,

that was a great introductory post.
I wish more peoples posts were like that.

welcome to the scene.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Yes Bewitched, I agree with Big Tiki Dude. Very nice post of your Tiki experience. Welcome to Tiki Central.

On 2009-05-11 22:31, Ojaitimo wrote:
Yes Bewitched, I agree with Big Tiki Dude. Very nice post of your Tiki experience. Welcome to Tiki Central.

Thanks to both of you BTD and Ojaitimo I was hoping it wasn't too long. :blush:

Bewitched.....very nice post. I'm glad the New year's eve show was your "gateway drug" to Tiki, and it's good you discovered all the great artists here on TC. It means you're bypassing the "party City" phase of Tiki, which is where I used to go to find my tiki stuff back in 96' (even though I was an avid fan of Tiki News)....Now I know better.

Aloha !

Greetings - Bewitched By Tiki!

Welcome aboard TC. Great people, great times and fun!

When I met you last week for the first time, it was like we have known each other since high school or something - I could have talked for hours!

Just wanted to say Hi again and say Thanks for the bag of LPs.

Cheers! G

Aloha! My name is Karl. I've been on this site a lot but I just registered today. I've been into tiki for a few years now. It started on my first trip to Tiki Ti's when I moved to LA in 2003 and getting my first mug at The Lucky Tiki opening night(Thanks for taking me Marion).

When I went to Tiki -Ti's I felt like I was home, or @ least thats what Jim said...lol. So I've been going there ever since, lately I am there every Wed.I've met a lot of great people there. I started out with only being able to have two to three drinks....now I am up to five....I gotta work in the morning!...lol. I am still waiting to get a mug there and my name on the wall, hopefully one day soon.

I've been going to all the events lately, my fist was lodge night to see the Tikiyaki Orchestra, those guys rule!Can't wait for the new CD!!! I've also went to the Tiki Magazine party @ Don the Beachcomber, the signing @ 8 Ball, and most recently Bamboo Ben's "get together" than headed over to Don's after....boy Ryan makes some great drinks! I just love the tiki events such a great time with such cool friendly people!!

Besides going to Tiki -Ti once a week I often make my way over to Bahooka, Damon's, Don the Beachcomber,The Purple Orchid, and Tonga Hut when I have a chance. My family lives in Phoenix now so everytime I go to see them in AZ I make sure I head down to Tucson to go to Kon Tiki. I made it over to Trader Vic's downtown, it was pretty cool even though the bartenders seemed lost(opening night) boy I sure miss the Beverly Hills TV. I recently got Beachbum Berry's books so I am gonna start making my own drinks too....spend way to much @ the bars! LOL

I love to collect mugs and anything Doug Horne (I have some cool prints). Anyways I look forward to getting to know some cool people on here and maybe we can meet up for a mistake sometime, I live real close.

Karl

[ Edited by: TIKI-K 2009-05-16 08:10 ]

Aloha. I'm new to the Tiki world. By trade, I'm a Tool & Die Maker, lately I've
been Pinstriping and casting Pewter. Currently learning about Lost Wax casting.

Hey All,

I'd like to start off by saying that I have loved Tikis ever since I was knee high to a, well, to a Tiki. Originally from NC, I spent a lot of time at the beach and it seemed like every where I went, there were Tikis and the "Vibe" of Tikism. I can't explain it but you know it when you are around it.

When I was in the USMC, my room was the island get away place where everyone seemed to find themselves when they needed to sit back and relax with the few Tikis I had displayed. My Company Gunny didn't appriciate the fake palms and the whole decor but it was relaxing. My last duty station was at Camp Pendleton, Ca and I decided to stay in the area once my tour was done.

I moved to Huntington Beach and ran in to a guy that had a mobile Tiki carving business. I can't rember his name but he would set up in a local bar's parking lot and people would come from all over to watch.

At that time I was bitten by the Tiki bug again and started designing my own style of Tikis. They are not your normal or average Tikis. As soon as I get something to put up on the web, I will replace the page godaddy parked for me so I can start showing off my little buddies.

Once I came upon this site, I knew I had to join just so I could talk Tiki to people who would understand me.

Thanks for having me.
Shawn

Aloha from Maui,

Just joined up today! Mahalo for having me. I'm a 50's product that has always loved Tiki. However, I am a proponent these days of happy Tiki only.

Got re-inspired by Sven Kirsten's BOT several years ago, and have dabbled a little in writing.
Having fun with it, will buy some ad space in June to promote.

However, no promotion now. Just a big Mahalo for the join up and hope to keep it interesting in the future.

thanks,
Everett Peacock (pen name here, Tiwaka)

Hi,
My son is a tiki carver here in Virginia Beach, VB Tiki. I like to paint home decor and furniture with vintage tiki advertising signs. I am planning on putting on some of my paintings on ebay in the next day or so.
Just wanted to say hi!
Carol

Aloha everyone! I have been following this board for awhile now. I am slowly winning my wife over to all things tiki. We are looking forward to our first Crawl in July. Now we are counting down the days until our daughter goes off to college and we can go off on our first road trip together in 20 years to Tiki Oasis in September.

By the way, we are throwing a graduation luau for my daughter in June. Does anyone know any good carvers in the Bay Area. I'd love to surprise her with a statue or something.

Aloha Tiki Central!

My name is Christine and I live in Boston, MA. I grew up in CT where we had a Tiki bar in my small town in a restaurant called South Pacific. This combined with childhood vacations to FL visiting Mai Kai I've got a sense that anything Tiki means anything good. I try to live Aloha even here in the Northeast. Three years ago I made a visit to the Big Island and my passion for Polynesia has grown even stronger. I've been following the posts here for sometime but would like to share what little I know back with some of you. This is an awesome online community!

Mahalo,
Christine

Ok sorry I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Brendan, live in MA. I just started carving last summer for the Tiki Bar my wife and I have planned. Right now I only have 3 pieces done, not expertly but I am proud of them. And after the ice storm this winter I have quite a bit of wood to figure out something to do with.
Brendan

Aloha to Everyone,

I would like to say thank you for letting me join Tiki Central, and I pay much respect for all involved keeping up the Tiki Central Network, especially the members that share knowledge which otherwise would have to be learned the hard way. My interest in Tiki’s has come from growing up in St.Pete/Clearwater, Florida and being exposed to the tropical cultures that exist here. We do have a mix of styles and expressions. I really enjoyed watching the carvers in Oahu when I was stationed there in the Navy back in the 80’s. As they created these works of art I would wonder what they were thinking about for ideas and motivation. I always wanted to learn how to carve Tiki’s but time permitting and the Navy absorbed most of my attention. The Polynesian culture has a deep interesting history and once you get involved into researching and brain picking, your senses and feel for the culture really start to flourish. I was surfing thru Crazy Al’s webpage and got a Monster Rush of motivation, I emailed Crazy Al (Great Guy!) and He directed me to Tiki Central for a knowledge base and questions, so I said to myself… SELF! (Sorry no pun) Its time I learn how to carve Tiki’s, growing up in a tropical state, where we have the “HukiLau” in Ft. Lauderdale at the Mai Kai every year, as many Tiki lounges of relaxation as we do, I must try to take part in this “ Most Excellent Dude! art form of expression". I am a humble beginner and will listen to anything that the members would like to share, please let me thank you all again for allowing me to be a student in your classroom of knowledge and discovery.

Mahalo
KoaTiki

Hello all - longtime lurker on the forums. I enjoy tiki food and drink and Oceanic Art as well. My family and I try to visit the New England tiki haunts as much as we can. So happy to have found this site! Great resource!

~Caroline

Hey

I'm new to the forum currently living in Toronto, Ontario and would love to find some other tikiophyles to go have a drink with.

Aloha kâkou!

New here on Tiki Central but have enjoyed living in the past for many years, love the 30's, 40's, 50's and everything to do with them from jazz to Tiki bars. I've found some very interesting things here and hope to meet some interesting people. If anyone wants to know more about me and the kookie things I like, visit me at http://tikiloungetalk.com or http://53chevyhotrod.com. I promise I won't try to sell you anything!
-Chris P, AKA Mack

Aloha from Spain!

Long time looking at TC, joined yesterday at last. Glad to be here!!
I hope I can make some contributions to this great forums.
Hasta la vista!

Just joined the site.

Basically I'm a surfer / hot-rodder, and I'm also into tropical flowers (plumerias, hisbiscus, etc.). Now I'm ready to cut a few tikis and see where it goes from there.

Glad this resource is available!

Hi there everyone!

I'm James from London and i work for Beefeater! Saw your great forum and thought id join to discuss all things relating to cocktails and Gin in particular. Really looking to learn a few new recipes you guys may have and also help educate some newer Gin drinkers on what our wonderful Spirit is like.

Let me take the opportunity to thank everyone for having me and i look forward to chatting with those who are interested in Cocktail making!

Cheers

Welcome Man from Beefeater. I will happily discuss gin with you, but this thread is not the right place for that. So start a gin thread over in the "Tiki Drinks and Food" forum. See you there.

My name sums it up well. I'm in the Navy, so I've traveled all over and currently live on a tropical island, in other words I finally live in a place that matches my shirts. Imagine Hawaii sans the tourists, city lights and sometimes the mai tai mixes. That's partially why I'm here, I'm going to try to learn to make my own Mai Tai's and find other tropical drinks I can make so I'm not at the mercy of the bars around here.

I started out heavily into WWII aviation which lead to art/deco & streamline moderne which lead to Googie and 1950's design in general which lead back to the WWII stuff with a like of the south seas. That was heavily reinforced after having visited Hawaii a few time on a deployment.

At home (stateside)I have a handcarved tiki cane and a small tiki I picked up at the International Market in Waikiki. I collect WWII odds and ends and before shipping out here had a 1940's south seas aviation lounge thing going on. Someday I hope to have a permanent place that I can finally a proper tiki room.

Greetings Manu Rainhawk, Welcome to TC, Happy Happy Happy to have you here.
I should have posted this some 30 days ago, not as bad as 5 years, but close. :o
Really, I am happy you finally decided to say Hello, when will we get to see some of your works?

6 month lurker here...met someone who is really into Tiki, so I'm here to learn. LOVE the Ohana feel of these forums! Look forward to learning from you all...

Aloha and welcome to the newbies!
KoaTiki, koa is my favorite wood to work with, IF, I can find any, great pier shot, where is that at?

Looking for Hang Ten shirts and ran into your sweet site.

Originally from the west coast, been living on the East Coast a few years now.

Nice to find people with same interests. You got a nice place here.

I'm old school growing up in the 60's and 70's as a teen. Lots of memories of Maui, San Diego, and San Fran.

Aloooha!

My name is Steve and I am from Switzerland (french part). I am passionate about Tikis and after reading a bunch of thousands of posts on this forum I went to a shop this morning, bought a Drumel (did not want to invest too much to start and see if I have the Tiki Carver in me) :wink:

As I could not find any decent wood in the area to test my tool ... I started to carve something I found near the chicken place... a common wood to ignite the BBQ... anyway here are my 2 first kids ...

tooks me about an hour to carve and now my hands are full of ants and my ears are buzzing... anyway I am quite happy with this 1st shoot...

Now I am going to the butcher to get a bone ...

Any advice on how to clean the carving brushes welcome as well as comments on my "work"

:wink:

Happy to be with you all !

in fact number 2 got older and changed face now....

[ Edited by: steveraf 2009-06-10 07:52 ]

On 2009-05-28 14:13, KoaTiki wrote:
Aloha to Everyone,

I would like to say thank you for letting me join Tiki Central, and I pay much respect for all involved keeping up the Tiki Central Network, especially the members that share knowledge which otherwise would have to be learned the hard way. My interest in Tiki’s has come from growing up in St.Pete/Clearwater, Florida and being exposed to the tropical cultures that exist here. We do have a mix of styles and expressions. I really enjoyed watching the carvers in Oahu when I was stationed there in the Navy back in the 80’s. As they created these works of art I would wonder what they were thinking about for ideas and motivation. I always wanted to learn how to carve Tiki’s but time permitting and the Navy absorbed most of my attention. The Polynesian culture has a deep interesting history and once you get involved into researching and brain picking, your senses and feel for the culture really start to flourish. I was surfing thru Crazy Al’s webpage and got a Monster Rush of motivation, I emailed Crazy Al (Great Guy!) and He directed me to Tiki Central for a knowledge base and questions, so I said to myself… SELF! (Sorry no pun) Its time I learn how to carve Tiki’s, growing up in a tropical state, where we have the “HukiLau” in Ft. Lauderdale at the Mai Kai every year, as many Tiki lounges of relaxation as we do, I must try to take part in this “ Most Excellent Dude! art form of expression". I am a humble beginner and will listen to anything that the members would like to share, please let me thank you all again for allowing me to be a student in your classroom of knowledge and discovery.

Mahalo
KoaTiki

Aloha Koa. When I happen to see someone from Clearwater I try to say hi. I spent considerable time in Clearwater Beach in my early twenties. I still have good friends there and fond memories of the area plus hanging out at Frenchy's, Rockaway's and Skipper's in Tampa, etc. Not Tiki but fun. Anyway, best wishes and Aloha.

Aloha all new members, and welcome to Tiki Central. One of the most important things to do when joining Tiki Central is to go to this thread and be sure to vote for GROG' niece:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=32112&forum=15&start=0&104

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Returned to lurk on Tiki Central again and again for years. Finally joined up. Lifelong Tikiphile and love exotica, and most any Hawaiian music. I love the way it takes one away. I was born in the wrong time as I also live in the past it seems. Good to be here and hope to grow and add some culture and tiki mojo to the community.

Regarding the Aloha club on S Bryant.

I lived less than a mile away from this location from 1972 until 1978 and my parents still live there.

The Aloha club is nothing but a SMALL dive bar. It has not tiki cultural significance. Typically, this place has 2 or 3 cars in the evening and maybe as many as 5 on the weekend.

Trust me, you can avoid this one!

whorton

Hello,

I just found this site in my search of tiki building supplies for my tree house. I am having a difficult time finding a store in the Los Angeles area. Shipping costs seem too much from all the online shops. Can any one point me in the right direction?

Thanks

On 2009-06-14 08:14, juggernut wrote:
Hello,

I just found this site in my search of tiki building supplies for my tree house. I am having a difficult time finding a store in the Los Angeles area. Shipping costs seem too much from all the online shops. Can any one point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Juggernut,

Try Oceanic Arts.

http://www.oceanicarts.net/

http://www.tikicentral.com/oa/index.htm

DC

Been lurking for years and probably because I've never been around anyone else who understood my view on the whole Tiki thing.
Well I can honestly say that changed this weekend. I went to the Hukilau had a great time and got to meet lots of friendly people.
Just want to say thanks to Swanky & Mrs Swanky. They made the whole experience wonderful. And getting to meet other tikiphiles helped.
Look forward to chatting with you all again next year at Hukilau and here on this forum until that time......again.

[ Edited by: tiki 65 2009-06-14 16:48 ]

Hello,

My wife and I retro geeks, and especially fond of Tiki stuff. We love Trader Vic's, making it to the Atlanta location at least once a year during DragonCon. We also love going to the Polynesian Resort at Disney World and hanging out to grab a drink or two, and miss the old Tiki Room attraction. We just went to the Hukilau event this past Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale with a couple friends and had a great time. I am hoping to attend again next year, as well as find other cool retro gatherings to attend.

Mahalo,

Damon

Hi all, long-time lurker who finally decided to begin posting here on TC. We don't have a whole lot of vintage tiki but our Tiki Lounge (formerly known as "the shed" lol) is still a place of peace, tranquility and good times.

On 2009-06-15 22:14, Ky-Tiki wrote:
Hi all, long-time lurker who finally decided to begin posting here on TC. We don't have a whole lot of vintage tiki but our Tiki Lounge (formerly known as "the shed" lol) is still a place of peace, tranquility and good times.

Welcome Ky-Tiki I wish I had a shed like that!

On 2009-06-15 23:20, Hilander wrote:

On 2009-06-15 22:14, Ky-Tiki wrote:
Hi all, long-time lurker who finally decided to begin posting here on TC. We don't have a whole lot of vintage tiki but our Tiki Lounge (formerly known as "the shed" lol) is still a place of peace, tranquility and good times.

Welcome Ky-Tiki I wish I had a shed like that!

Thank you, Hilander. When we moved into our place, the huge two-level 10'x16' shed just off our patio was just begging to have the lower level turned into a tiki-style getaway. Bamboo on one wall, grass matting on two others and a Hawaiian sunset mural on the remaining wall and voila, a Tiki Lounge!

On 2009-05-30 16:00, carolineno wrote:
Hello all - longtime lurker on the forums. I enjoy tiki food and drink and Oceanic Art as well. My family and I try to visit the New England tiki haunts as much as we can. So happy to have found this site! Great resource!

~Caroline

carolineno One of my fave Brian Wilson songs. Welcome abooard!