Tiki Culture Questions - for a College Project

Aloha Tiki Centralites!,
Since being made redundant from my job, I have gone 'back to school' to do a Graphic Design Course.
As part of a College project, I need to ask some questions from fellow Tiki lovers.
I would very much appreciate it if any of you could answer these questions for me,

1...What was the spark that attracted you to Tiki?

2...Have You always felt drawn to it for as long as you can remember?

3...Do you know of many others personally who share this interest in Tiki?

4...Are you always on the lookout for something new in Tiki?

5...Do you ever go shopping with the expectation of finding something to add to your Tiki collection?

6...If so, what Tiki-themed objects are you mainly looking for - Clothing?, Carvings?, Mugs?, Art?, Home Decor?

7...Does your interest in Tiki influence where you spend your vacation?
If so, where did you go?

Thankyou so very much for your time!
Tiki Motu
Sydney, Australia

On 2009-07-26 06:35, Tiki Motu wrote:
Aloha Tiki Centralites!,
Since being made redundant from my job, I have gone 'back to school' to do a Graphic Design Course.
As part of a College project, I need to ask some questions from fellow Tiki lovers.
I would very much appreciate it if any of you could answer these questions for me,

1...What was the spark that attracted you to Tiki?

2...Have You always felt drawn to it for as long as you can remember?

3...Do you know of many others personally who share this interest in Tiki?

4...Are you always on the lookout for something new in Tiki?

5...Do you ever go shopping with the expectation of finding something to add to your Tiki collection?

6...If so, what Tiki-themed objects are you mainly looking for - Clothing?, Carvings?, Mugs?, Art?, Home Decor?

7...Does your interest in Tiki influence where you spend your vacation?
If so, where did you go?

Thankyou so very much for your time!
Tiki Motu
Sydney, Australia

1. I've always been interested in anything which reminded me of places south and warm, and on the water. I'm into tiki for the same reasons that I'm a parrothead, and that my first musical interest back in high school was the beach boys. I've never been to Hawaii or Polynesia, but I've always loved the pop culure reflections of those places. My best vacations have been in warm watery locales, such as the west coast of your country, as well as Bali, Hong Kong, the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica, and especially the Caribbean [and cruises Anywhere].

2. I've been drawn to the zeitgeist expressed in answer #1 forever. This has led me to love various tiki establishments for as long as I can remember, but I only really became interested in tiki per se in the last dozen years or so. In 1998, I married someone who shared my desire to be south and warm, and who also had a smallish mug collection she had been acquiring since her college days as a server at a Sheraten Kon Tiki. The mugs fit well with my mild attempts at tropical and surf decor, and after she passed away I just continued moving that direction with the ambiance of my bar room.

3. Personal friends with a strong interest in tiki, not really. However, most of my close friends are semi-regulars at Forbidden Island, Tiki Tom's, and/or Conga Lounge; conversely, a fair number of Bay Area tikiphiles, including the owners or co-owners of those places, are acquaintances over the years I've been frequenting them.

4. Yes, definitely.

5. Yes, definitely.

6. Mugs, mainly. Whenever I go to a new tiki bar, I check whether they have mugs for sale. I always wear Hawaiian shirts, so I'm always looking for those, but that was true long before I got into tiki per se.

7. I can't say it does specifically, although my more general interest in tropical coasts and island has motivated every vacation I've ever taken since I quit skiing twenty five years ago. My wife and I plan to honeymoon in Hawaii when we have the time. She loves the islands and I've always wanted to go there. She's not at all a tiki person but she really loves the drinks at Forbidden Island and the food and atmosphere at Trader Vic's. The locations for our first date, Forbidden Island, and our wedding, Tiki Tom's, were both her idea, as was the honeymoon in Hawaii. I also want to get back to the west coast of your beautiful country. Cottesloe and Albany are two of my favorite places.

Hope this helped,

chiwito

Tiki Motu:

As someone in higher academia, I'll bite.

On 2009-07-26 06:35, Tiki Motu wrote:
Aloha Tiki Centralites!,
Since being made redundant from my job, I have gone 'back to school' to do a Graphic Design Course.
As part of a College project, I need to ask some questions from fellow Tiki lovers.
I would very much appreciate it if any of you could answer these questions for me,

1...What was the spark that attracted you to Tiki?

The outlandish tiki mugs and drink names first encountered at a restaurant called the China Royal off of Lindbergh Blvd, in Hazelwood, MO. 1982. Drink names that lodged in my mind were the Zombie, the Suffering Bastard, Navy Grog, and the Mai Tai. More importantly, it was the descriptions of those drinks that bowled me over.

2...Have You always felt drawn to it for as long as you can remember?

Yes. Ever since I can remember, my father threatened to buy a Harley, ride to the west coast, hop a boat and live in Tahiti.

3...Do you know of many others personally who share this interest in Tiki?

Yes, obviously I am on TC. However, in Palm Springs, a fraternity called the Palm Springs Junta all share a love of the drinks and the setting.

4...Are you always on the lookout for something new in Tiki?

Yes, i am definitely not an old school guy. I believe that the fundamentals of tiki are more at the Quantum level. I certainly appreciate the traditional decor, aka the Bamboo Ben School of tiki, but I welcome those expressions of art and insight that have evolved from the fundamentals of what I believe is the true essence of tiki culture.

5...Do you ever go shopping with the expectation of finding something to add to your Tiki collection?

Always.

6...If so, what Tiki-themed objects are you mainly looking for - Clothing?, Carvings?, Mugs?, Art?, Home Decor?

Currently, velvet nudes. Woohoo...

7...Does your interest in Tiki influence where you spend your vacation?
If so, where did you go?

Good one! I am always looking to navigate my trip so that a Trader Vics or a local tiki bar is enroute. Recently I went to see my sister so I hit the Kon Tiki in Tucson on my way to Dallas, where I then went to Trader Vics.

Thankyou so very much for your time!
Tiki Motu
Sydney, Australia

Motu,
My sincerest condolences on your recurrrent academia infection. Perhaps I can help with that nasty swelling, to wit...

1. The first spark was having a dream about whom I later discovered to be the Mystery Girl. I had fallen asleep in Sunday school and dreamed that this beautiful adult woman brought me a gigantic, steaming bowl of Ovaltine, danced almost naked for me and then placed a wreath of flowers around my neck. When I woke up, I no longer had any interest in that Jeezley character, and it took me the longest to figure out the wet spot in my trousers.
2. In one way or another, I've always been drawn to the themes that inspired tiki. My first TV memories were of watching B'wana Don and his jungle-themed kids' show, along with Tarzan movies, etc. and anything that featured scary totems. My grandmother was half-Cherokee, and always wore the facial expression of a moai. My affectionate name for her was Totem Pole. My shrunken head fixation led to a few unhappy pet incidents.
3. A few. I know far more who've had numerous brushes with tiki, and ample opportunities to experience classic tiki establishments, but who failed to take advantage because of its wide reputation as being kitsch and tacky. Or as southerners have it, tiki-tacky. To some extent, I think everybody comes to an appreciation of it late, more or less. For most, it seems to require a definite unhinging of the mental jaws to take it all in.
4. The only really new thing is the very old.
5. No expectations whatsoever, except finding yet more Mad magazine-type caricatures of traditional tiki templates, or perhaps an occasional Paris Hiltonesque, clueless and/or sleazeball pop culture reference.
6. Not merely tikis, but any totem with pedigree. Primarily ceramic vessels but also large outdoor figures suitable for virgin sacrifices. Also, my wife Tiger Lily (who assists with the aforesaid sacrifices) is my tiki-themed object of affection.
7. Most often: Fort Lauderdale, for the Mai-Kai and Hukilau. One day: Whittier, CA.

Good luck amongst the academia nuts.

Aloha, Talofa Lava, Kia Orana, Bula Vinaka Tiki Centralites,
Thankyou all very very much for helping me with my strange request.
Sorry if the questions weren't easy to answer.
For this project I'm doing - I needed to research a 'sub-culture' for Graphic Design.
Of course I chose Tiki for my topic!
Part of the project was we had to interview members of a chosen sub-culture.
Australia is a desert in many ways - including finding someone else also into Tiki.
So I thought I'd contact Tiki Central - where everyone who's into Tiki makes a visit.
I could have answered the questions myself, but that wouldn't be right - so thankyou again for helping me.
Long Live Tiki Central!

I'll help if I can.....

1...What was the spark that attracted you to Tiki?

Originally, the mystery of it. Old carvings as tributes to ancient gods who are long gone.

2...Have You always felt drawn to it for as long as you can remember?

Not exactly drawn to it, but always with eyes open to see more.

3...Do you know of many others personally who share this interest in Tiki?

Tiki Central, Fraternal Order of Moai, TikiTalk, Mai-Tai On-Line, and about 100 rss feeds in my reader.

4...Are you always on the lookout for something new in Tiki?

"New" in tiki, or something I haven't seen yet? I appreciate the artistry of Modern Tiki (anything from 1970 to today), but I prefer to find something older that I haven't seen, heard, or read yet.

5...Do you ever go shopping with the expectation of finding something to add to your Tiki collection?

No. To go with the expectation of finding something almost always puts the jinx on it so I don't find anything. If I just go and see what I can see I find the coolest stuff.

6...If so, what Tiki-themed objects are you mainly looking for - Clothing?, Carvings?, Mugs?, Art?, Home Decor?

Yes. Music is what I actually look for. Mugs are always fun to find, but I have too many to display properly. Art is very subjective.

7...Does your interest in Tiki influence where you spend your vacation?
If so, where did you go?

Does the honeymoon in Hawaii count? Any traveling is related to an event somewhere like the Hot Rod Hula Hop or the upcoming Ohana Event in Lake George.

Good luck with your project. I hope you can share the end result of your project with us.

1...What was the spark that attracted you to Tiki?
Vacations at the Hawaiian Isle motel in Miami in the late 60s/early 70s. Dinner at the Kon Tiki in Montreal on Mother's day in 1973. Album cover: Music of the Islands by The Mauna Loa Islanders in my dad's record collection.

2...Have You always felt drawn to it for as long as you can remember?
Yes indeed... born in 65, drawn to Tiki in the late 60s.

3...Do you know of many others personally who share this interest in Tiki?
Other than web-acquaintances, not many in everyday life... but at least about 10 or so.

4...Are you always on the lookout for something new in Tiki?
I'm always on the lookout for something "old" in Tiki... something I haven't seen before.

5...Do you ever go shopping with the expectation of finding something to add to your Tiki collection?
On occasion, yes.

6...If so, what Tiki-themed objects are you mainly looking for - Clothing?, Carvings?, Mugs?, Art?, Home Decor?
Anything that might catch my eye.

7...Does your interest in Tiki influence where you spend your vacation?
If so, where did you go?
Yes. I have made several excursions to the Wildwoods (NJ) specifically to rediscover the mid-20th century Tiki heritage of certain motels. Also, I'll often make a detour to a specific location when on the road (going to Kowloon when in Boston, going to Mai Kai when stopped off in Ft. Lauderdale on the way back from the Caribbean, going to Lee's Hawaiian Islander or Lake George's Tiki Resort on the way home from NYC... etc.)

John in Montreal
http://www.maitaionline.com
http://www.signbasedeating.blogspot.com

[ Edited by: John in Montreal 2009-07-28 06:33 ]

Tiki Motu, good luck on your new career adventure.

White Devil, you're one sick puppy :)

1 - In my 1960s Southern California youth, there were three local establishments with varying degrees of tiki decor; a mobilehome park, a semi-tiki restaurant, and a full-on tiki restaurant. I was drawn to the exotic primitive carvings and even made a few childish attempts at carving. In my teens, I worked for a few years at the full-on tiki bar/restaurant and enjoyed the relaxed mystique atmosphere. After a trip to Hawaii a few years back I was hooked.

2 - Yes

3 - I don't have any tiki friends other than those I have met on TC

4 - My interest in tiki is primarily as inspiration for my own creativity. I'm not looking for something to buy but I'm always looking for inspiration.

5 & 6 - See #4

7 - A little, but not much. My wife and I enjoy Humphrey's in San Diego and try to stay there at least once a year but don't really trek to the tiki meccas.