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

Aloha from NL / the Netherlands!

Here's my face that goes with that silly name... :P
-I'm also called Vivian or Viv or Little Miss Viv :D-
Love and live for Rockabilly music & events / old school tat2's / pinstripings / HotRods / and of course tiki stuff!
More about me you'll find on http://www.myspace.com/viv75

[ Edited by: Tiki-Vivi 2010-02-06 04:20 ]

Hi! Just joined up! I am an illustrator/animator who just recently got bit by the Tiki bug. I can't stop drawing them. I hope to do some shows soon to sell my prints. I know some may say that my Tikis are not the typical traditional mid century Tiki images but I think they are pretty interesting along with being unique and definitely hit a polynesion pop note.

Anyway I would love some feedback, my website is listed in my signature. Thanks!

Zerostreet Illustrations

http://www.zerostreet.com

[ Edited by: zerostreet 2010-02-06 17:35 ]

On 2010-02-03 07:22, Tiki Russ wrote:
I'm just delving into the Tiki world, but am really digging it. Here are my first Tikis I've done.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038123&id=1595386698&l=555dc1464a

I hope you like!

Very nice, Tiki Russ! Lots of fellow carvers here. (Not me really.)

hi everyone! i have always used these boards as a reference to bars and some marketplace items but im excited to become more active.

i live in long beach and work in vintage sales. i love chunky resin/lucite swag lamps and am looking for some cool ones. i have a variety of collections and a love of tiki culture.

i went to college in tucson where i spent a lot of time at kon tiki. now i am a frequent visitor of don the beachcomber.

looking forward to reading more posts

On 2010-02-09 21:03, tiffanytedesco wrote:
i live in long beach and work in vintage sales. i love chunky resin/lucite swag lamps and am looking for some cool ones. i have a variety of collections and a love of tiki culture.

Hi Tiffany,

Any chance you're the Tiffany that works at The Vintage Collective on 4th St? Your reference to Long Beach and "vintage sales" prompted me to ask! :wink:

Either way, welcome. I have an affection for vintage swag lamps myself - a sickness, really. :wink:

Take care,

Tiki Kitty / Deanna Rose

Hey all...aloha, that is!

Been a long time lurker here and a fan of tiki for quite some time. The sad demise of Trader Vic's Dallas (where I live) has prompted me to try and get more active in the online tiki community. By the way, don't blame me for Dallas closing...that place got a ton of my money, so it wasn't my fault :)

David

Aloha from the not-so-tropical isle of Atlanta, GA. I've been hanging around TC for a couple of years, drooling over all the cool spaces that have been created and dreaming of someday getting in on the action myself...

Finally talked the wife into letting me do a home bar. She was gracious enough to let me know that I could use a small closet in my library for such a purpose. This may very well qualify as the world's smallest tiki bar (and from my limited experience, possibly the only tiki home bar in the ATL...).

I'm not sure what makes someone dig the tiki theme, a lot of people certainly do not get it, but for me it was one of those early childhood experiences... Growing up in the Carolinas, there was not a lot of exotica happening, but somehow, my mom found this place (I think called the Hawaii Tai) and took me for my seventh birthday. Of course, I enjoyed the requisite (virgin) Blue Hawaiian and that was cool, but it was the decor with all the exotic textures and colors that impressed me. Nowadays however, it's almost impossible to enjoy such experiences without creating the atmosphere yourself (Atlanta is completely devoid of anything tiki-like with the exception of Trader Vic's), so that's what I intend to do!

Anyway, long story, but just want to say thanks to all the TCers who've inspired me to get moving and look forward to doing the same for others who come to discover this almost lost jewel of culture past.

[ Edited by: ashman_atl 2010-03-01 12:21 ]

Hi everybody, just introducing myself. Live in Philly, where there seems to be more Tiki traditions and stories than actual Tiki bars or restaurants. I think I was inoculated early on with the bug when my family took me to Disneyland and Hawaii when I was 7 years old. Now I've collected some Tiki mugs, a few wood carvings and some of those concrete Rapa Nui heads on ebay. (One of those next to a little machine that has a small fountain in it and you can give a room an instant Tiki bump!)
I have been partnered for 13 years and the whole Tiki thing is a sore topic. I can only put so much Tiki stuff around the house before the alarms go off and I have to put it away.
I finally negotiated that I could put a Tiki bar in our "rumpus room" on the lower level of the house, which currently is sitting pretty much empty except for our treadmill.
Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your posts and TC is a fun place to kill time looking at all the great pictures.

Hello everyone! I'm new to TC. I love Tiki and Atomic era art and architecture. I live in the great corn desert of south west Iowa, so Tiki is not something that there is a lot of around here. I'm know I will learn much from all of you!

OK, this time I'm putting this in the right place....My introduction..

I've been into Surf music for the better part of a decade, but it wasn't until about 6 months ago that I really started getting into Tiki Mugs and starting up a collection. I was buying Munktiki items almost exclusively at first, but once I had the bug, it didn't take long for me to branch out to other artists/manufacturers like Bosko, Squid, etc. At this point, I am still just buying the designs I think look cool, not necessarily the things are the most desirable or expensive. I'm often shocked at the prices some of the plainest looking items fetch on ebay, etc. My collection is pretty much all new - manufactured in the past 10 years or so (which is to say I haven't purchsed anything 'vintage' yet) and I'm enjoying watching my collection grow. I'm also looking forward to participating here and learning as much as I can about this hobby.

-Larry

Hi. I'm from MA and I enjoying spicing rum my own rum and tiki art.

Aloha!

Another newbie here. I got bitten by the tiki bug about a year ago and have been lurking around TC for a few months now; figured it was time I signed up!

I've built up a fairly respectable rum collection (it's always been my favorite spirit, so I had a head start!) and I'm doing my best to start a collection of mugs, though I don't have a lot of extra cash to spend on the vintage stuff--wish there were more repros of classic mugs out there! Aside from loving the way that exotic drinks taste, I'm a big fan of the ritual of mixing them. Tropical alchemy!

I'm also a longtime collector/drinker of absinthe, so I especially love the Beach recipes that call for his proprietary mix of Angostura bitters and Pernod/Herbsaint (I often sub in real absinthe--quality brands like Marteau, Pacifique, Vieux Carre, and Leopold Bros. work wonderfully in tiki drinks).

Guess that's enough for now. Looking forward to getting to know you folks!

Welcome all, Welcome!
There are all kinds of great bits of knowledge and feasts for the eye here on TC!

Hey, mod-type folks? can we sticky this to the top of the forums to make it quick to find for our newly-arrived ohana?
~Zero

I was so excited to find a link to the Kona Kai Restaurant in Philadelphia PA. On this date, at this time 45 years ago my husband and I celebrated our marriage with dinner there. He passed away last year so it was very comforting to find those marvelous pictures of a place that represents such positive memories for me. Thank you to whomever did all the work!

Howzit, Keith Tucker here, I've been lurking around occasionally for years, and finally got around to signing up. I'm an artist who's lived in Hawaii for a couple of decades, and an animation professional. I've been enamored with Tiki's since my childhood.
Here's a sample, it's my latest post on my personal art blog http://www.tuckerstikis.com

Cheers
KT

[ Edited by: biffsbox 2010-03-17 14:13 ]

[ Edited by: biffsbox 2010-08-13 01:15 ]

Aloha!

I'm relatively new to the world of tiki collecting and art, picking up my first tiki mug at a thrift shop about a month or so ago. I've also begun dabbling in artwork and am enjoying it... I've been greatly inspired by the many artists here at TC!

Below is my first watercolor, just finished it yesterday.

This site is amazing and I look forward to developing some great friendships!

Peace,
Jason

Big wave at all the newbies...looks like some new artists checking in...keep up the great work!!!

Aloha and Mahalo to one and all from a very happy newbie!! I've been looking for a site like this for some time. I'm another unfortunate guy who's polynesian at heart, but happens to live in Canada, but I try to make it to Hawaii every year or two. I knew where my heart belonged from the first trip to the islands back in the 70's as a boy. I love all aspects of this lifestyle from the music & artwork, to the food & drink. I consider it a privilege to mingle among all the wonderful people here, especially such talents as the Tikiyaki Orchestra, and artist Tom "Thor" Thordarson. I look forward to reading all the wonderful posts and contributing my 2 cents. Again thank you to all for giving this mis-placed hawaiian boy somewhere to hang-loose.

Howdy! I'm a newbie here on Tiki Central, but i have always been fascinated with Tikis. I live in Pensacola and am VERY interested in the art of Tiki Carving.

Greetings everyone.

I've been a lurker on the site for quite a while, but after meeting BigTikiDude and PolynesianPop (and more, I just can't remember :( ) at the Tiki Ti the other night, I finally decided to sign up :)

Looking forward to exploring more of the Tiki world with you guys.

Cheers!

Josh

Welcome Josh,

good to finally meet you.
now get yer butt down to Dons on a Sat.
or Mon. or hell. whenever you want.
:wink:

Jeff(btd)

Aloha. I'm new to TC but always loved tikis. I grew up in Hawaii and I'm hapahaole, meaning my mom's from the islands and my Dad's from NY. Been in Las Vegas for the past 30 or more years and I sure miss the islands. I decided to build a tiki bar and lounge in my backyard and stumbled upon TC. Now I'm tiki crazy. I'm inspired by all the artists and creative bars I've seen on the site. I'm even collecting logs so I can try my hand at carving soon. I've already met some TCer's and hope to meet more. What an interesting group of peeps.

hey everybody

I've been lurking this message board for a long while now. I'm an auto tech student in So Cal with hopes of opening a Kustom Auto shop. I love this whole tiki re-revolution and how awesomely it ties into my love of hot-rod and Kustom cars. I hope to be building you folks some rides in the future...MAHALO

Hi everybody,

My name is noskos, I'm from the Netherlands, I love to travel, eat great food, barbecue, watch arthouse movies and make sip the occasional Tiki Drink.

I've been writing a barbecue blog in Dutch for almost three years now and the occasional cocktail recipe slipped in, so now I've split that up and started a Tiki Drink Blog. It's also in Dutch but you'll get the idea :)

It can be found at: http://www.tiki-den.com Still working on the layout and graphics.

[ Edited by: noskos 2010-04-06 15:52 ]

Aloha, don't know if I posted here already. If not here's my intro! :)

Aloha everyone! I could have sworn I'd had an account on here and just forgot about it, but it looks like this is my first time posting... Anyway, I tend bar, wait tables, and do pretty much everything else under the sun at Trader Vic's Scottsdale. Come on in for a drink and say hi! Tell 'em the Jester sent ya!

Aloha,

I am not a new member, but I have not posted yet. I am officially announcing The Exotica Hour Show and Podcast: http://cudraclover.podomatic.com/
If You like Exotica, Surf guitar, Crime Jazz, Lounge and more - come check out this great hour-long show!!

A hui Hou,

Cudra

[ Edited by: Cudra 2010-04-18 14:52 ]

Hey whats goin on, new to the forums, just accidentally stumbled onto the site! Glad I did, i'm in the middle of building my second Friki Tiki pontoon boat, which is essentially a floating tiki bar/lounge. Glad to be here, looking forward to finding new idea's. Names Brendan by the way, 25 years old from Nashville TN.

On 2010-04-20 13:40, FrikiTikiOnWater wrote:
Hey whats goin on, new to the forums, just accidentally stumbled onto the site! Glad I did, i'm in the middle of building my second Friki Tiki pontoon boat, which is essentially a floating tiki bar/lounge. Glad to be here, looking forward to finding new idea's. Names Brendan by the way, 25 years old from Nashville TN.

Welcome! You need to post some photos of your pontoon boats in the Tiki Boats thread:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30319&forum=5

We like to look.

Hi, I'm tiffany in Point Loma. I love tiki, and have been to tiki oasis for the past 4 years. Hope to see you there this august!

Thank you Tikis. How do I value this tiki set for sale? It has been in the family since 1954. We live on the East Coast--how do I find someone with a genuine love for Tiki to buy it here? It also includes two original lamps and a coffee table. It is in perfect condition.

On 2010-04-22 14:29, HauteHistory wrote:
Thank you Tikis. How do I value this tiki set for sale? It has been in the family since 1954. We live on the East Coast--how do I find someone with a genuine love for Tiki to buy it here? It also includes two original lamps and a coffee table. It is in perfect condition.

Why on Earth would you part with it?

There are plenty of us in New England, so you might not have to look far.

Hello everyone!!
i've been having fun looking around here so i thought i would join up..
i work at Hi-Time wine cellars so we may have already met.
See you around the forums.

Hi, we're new to the forums. I'm Sharon and my husband is John, we are from Arkansas and LOVE Tiki stuff. I just wanted to introduce ourselves. We are booked and looking forward to Tiki Oasis '10 and we hope to meet some of you there. See ya in Aug.!

Hi guys,

I just joined after finding out about Tiki Central via my fellow Seattle area Tiki/MCM friend Sophista Tiki. I'm fairly new to the world of exotica, but try to soak it up whenever I can. Already in two vintage car clubs as well as learning photography, and going back to school soon, but hope to join in more tiki fun as I have the time!

Thor/aka "Sedanman"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sedanman

YEA!

Aloha. It's finally time to step forward and admit I have a tiki addiction.

It may be genetic. My grandfather was stationed at Pearl Harbor during wartime as a Navy diver and my father has made annual trips to the Marshall Islands on business for decades, bringing home some cool handmade stuff from the islands. I met Don Ho and got to hang out with him backstage after a show while on a vacation in Honolulu during my college years. Yes, he offered me some sparkling wine (with tiny bubbles).

My wife and I have hosted an annual tiki party in the San Francisco East Bay area since the early part of this decade, and my collection of tiki-esque stuff grew over the years until I couldn't contain it any longer. We now have a full-fledged tiki room in our home, complete with masks, vintage ceramic mugs, and vintage Hawaiian LPs.

I have finally decided to embrace my inner tiki and join Tiki Central. I am sure I have way more in common with everyone here than I would care to admit, and acknowledging this I suppose is the first step toward recovery? I feel very lucky to live in an area that is home to Smuggler's Cove and Forbidden Island. Martin Cate is like the second coming of a certain beachcomber who set us off on this course ... I look forward to meeting all of you, if I haven't already during my tiki bar travels. Cheers to you all, and aloha.

GlennTiki

Hey everyone, Vince Martini here. I have been on Tiki Central, but like several on this thread, I forgot I had an account and then forgot my login info. But, I am back!

Going to Hukilau in June and I can't wait to meet some of my tiki family in Ft. Lauderdale. My buddy, Tim Moritz, lead guitarist of the incredible Reverburritos surf band will be joining me. Come find us and get a Reverburritos CD -- you won't be disappointed!

If any of you happen to be tiki bar owners, let me know. I am wanting to open my own place here and welcome tips and recommendations from everyone.

Shaken and slightly stirred - Vince Martini

Hello Everyone!

I accidentally have stumbled onto this forum on and off for a while. I thought now would be the time to join the community and embrace my love for all things tiki. I never realized how large of a community this is and glad to know that I'm not the only one! I look forward to interacting with everyone and hoping to meet new friends. I'm hoping I can make it out to Tiki Caliente or Tiki Oasis, keeping my fingers crossed!

On 2010-05-05 11:02, lilusako wrote:
Hello Everyone!

I accidentally have stumbled onto this forum on and off for a while. I thought now would be the time to join the community and embrace my love for all things tiki. I never realized how large of a community this is and glad to know that I'm not the only one! I look forward to interacting with everyone and hoping to meet new friends. I'm hoping I can make it out to Tiki Caliente or Tiki Oasis, keeping my fingers crossed!

Welcome fellow Newby-Tiki!

Aloha guys! :D its Andy here from Liverpool, UK.. bit of an unusual location for a tiki head, but i lived in NZ between the age of 9 and 10, and became fascinated with Maori and Polynesian culture.. which quite clearly, i still am :P anyway, took up carving tikis so i thought i'd also join this fab website.. i will share photos of my carvings :D i gotta say this website is host to some fantastic carvers! you guys set the bar pretty high :P.. gives me something to aspire to,
anyway.. been using chisels for all the work uptil now, but I have just invested in a makita electric chainsaw, scares the hell out of me, but thats what i hope to be using shortly for the main carving work, so fingers crossed (if i can keep them) i will get the hang of it, and be able to produce larger carvings much quicker.. :)

Howdy! I'm new here - from Portland, OR - or as we locals like to call it: "Land of the Sun"...makes the rainy winters feel 8 months shorter! I'm doing a "Call for Art" at my little art gallery for my upcoming show: "Atomic Tiki" and would love to post it here. If you know of anyone who is a rad artist and wants to show some tiki art in August, then send 'em my way, thanks! Cheers!, -Joe

Hi everyone, my name is Kai Akea, and I use the handle koahi automated tikis, as that is a company I recently started which deals in the automation of fire features such as tiki torches, fire pits, fire bowls, and any other type of decorative fire features out there. I live on the Big island of Hawaii, in a small town called Waimea, where the cattle are grass-fed and delicious, the wet and dry sides differ by as much as 80 inches of rain a year, and the number of ranches outnumber the number of gas stations. I love the Hawaiian style of living, and tiki culture fascinates me! Glad to be a part of this site, thanks!!

Thank you for adding me to your fantastiki site , Love all things Polynesian art , food and all.
What an awesome place to explore ,
Thank you.

Hi everyone! My name is Brad, but some call me Jones. I live in Sarasota, FL and I have always loved the tiki/Polynesian style. I never was really able to make anything tiki, but I've recently moved into a house with a garage and a large lanai, and hope to start carving tiki soon! I have been reading the site for the past few days, and although I know there is a TON of stuff I haven't read, but from what I have read and seen you guys and gals are extremely dedicated and also extremely talented to this lifestyle! Thank you for all the inspiration, and I hope to hang out around here for a long time!

Aloha!
I have been lurking around this site for quite awhile. my name is Brad and i live in the Dallas TX area.
I have been collecting tiki's,mugs and othe tropical things with the hope of setting up a tiki bar soon.
I love to check out all the art and bar pics posted here. I started going to estate sales recently and have found some cool music along with tikis and other things. i hope to post some pics of a tiki bar soon.
Mahalo!!

Hello Tiki Central members.
My name is Gerty and I'm from the capital of Estonia; Tallinn.(A rather small country in Northern Europe).
Photographer, designer, a Tiki aficionado =)

A scarce selection:
http://visualnoise.deviantart.com/

Gerty