It's a glass yes, but is it a mug or a bowl? Finally a definitive answer.

Personally, I don't care which it is. I just picked up one here and there and never gave it much thought. They have a face on each side and one is a smile and the other a frown. I know these are considered very, very common especially the Polynesian Village ones but they obviously were available at retail stores at some time in the past. Maybe at candle shops. Until yesterday I had not seen the green or amber ones. This display was in the front window of a local antique shop.

So I went inside and picked up a loose green one and a boxed amber one.

In the interest of documenting the facts for those who might be interested, here's some details:
The box calls them a "decorator TIKI BOWL".
Manufactured by INDIANA GLASS CO. Subsidiary of Lancaster Colony Corporation
Dunkirk, Indiana 47336

Here's a couple of family photos showing the 2 sizes and different colors. The base on the green one is a little different because the lines are circular.
If you have other variations, please add your photos.

For some reason these seem to have been popular for college frat/sorority parties.

Any indication on the box as to when these were made? I like flowers and candle stuck into it in the photo on the box, thus lending credibility to the tiki "vase" label for many years to come. Although I have to say these things are hard to drink out of.

Well, no there isn't any date on the box so we only have the style of the box to guide us. Wouldn't you say 1970's ? If you look closely at the first photo (the shop window) you can see the four different sides of the box represented and the photos are all different because the manufacturer stuffed different things in the bowl for each shot. As for them being difficult to drink out of, I dunno but I think a straw would make it easier. I know when I'm thirsty enough, I could drink out of a bucket! :lol:

It's easy: It's a glass Tiki PLANTER/SNACK DISH/VASE/BOWL -mug! :)

...BUT! :

Judging by the fat but ornamental, overly self-conscious type face used:

....I peg this bowl to be from the 70s, just like Disney World.

This is really something for the Cruz boys at House Industries to comment on, but the fat font reminds me of the "Stop Standard" font:

(Stop Standard Font was designed by Aldo Novarese in 1970)

or "Gravity":

...dating this vessel sometime after Tiki's heyday.

I remember being served mai tais in the clear glass version of these at Martha's Steak & Seafood Restaurant in Key West circa 2006, before Martha's was closed to make way for condos. After returning home, I was able to purchase them online from a restaurant supply company in California. You can still do that at, for example, the following:

http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_403060

http://www.awesomedrinks.com/glass_tiki_mugs.html?gclid=CPnLic3u7acCFaZl7AoduiA3bA

The manufacturer, Lancaster Colony Commercial Products of Columbus, Ohio, still lists them in their product catalog:

http://lccpinc.thomasnet.com/item/glassware/barware/0407991?

This web site lists 16 oz versions of the "tiki lounge glass":

http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Glassware/Cocktails.html

It hyperlinks to another site that lists these as sold out, but includes several descriptive paragraphs under a heading "Beachcombing on Central Park South":

http://www.newyorkfirst.com/gifts/m046.html

That site goes on to state "Although Trader Vic's is gone, Tiki Culture remains alive and well, providing a bit escapism at barbeques and poolside parties. Keep the party surfin' with any number of retro spirituals like the Scorpion, Missionary's Downfall, Zombie, Blue Hawaiian, and Singapore Sling. Settle back with your 16-ounce Tiki Lounge Glass, rescued from Trader Vic's, string some tiki lights around the living room, spin some Don Ho records, and take a long, wicked sip of paradise."

I've always been surprised that this is, as far as I know, the only glass tiki mug design you can get. I would think glasses in the shape of moai or other tiki designs would be pretty popular. For one thing, you can see your drink.

Here is a "black" version of this "bowl" marked Tiki Tiki on the bottom...

PTD

I just bought one at a restaurant, filled with a sad replacement of a mai tai...

There is a red robin(crap chain) in the Denver 'burbs that use this glass for their mai tai.

gabbahey

[ Edited by: gabbahey 2011-03-29 20:31 ]

There's a restaurant in Traverse City. Michigan: Red Mesa that also uses this glass. So they are still in production.

the ones that say bowl I say Bull cause I don't think its a bowl if its taller than it is wider.

I have seen these labeled as "goblet" and "chalice" also.

I have a few in my collection and one or two behind the bar for certain drinks. One is painted, and from the looks of it, it was made that way. Besides them being used at Red Robin (as mentioned above), I have seen them in a few prints such as the El Paso Chili Company's "Rum & Tiki Cookbook". I have eaten at RR before and saw the mug/bowl/goblet on the menu, but unsure if they let you take them home. I also didn't want to spend the money on a lack-luster tasting Mai-tai as well.

Oh and the font style on the box is from the 70's:

http://indianaglass.carnivalheaven.com/id183.htm

My collection.

[ Edited by: Unkle John 2011-03-30 09:12 ]

every now and then one of these mugs turns up in opaque white. Looks kinda like milk glass....

Uncle John, those really wanna have colored light bulbs in them! :D

I've always preferred the shorter ones,
but man that black one above is bad ass.

Jeff(btd)

Sounds like you're quoting GROG' ex-girlfriend.

On 2011-03-30 16:20, bigbrotiki wrote:
Uncle John, those really wanna have colored light bulbs in them! :D

Hey, that's a good idea! LOL

That is actually something I'm working on for all of these wooden souvenir mugs I have.

Interesting; I just found the one, true use for this mug/bowl this very morning...

On 2011-03-31 07:46, Unkle John wrote:

On 2011-03-30 16:20, bigbrotiki wrote:

Uncle John, those really wanna have colored light bulbs in them! :D

Hey, that's a good idea! LOL
That is actually something I'm working on for all of these wooden souvenir mugs I have.

OK, I am officially confused: How do you light up WOODEN Tiki mugs by putting light bulbs in them?

I was so confused I decided that in order to better explain what I had in mind, I would experiment a little with MY glass mugs. As a lighting cameraman my philosophy is always that the actors and objects should look like they are glowing from the INSIDE, not like light is being thrown on them. The same goes for Tiki Lounge lighting in my mind: Everything should GLOW softly! Like the Beachcomber lamps on the ceiling.

I started with my SMALL, CLEAR Disneyworld goblet, by using a red, frosted X-mas light bulb:

Conventional lighting wisdom tells you that to get a glow, softer (frosted) light sources are better, but when I used a CLEAR amber bulb in the same clear glass:

...the harder light was refracting in the edges and corners of the molded glass much more effectively, giving me a better rendition of the outlines of the mask!

The same proved to be true for the BIG, FROSTED Disneyworld goblet. Here's a frosted, purple bulb:

...and here an amber clear bulb:

Although not as even, the facial features are clearer defined. Here is the bulb I recommend:

A 15W amber flame tip

You should be able to still get some colored TUNGSTEN light bulbs at your local hardware store.
Now the WHITE frosted and clear goblets take any color bulb, from red to blue to green or yellow, but for the green and amber colored mugs, don't use the COMPLEMENTARY color, because the two opposing colors will cancel each other out:

A red bulb in a green glass mug for example just creates a red hot spot, but makes the rest of the glass almost black in parts, instead of making it glow. I know in the photo it looks like flames, but it doesn't in real life, it just breaks up the facial features. A green, clear bulb will work much better (I didn't have one).

For all other mugs, I like using X-mas light strings for my collection -but not like this!:

This kind of X-mas lighting destroys any authentic atmosphere in a bar.

The cords have to be hidden, and the bulbs should work like foot lights on a stage:

My favorite X-mas string bulbs have these PEARL bulbs:

When not lit, they look like South Sea pearls lying around! :D

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2011-03-31 19:04 ]

Awesome Idea!!

I don't want to detract from this thread, but I'll briefly mention about the mugs. I'm thinking of getting a vanity light fixture and drilling through the bottom of the mugs with a hole saw and slipping it over the light socket. Since they are for full size bulbs I was considering colored directional LED light bulbs to shine out the top. The project doesn't have to be a vanity fixture and the fixtures can be fixed to accommodate smaller bulbs. It's an idea, I got the parts I just haven't had the time to flesh it out.

Funny thing is, I kinda like green and amber glass goblets. They remind me of when I was younger, I guess. But your idea is a great project, you should copy it over to the "Tiki on a Budget" thread.

So the wooden mugs would function as up-lights, not as lamp globes themselves, then? I like the colored glass goblets too, it's just that for this purpose the darker glass swallows a lot of light. And I wouldn't do anything fancy with the white goblets, just get a short xmas light string, lay it along the tops and drop the bulbs in there, the green cord will be relatively inconspicuous in comparison to the Ooooh! effect of the multi colored glowing head rack. :)

Yes, exactly! They would cast a light up. I have a few high shelves that would host them pretty well and it's been a dark area for me to light (my room is very small with only a few outlets). I'm working diligently to complete the room so I can post about it. It's been a work in progress for a few years, but I'm almost done.

Oh, besides using the glass goblets as cereal bowls, desert bowls would be a good idea for the shorter ones. I wonder if there is a way to take the Disney Logo off (I know, blasphemy) but I have seen a few imprinted with other text as well.

Thank you bigbrotiki for that awesome mug lighting comparison.

I bought a case of these from Wasserstrom a couple years back to use in my home bar/gift shop as the mugs-for-friends-that-are-likely-to-drop-and-break-nicer-mugs.

They definitely had the most reasonable pricing (especially after factoring in shipping & such).

I still say they are the best candle holders out there.

A new find is this one marked Gojo Japanese steak house. This place has been around since the 70's but I've never been there.