Wall of Tiki

Had a nice visit from Duke Carter over the weekend. His impending arrival provided enough motivation for me to finally start unboxing the mugs I have been saying for years that I was "going to do tommorow"

Anyway, still not done, and probably going to run out of space- as all items tiki are being confined to one room in the new house.. but in any case, here's a shot of the under construction Wall of Tiki:

Here's another shelf into which I have started unpacking
S&P's. I think I'm going to build some kind of bleacher system for the shelf to display them:

And here is some of the waiting list for shelf space. These mugs are behind the red rope until all boxes are unpacked and the VIP's have found their homes. Many of these mugs may end up in limbo, since I have just about maxed the space at this point.

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-08 07:11 ]

Ahhh, now THAT is a tiki collection. It is about time you rescued those TIKI from the box. Very nice!

Holy $#@^@&.

I need to come over and see your collection some day, it's amazing. I'm embarrassed to call mine a collection now.

It makes my heart yearn! I LOVE the Moai that's black with the blue top rim. Incredible. Yes, now you are going to have more visitors as they pass through to the Mai Kai. That's just stunning.

OH MY F-ING GAWD!!!

will you adopt me? :)

Now, that's what I'm 'talkin about! And all vintage, too...the only way to go.

Is that a tiki bicycle seat on your floor?

Very impressive indeed. Hope they're all putty'd to the shelf.

dam i neva see noting! whats wrong wit da computa! no pics?

where did you get the thach on the walls? I've been looking all over for some.

Holy $#%8 is right!!!! I've never seen anything like it. How long have you been collecting?

Scotty

Wow! Now I understand why there's nothing to find out there anyomre! The man is on a mission! Outstanding!

Fatuhiva, beautiful collection. How long have you been collecting?

And what's the info on that amazing blue decanter (?) and glasses set? (In the middle of the third shelf on the bottom)

Minty mint vintage boxed stuff always impresses me, too....Again, nice hunting.

Oh Sweet Jesus...

Aaaaah.....a toast to the born again Tikis!
Glad that Florida is earthquake-free.

Thanks for the compliments everyone :)

I have been collecting tikis for about 10 years now. It all started when I met my wife and she had this really nice thatched "hut" rattan shelf hanging on the wall in her room. On this shelf were some tiki mugs and I walked over and said "wow these are neat tikis!" She had a few cool items like a small Toby head, the Bumatay style JPco mug (BOT pg250) and the one that started her collection, a matte-black moai from The Tikis (I still have that mug in the collection- the poor guy is full of hairlines and dripping with candlewax) To impress her, I would look for mugs to fill out her shelf when we would go thrifting together. After we started dating, we decided to try our hand at being vintage dealers and picked at garage sales/fleas/estate sales religously all day, every weekend, for years. This was way before Ebay, and also when mugs were usually 25c to $1 anywhere you went. There were a few retro/antique dealers around town who would mark the tikis they found up to a whopping $3 or $4 and I would always buy them to save myself some legwork.

Then my wife got a job that required alot of travelling and I often went along with her to pick other towns. Found alot of good stuff that way.

Finally Ebay came along and luckily I found out about it pretty early. Duke and I were having a good time recounting stories about the infancy of Ebay- for quite awhile, he was about the only other person on there that I recall specifically buying tikis on a regular basis. We used to get in bidding wars and rack the rare mugs up to gasp 8 to 10 bucks! Back then, if you typed in "Tiki" on Ebay, you'd get about 13 entries- we remember it took a few days sometimes for anything new to get posted, and then we'd both be salivating.

He was cracking me up with this story about how he thought I was f*#%ing insane the day I ran a mug up to $20. HAHA oh the good old days. Duke and I did some trading after awhile, and I finally got to meet him years later just this last weekend.. it was a really fun time (His book TikiQuest is excellent by the way.. if you don't have it, definitely pick it up.)

Of course, it wasn't long until Ebay became a household word, the tiki stuff started to really sprout up, and so did the prices. I still see things I've never seen before, and I know now I will never have anywhere near a "complete" collection. I also on occasion still bust out the checkbook for things I really like, but thankfully, it's not too often anymore.

So I would say 1/2 the collection was found in the "wild" (Duke has kept a much more impressive record on this regard), 3/8's was gathered during the early ebay "freeforall" years, and the rest were picked up during the mania we have all come to love hehehe. I still do pick up a tiki in the wild every once in a while, although I don't get out picking as much as I should these days.

To answer the questions, that's not a bike seat, its a tiki-lamp laying on it's side. The blue tiki set is un-named set that had little mini shots similar in size to the westwood jiggers, and the big one is a decanter. I also had a lamp made from one of those decanters, but I gave it to the little girl next door who is doing her room in a tropical theme, and wanted a tiki. You can still find this set on Ebay from time to time, and its not too uncommon in the field.

The thatching I got from ACE thatch in Central Florida, and also some from Safari Thatch in Ft. Lauderdale, which is where the split-bamboo trimming will come from. If I were on the west coast I would probably use Oceanic Arts. ACE Thatch will UPS rolls to your house- I did that recently to save myself a 5 hour roundtrip drive to their place in BFE, Florida.

Lastly, no need for earthquake putty here, except for wobbly uneven bottoms. Just hurricanes- so if you see a Cat 5 rumble through Melbourne Beach, observe a moment of silence for all the mugs laid to waste :)

I am however considering mounting plexiglass in front of the shelves so I won't have to cringe when the tikiroom gets crowded during a party, our new boy starts walking, grabbing and throwing, or a bunch of kids come over for Shirley Temples :)

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-08 18:46 ]

Damn that's full-frontal!

Yr "Waiting list" collection photo is about 5 times the size of my regular collection.

Nice work!

hey sven! Good to see you- I fixed that problem, btw.

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-08 19:37 ]

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-06 19:08 ]

Er, when you say "in limbo", do you really mean "in emspace's collection cuz he's such a swell guy"?

Maybe?

byooteeful,
em.

I am however considering mounting "plexiglass" in front of the shelves so I won't have to cringe when the tikiroom gets crowded during a party, our new boy starts walking, grabbing and throwing,

Trust me on this. USE LEXON!!!

p.s. Awesome collection!

Is lexon the "no-glare" stuff? I remember when i worked an at art gallery we had some really nice plexi material that wasn't reflective.

Where do you get that stuff?

Glare or no glare. LEXON! Kids can't break it, yet.

You are a sick puppy and need help immediately! You should seek out counsel for your addiction, this...this obsessive compulsive behavior. You should go cold turkey and purge yourself of the poisonous fruits of your insanity! Put all these vile trinkets and nick-nacks back in the boxes and send them to 1608 Von Phister St. Key West, FL 33040 where we can deposed of them properly. You feel so much better when you do.... :lol: :D

Oh sweet Jesus! I thought my tiki mug collecting was getting out of control with about 70 mugs, but you, you take the cake! I'm sooooo jealous!

Great story. Every 6-12 months on Ebay you think it's peaked and it hasn't. You think back to when it was cheap and you were rather lax about it and didn't buy much... Oh the days!

Just gotta join BK and I and haunt the South Eastern shops...

LEXON! Kids can't break it, yet.

HA! Spoken like a true parent. Yet...har!

LEXAN can be bought through any (respectible)sign shop if you are willign to pay for the mark-up. You can try Reece Supply Or N. Glantz & Sons.
I'm in the sign industry so I can tell you they have the cheapest prices (atleast in my area). Your best bet would be N. Glantz. They don't have any in FL, but can ship it to you. But I would do an internet search for local sign suppliers in Florida.

Mo-Holler.

• Unkle John: -one man aspiring to be everyone’s favorite unkle.
  http://www.unklejohn.com

[ Edited by: unkle john on 2003-12-10 07:36 ]

To paraphrase the comic book guy on the Simpsons, "Best Tiki Wall Ever."

How do ya ever decide which mug to have a drink from?

I have to say, I'm impressed and very jealous.

"Mom always said - don't play ball in the house"
–Bobby Brady

Thanks for the lexon info.

I just wanted to add that most of the mugs were found in Arizona, not Florida. By the time I got to FL I was dragging boxes around with me.

Yes I know now that I suffer greatly from obsessive tendencies. I have gone through several stages during the building of this wall of insanity.

At first I would look at the very small collection and feel inspired to build it.

Then it got to the point of filling up a bookcase and I was very proud of the results of my hard work and persistence. I would look at my collection whenever I was down and cheer myself up by seeing what I could achieve if I put my mind to something and stuck with it.

This feeling continued as the collection got bigger but then I started feeling a little weird about it.. like it was taking over.

Then my wife started losing interest in it basically because it had become a bit of a nuisance for her, as it was at times alot of cluttery mess, until I found places to put new mugs.

Then we moved into a new place and I had to PACK IT ALL.

At that time, I had doubles and doubles and extras and extras and ... blah blah
It was all totally unorganized and mixed up.
I decided that since in a year or two we were moving across the country to Florida I would box it all up, wrapping each in Bubblewrap to survive the trip, and keep a logbook of what was in each box. I lettered each 3'x3'x3' box A, B, C, D, etc etc

It took three F'in weeks to box them all. By that time I was pretty angry at myself.. I felt I had really gone overboard. I was SO SICK of boxing these mugs, and being so ANAL about it at the same time- glueing every hairline crack I came across. Duh. I still had to pack up the real furnishings to make the move.

My wife just watched and shook her head.

So we get to the new place and I fill up the whole one-car garage with these boxes. I had blown out the alphabet and was marking boxes ZZ, XX, etc

So there the boxes sat. I unpacked about 4 of them to decorate the current place, which we stayed in for about 2 years. I ebayed off much of the extras to thin things down a little- but my issues were not over. I would see NEW UNACQUIRED mugs on Ebay and had to have them! I would get them, open the box, look at them, and then log them in the book and pack them in another box since we were going to move again.

My wife would barely see these mugs go by. She still thought I was insane.

Then we had to move across the country. I handed these boxes over to moving men. Like 35 giant boxes all obssesively marked "fragile" 10,000 times. duh. The tikis had become my albatross.

So we move into our Florida rental. There the boxes sat in a bedroom stacked to the ceiling filling it solid. They sat there for almost 3 years. Again new boxes were packed and added to the mess as my urges continued.

During these years I also attempted some trading. However, since I had opened and repacked boxes a few times in different homes, I had lost track of what mug was where. There were a few times I owed a guy a certain mug, and I'd have to unpack and repack like 12 boxes to find it. Again, duh.

So finally, we buy a lot in Florida and get ready to build a house. I have the plans all worked up, have the measurements made, know what shelving I'm getting, and make calculations/guesses as to if I can cram all this stuff in one room. I'd hate to part with anything... after all the trouble. I have to admit I had a pretty good mental image of what it would take after all this time.

So finally, the house is built, we move into a permanent location and the boxes are dumped in the dining room.

At this point I've moved these cursed boxes like 3 times over many years. The tikis are no longer a positive source in my mind- they are a reminder of how obssesive-compulsive I am. (I later told Duke that these tikis are to me like the scene in The Shining were they find the stack of typing paper with "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" written over and over and OVER. Duke laughs.. I sorta laugh.. heh.. heh..)

I slowly put the thatching up and just kinda procrastinate for a whole year. There's alot to do in a new house- landscaping, painting etc etc.. So I distracted myself from tikis.

Finally, after a year, I start cracking the boxes open. To my surprise, my wife is really excited. She sits on a chair and oohs and ahhs as I unfold the bubblewrap from each mug. She even recounts stories of where we found each one, and how excited she was to find this one, or show me that one. I ask her why she's excited- that I thought she wasnt interested in tikis all that much anymore. She says she only likes tikis when they are in the proper environment and people can come over and enjoy them and that now finally they will be in their rightful place and she can't wait to see them... go figure!

So at first unpacking, I was getting that feeling of "you've got a problem dude" but now, I'm excited about them again. I'm probably going to have to thin the collection down a bit due to space constraints, but I will be very happy when they are all unpacked, put in place and sealed in.. the thatch, bamboo and artwork on the walls, the flickering lighting going, and the Arthur Lyman floating around the air.. then I can sit back and once again get that good ol' tiki vibe.. I'm glad I've got issues after all.

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-10 01:47 ]

Warning Sign:

be very afraid if you ever see anything like this.. proceed with caution :)

When Shelley and I moved from Nevada, we had many Tiki boxes too. Our friends commented a little sarcastically on all the Tiki boxes. I had a flash back when we moved Poly Pop this summer. His Brother-in-Law told him he "Needed Help". I've actually been looking forward to see the photos of your new space. I know how much work goes into moving, painting etc. The place looks cool. I like the Bat Flowers outside too. Good job!!!
Mahalo,
Al

[ Edited by: Alnshely on 2003-12-10 04:22 ]

On 2003-12-10 04:21, Alnshely wrote:
When Shelley and I moved from Nevada, we had many Tiki boxes too. Our friends commented a little sarcastically on all the Tiki boxes. I had a flash back when we moved Poly Pop this summer. His Brother-in-Law told him he "Needed Help".

Fatuhiva,
I know the feeling. Like you, I stored all my mugs in boxes and indexed them for years - while continuing to collect. I did the exact same thing packing them away as soon as I got them because I simply didn't have the space to put them out.

I don't have as many mugs as you but I've got somewhere around 400 now. When I moved to my new house it was exactly the same - boxes upon boxes marked FRAGILE. Fortunately, I had about 8 Hoity Toity's helping so I knew my mugs were in good hands. And like you, once I got to the new house I put all my mugs and tikis in the single car garage because its the only space I have that can hold them all.

We just moved in around July/August so right now, I'm still trying to get unpacked, organized and settled. Once I get my Tiki space ready, I'm going to get to start opening those boxes -- after YEARS of not having opened some of them!

I told Al, I've forgotten some of the stuff I have - literally. At least it will be fun to go through it all.

You've got a very impressive collection. Believe it or not, I still have pics from the first time you posted your collection on TC when it was still on Yahoo (yup, I saved them to my hard drive).

Have fun putting up your room and make sure to post pics of the whole thing once its done. I'm dying to see it all!!

PolynesianPop wrote:
..Believe it or not, I still have pics from the first time you posted your collection on TC when it was still on Yahoo (yup, I saved them to my hard drive)...

So you're not satisfied with collecting 400+ mugs? You've got to collect pictures of mugs too!? Holy Moly!

Hahahaha great- then I'm not alone!

I collect pictures of mugs on my drive too- of all the stuff I got outbid on or couldnt bid on, or belonged to someone else etc. Duke said he does the same thing. Kindof like a "wish list."

Ah the batflower- one of my favorites. If only that thing bloomed more than once or twice a year!

Speaking of blooms- the Heliconia Stricta Iris just decided to bust a move now that it got cold outside:

Yeah, I still have post-traumatic stress syndrom from when me and Suicide Sam were in the U-Haul moving van unloading box after freakin' box of Pop's mugs.

We felt like prisoners tunneling out. We kept praying the behind the next wall of boxes we's see the front of the van. Nope.

But, all was forgiven/forgotten when he handed us a frozen blue OtterPop (hey, life's cheap).

I see one of the boxes marked Westwood set. Is that the set in the Book of Tiki pg.183. Knowing your collection it probably is. I'm ashamed to say I have a tiki collection.

yep thats what it is. You can see it in the first pic of the wall.

Definitely don't feel down about having a reasonably sized tiki collection. You'll be very glad you do next time you move! I feel like the freegin Smithsonian over here

Damnit!

Not to scare you Fatu, but check this out:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6635&forum=6&3

yeah i saw it on the news- It doesnt really concern me that much, especially since the shelves will be faced with plexiglass eventually and they are already bolted to the wall..

but i was thinkin "huh?" when i saw that.

"Major earthquakes are unknown in Florida, and minor earthquakes are not
common, but they do occur. The two largest earthquakes recorded in Florida,
according to the US Geological Survey database, occurred in 1780 and 1879.
Both measured VI on the modified Mercalli scale (used before the invention
of the Richter scale). The Mercalli scale is based on human reactions and
property damage; VI corresponds to "felt by all, many frightened and run
out of doors." So you see, these are not major earthquakes. "

from http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec98/913839530.Es.r.html

I now know why everytime I go back home to Florida, I can barely find a thing...THE ENTIRETY OF THE NATURAL POPULATION OF ALL THINGS TIKI IS IN YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!

Release a few into the wild!!!

Great collection, now Ican show my wife and go;"now you see, I'm not that bad at all" AND SHE HAS TO AGREE!

TG
http://www.exotic-tiki-gardens.com

While my SHELF OF TIKI greatly pales in comparisson. Its great for a newbie like myself to see some new things for the first time.

Thank you for sharing with us!

Do you find much in Florida, Fatuhiva?

To be honest, I havent really done a ton of hunting in Florida. By the time I got here, I had a specific list of things I wanted and wasn't too optimistic I'd just happen upon one of them at the Goodwill.. the "Natural Score" odds get stacked against you as your focus narrows. Plus, I wasn't dealing vintage at the time and that's where I had accumlated many mugs- the disciplined combing of my local areas on a daily basis. I would hit every thrift, every antique shop, and as many estate sales as I could every week (in AZ) and then do it again the next. I thrifted on my lunch breaks daily.

When I got here I was a bit out of my element, I didn't know of all the little spots that it takes awhile to build up. My wife has been planning on picking up the system again now though, since she has more time since our son was born.

I have found some good mugs, though, yes. They are here.. I don't know what the abundance is compared to Arizona, I have to lean towards a bit thinner (just from my experience in Antique Malls- the "modern" in general seems less abundant and not as high quality as the west coast) but that could be a result of EBAY moving into the market, as my best AZ picking recollections mostly pre-date Ebay

But even with the very little effort I've put in out here, I have found stuff I never found in AZ. A pair of Kelvin's mugs at a garage sale. One woman had 9 Aloha Hut mugs.. I didn't get to buy them all, but they were there.

In fact I went to the RetroRama show in Gulfport today and bought 3 Blue Honolulu mugs and a few others.

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-13 20:05 ]

Fatuhiva, I'm deeply honoured to have some of my mugs in your collection. I knew of the many boxes, but this surpasses my wildest dreams. Gobsmacked, awed, speachless.