Kahaka's Tiki Lamps

Blue lights.
Who could that be?
They always want the colors you don't have on hand.

Nice lights.

Hey, maybe that person has a special vision or they like blue or maybe just maybe you're being challenged to stay outside the world of browns....... or maybe they just like it all to match....lol

Either way Woody those are great lamps! And I am sure they will be making a huge statemenet!

Amy

[ Edited by: Queen Kamehameha 2011-03-30 16:16 ]

Haha Amy... I was wondering if you'd chime in. I dig the blue... Skip's lamps look great in blue. Looking forward to seing pics of this mysterious project you've got going!

"Hey, maybe that person has a special vision"

More like Wonka vision, Or your being possessed by
Walt Disney.
Just wish I could see them all up.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2011-04-01 05:20 ]

On 2011-03-31 05:01, tikiskip wrote:
"Hey, maybe that person has a special vision"

More like Wonka vision, Or your being possessed by
Walt Disney.
Just wish I could see them all up.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2011-04-01 05:20 ]

You may be right.... Can you believe Ray asked me what my next project was...I almost shot him!... I will post pics of the bar soon, it is truly the best Bar so far. Ben, Tiki Ray, Me finished it up yesterday, just the small details this week, like outlets for all the lights. Alot of new designs and an amazing diorama by Mad Dog Mike...

I definitely like the blue elements. From a design standpoint, what base color's do you think of when picturing a tropical South sea island? Browns/black(volcanic rock), various greens and ocean blue. I really like the way the blue/green sea glass makes me think of that clear blue water that surrounds the islands of the South Pacific without being overwhelming. It also can give your room a nice subtle blueish 'magic-hour' evening glow.

I think those lamps are insanely beautiful.
Great work.

"Can you believe Ray asked me what my next project was"
Oh I'm sure there will be many more projects in your life.
You are like a shark you gotta keep moving, amnd what a great thing you
get to look back and say I made that, If not for me that would not be.
The world needs more people like that.

Yeah blue is cool but it's hard to find the blue glass.
Then when you do it's such a faded light blue not a cool
blue.
I'm sure Kahaka will tell you this as well we can make any color
you want it's just a time thing.
Just gotta wait to find the right parts.

Thank all, and thanks Amy for the opportunity to be a part of your awesome vision!!

Skip, the pieces of glass that I use are already colored... removes a step for me from the building process. I used a blue bulb inside the lamp which makes the blue glass glow with a nice brilliant aqua blue color.

Here's one I finished last week for a customer that wanted a turtle carving that he picked up in Maui adapted into the bottom of a lamp. More blue seaglass at work here.

I agree with pupu. The blue gives off a majestic vibe that would be nice to chill in with some equally majestic blue or purple "drank"

[ Edited by: gold zephyr 2011-05-02 19:27 ]

Wow! Beautiful as always! I'm a huge fan! :D

Aloha!

Here are some lamps I've done so far this summer. My wife has been helping me with the paint work on some of the wooden side pieces. It helps to have a helper!

Cheers,
Woody

That blue turtle lamp is awesome!! Really nice job on creating an ocean vibe on that lamp. You've got a ton of lamps done already!!! You're unstoppable!!!!

love looking at your thread!

Thank you, Los Dudes!!

Here is the current batch that's boxed and bound for the Bahamas. I've seen more of the basement than the surface of level of my house this summer.

you are like the lebron james of lamp making!

great stuff !! ket me know when you have a surplus of lamps available for sale... I may need to pick up one or 2.

Holy smokes that's an awesome picture Woody!

Aloha!

Here's a new one I made a couple weeks ago. It was nice to have some time to do something new... I did a spree of lamps for friends and customers that were replicas of stuff I've done before, which was motivation to see something different through after those were done.

Quality of these pics is not so good, but the idea is there:

Cheers!
Woody

That lamp looks very cool, thanks for sharing!

Thanks MikeyTiki!

Hey Kahaka, you used my favorite sea shell. I use them when I add dozens of shells to spruce up old lamps.

I think my fix is pretty while your lamp is deadly gorgeous. That's one of the most interesting lamps I've ever seen. Very cool, Wendy

Very cool lamp, Wendy! I dig those kitchy old lamps... looks like that one might have been from just over the hill from us in Santa Cruz.

I like the turretella shells a lot too! You're praying that the lamp doesn't fall when you're sitting underneath it. Haha. There was an old Orchids of Hawaii lamp that used similar shells resinned into the bottom. Always thought they kinda looked like stalactites.

Exactly. I once had a meeting in a small room. Due to crowding I sat under a Nuclear Medicine camera. I forgot and stood up and almost knocked myself out. I thought of that when I saw your lamp but I didn't want to say it. It's beautiful but I wouldn't want one of those shells stuck in my head.

We love Santa Cruz and hope to go there in March. Take care, Wendy

Love the hat trick you did on the bottom!!

Wendy- Ouch! I'm by no means a fan of a head bump (I seem to slam my noggin' often when I'm lamping... low ceiling in my basement with plenty of plumbing to watch out for). Luckily this lamp is well above the patrons' heads at Notch's shop tiki bar here in San Jose. He has nice tall ceilings in there. :)

Tikiskip- Good eye! The hat on the bottom had a dome shape to it that didn't look right, so I cut it off. Attached the inside frame to the outer bottom with the shells and seaglass, sandwiching the hat in between the two.

Hi Kahaka, we love Notch and his tiki bar. Someday in the future we will see your terrific lamp up close. Cheers, Wendy

Hey man your lamps are awesome!!!! do you have an etsy account or website to look at pricing and to see current stock?

Hi Walt... Thanks for the compliment! The yellow link in my signature will take you to my Flickr page with examples of stuff I've done (don't think any of them are priced, though). You can email me at [email protected] or PM me and we
can go from there.

I'm super excited to get back to working on lamps in my new garage. It's amazing how much easier the work can be when you have enough space to be organized. The days of working in a quarter basement with 5 1/2' ceilings are over!

Here are some I've made in the last 2 weeks; a couple replicas of stuff I've done in the past. I had to recreate the cage piece in the first pic from scratch. On the first "Tonga Drum" I made of this style, a friend of mine had found a rattan ring cage which I incorporated into the lamp.

I have gained even more respect for Tiki Skip's work after meddling with tying this thing together. Tedious, time consuming work, but fun!

As always, Woody, your lamps are amazing!

The master is back at work!!!! The new lamps look awesome and challenging!!! Nice work
I hear you about having ample space to work and be organized. You going to tiki out your new garage workspace? I can only imagine how cool it will look with all of you lamp "stock" hanging from the ceiling!

Thanks Murphdog! Hope you're still enjoying your lamps. :)

Polynesiac... Thanks dude! I'd totally like to tiki it out at some point. I've got a few tiki knick knacks here and there (the painting in the 2nd pic is one of Little Lost Tiki's), and have been hanging the new lamps for the order I'm working on as I go. I look forward to working out there when I get the time!

Nice job on this one!!
Love how you used the rattan.
The good thing about rattan is it's lite, cheap and when tied
together very strong.

Ya Skip, I was surprised at how sturdy the ring was when I was done.

Time to get a hot tub to soak bigger pieces. Ha!

Holy crow, man! Your lamps are beautiful. Do you get tapa that's made to be backlit, or does it just work as is? I don't know anything about the process of making real tapa, but I love the way it looks.

Hi Greg... I like the float lamps you're doing. They turned out great!

The tapa I use isn't backed. I spray glue it to a fiberglass material called synskin. Here's a pic of a lamp currently in progress... the white circles you see are the syskin material, which I'll be resinning sea glass to.

Hope that helps!

Custom Tapa Swag Lamps and Sconces Built By Kahaka

[ Edited by: KAHAKA 2012-06-24 18:19 ]

Aloha Folks...

Here are some pics of my summer time lamping this far. The top 2 pics are 6 that I've completed for an order.

I've been meaning to use this woven flat piece for a while. I dig the way it looks...

Couple misc. lamps I've made recently.

Our chickens! It's been fun to have our chickens run around outside of the coop during summer vacation. They came inside the
garage while I was working today to hang out. I'm gonna train 'em to make tapa soon.

Cheers!
Woody

[ Edited by: KAHAKA 2012-07-02 22:55 ]

Lovin' those lamps man! You're really talented sir. Like the chickens too! :)

I am finally going to get some work done on my ceiling and have a couple of lamps to hang already. Will be hooking up with you when I am ready for my next lamp...love your work.

Beautiful lamps! Really incredible details. :)

But those chickens...anyone else a little creeped out by how they just STARE at you? :o

They are plotting my doom for eating chicken Mcnuggets I just know it!

Thanks clintiki... I'm still havin' fun making 'em.

VampiressRN... Looking forward to making one for ya!

tigertail777... you should see the chickens when we bbq chicken on the grill. They try to snatch the meat right out of your hands! Cannibals!

Last year around this time I posted a pic of 10 lamps headed to the Bahamas via Florida. Here's a pic of this summer's work before my wife and I just boxed them up to meet the others in the Bahamas. Kinda sad to see them go. Waaa.

Cheers,
Woody

What a master of this craft. Those are all works of art. They are very beautiful. Having a photo to look at helps after they have left your care. On to the next one, Wendy

Thanks Wendy... always appreciate comments like that from a Master like yourself!! Great to meet you at Tiki Oasis!

Here's a pic of a couple of my lamps (and my wife) in Notch's new Aku Bar at Tiki Oasis. Thanks to all that stopped by the booth and picked up a lamp! Met lots of really nice folks and had waaaaaaay too much fun. You can also substitute "fun" with "rum" in that last sentence.

Can't wait til next year already.

MAHALO!
Woody

Thanks for posting, inspiring as usual. For moment I thought you said the chickens would be turned into tapa!

"I thought you said the chickens would be turned into tapa!"

Tapas yes, tapa no.
Lights looking good.

Thanks fellers. If the chickens don't start laying eggs, they might just end up as tapas (I kid).

Here's a design I reworked for a trade with Monkeyman. This one's a little shorter than the orginal, and the resin center is a little wider too. I'll post pics of Monkeyman's lamp here when I receive it because it is ridculously awesome. FedEx says it should be here tomorrow. Woohoo!!

Check out Monkeyman's South Pacific room here:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35684&forum=20&start=135&148

so freakin cool...

Thanks again.