Silverlake Tiki Island

Yup, That's Witco......

[ Edited by: GROG 2013-06-02 12:43 ]

On 2013-05-31 12:54, bigbrotiki wrote:
**I would like to invite members of the Traveling Rumpus Room and other visitors to Tiki Island to post their impressions here ** :)

Sorry Sven. GROG not wreck your thread any more (unless there is something else more than ripe for Photoshopping to bring about a good chuckle) :D

Is that a promise? I am glad you were inspired, but that's a lot of work - with dubious success.

"but that's a lot of work" ----Nope. It was quick and dirty.

"with dubious success" ----- That's because it was quick and dirty.

We really need to get Ernie laid & I am not talking about those "Hawaiian leis" ether...

Holy carp.

The tiki on the cover of the Book of Tiki. Was it carved before the book, or after?

The BOT Tiki is a figment of cover artist Moritz R's imagination and this little fella was carved for me years later as s gift.

On 2013-06-02 15:30, GROG wrote:
"with dubious success" ----- That's because it was quick and dirty.

I guess that's where Facebook has its advantages, being that A.) not any clown can come along and mess with your work, and B.) if they do, you can delete it.

Good luck on your projects, to be sure. I'm about to be interviewed for a piece that will be on Spiegel News. Perhaps you'll catch it while you're over there!

Great photos of your pad! What a Tiki museum it is. Thanks for posting them. But it must be a bitch dusting your place. :wink:

We'll miss seeing you at Hukilau this week...

On 2013-06-03 10:01, Hale Tiki wrote:
Good luck on your projects, to be sure. I'm about to be interviewed for a piece that will be on Spiegel News. Perhaps you'll catch it while you're over there!

What is the subject of the interview? Is it gonna be in the mag, on TV, or online only?
Tell them that it is a real shame that they had to take down their original 1969 Werner Panton cafeteria when they moved headquarters 2 years ago :( :

http://derstandard.at/1315005488207/Museumsreif-Der-Spiegel-zieht-um-und-mit-ihm-die-legendaere-Panton-Kantine

Werner Panton cafeteria Very Cool!!

On 2013-05-29 13:57, bigbrotiki wrote:
I like lamps, as evidenced by this exterior shot of my house where you can see the front porch:

What a great shot this is.
Love the lights!
Many tiki bars don't have many lights, But
your place just glows.
I guess I should start to hang some of mine.
How many lights do you have Sven?
Ever count em.

TIKISKIP: Maker of TIKI bar lighting, Let me make one for you.

On 2013-06-03 10:44, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2013-06-03 10:01, Hale Tiki wrote:
Good luck on your projects, to be sure. I'm about to be interviewed for a piece that will be on Spiegel News. Perhaps you'll catch it while you're over there!

What is the subject of the interview? Is it gonna be in the mag, on TV, or online only?
Tell them that it is a real shame that they had to take down their original 1969 Werner Panton cafeteria when they moved headquarters 2 years ago :( :

http://derstandard.at/1315005488207/Museumsreif-Der-Spiegel-zieht-um-und-mit-ihm-die-legendaere-Panton-Kantine

Excuse me while I wipe the drool from lip. It's for the TV. There's some time constraints as they're shooting today, the crew showed up very late, so we'll see what happens.

Awesome home Sven...layer upon layer of amazing. I have loved the home ever since I spied it way back in '08 in Atomic Ranch Magazine. Great abode. OGR

"Smokey Links"
Nuff said!!!
Good times at the chateau by Sven!

Sven's place can make you head spin, there are so many amazing things to see in every square foot! Here's some photos I snapped with my phone last Traveling Rumpus:

Thank you Eric for those cool artsy "texture" photos, almost psychedelic depictions of the mood at Silverlake Island.

Here's a little history on some of the lamps around the house:

Resin flower lamps like this...

...were used in the Tropics Motel lounges and at Tiki apartment buildings:

The two floats here are from Kelbo's, and the rattan basket lamp I got from Exotical:

...this type of lamp was used in many Tiki temples:

And this ol' chunky resin lamp:

....once hung at The Tikis in Monterey Park, CA:

One more photo of some of the illustrious guests at my house:

For being interviewed for "Plastic Paradise", on my front porch are Kevin Kidney, Otto, me, and Josh Agle
(all the guys that are missing in that shot of Tiki Greats on my Witco couch on page 2 of this thread :) )

And for further historic goings on in my bedroom (drum roll!), here is the rinky dink set up...

...which yielded this famous tome's cover :D :

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-06-17 19:35 ]

Love the photos from Eric and the fact that you can tie your existing lamps and furnishings directly to historic photos showing the objects just blows my mind. That is the kind of history I love. It makes the items in your home more than just a collection, it has history and life.

Not everyone can look at a book cover and say "Hey, that was taken in my bedroom." Fun!

Thanks for sharing photos of your collection and home.

• Dale

Some pics I took during my visit in November 2011:

Those are some great shots Big Kahuna. :D

Now here's one of my favorite vintage Tiki lounge lamps, a classic 3 resin float bamboo fish trap light! It is so big and my ceiling so low, I had to hang it in a spot by the entrance door where most people miss it:

It still has its original plastic vine and a decrepit Toucan on the edge. I found it in a Pasadena store in the 90s.

You're right, Sven. I definitely missed that one. What a killer lamp!

Well, ya just gotta drop by again! :wink:

On 2013-06-16 14:08, bigbrotiki wrote:
Now here's one of my favorite vintage Tiki lounge lamps, a classic 3 resin float bamboo fish trap light! It is so big and my ceiling so low, I had to hang it in a spot by the entrance door where most people miss it:

It still has its original plastic vine and a decrepit Toucan on the edge. I found it in a Pasadena store in the 90s.

Wow Sven!!! That Fish trap lamp is cool. :D

There's just so much cool stuff to look at. I could spend days there, just looking.

Thanks for more photos. I loved seeing the behind the scenes stuff for Remixed. Did you do the sculpts for the tiki tourists? Or are they just clever hodgepodges?

Bosko, as an old friend of Jeff's and an artist who has done many diorama pieces, fabricated all the sculpts and environments for Beachbum Berry's book covers. The miniature Beachbum Berry mug he did for Taboo Table of his own mug design is one my faves. I just light and photograph them, I did that for three of the four covers.

Addendum: The fantastic Labor-of-love intensive dioramas INSIDE Jeff's "Remixed", I have to add, are sculpted, assembled and lit by another true lover of Tiki, the talented Cass of Oceatica!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-06-17 20:17 ]

Epic! love the vibe and story telling

Well, if you're gonna twist my arm!

On 2013-06-16 19:36, bigbrotiki wrote:
Well, ya just gotta drop by again! :wink:

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2013-06-17 14:52 ]

On 2013-06-17 11:32, bigbrotiki wrote:
Bosko, as an old friend of Jeff's and an artist who has done many diorama pieces, fabricated all the sculpts and environments for Beachbum Berry's book covers. The miniature Beachbum Berry mug he did for Taboo Table of his own mug design is one my faves. I just light and photograph them, I did that for three of the four covers.

Addendum: The fantastic Labor-of-love intensive dioramas INSIDE Jeff's "Remixed", I have to add, are sculpted, assembled and lit by another true lover of Tiki, the talented Cass of Oceatica!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-06-17 20:17 ]

Yeah, I've seen Cass' behind the scenes of the shoots, and sculpts. He's a great guy, and I keep bugging the hell out of him to make mugs again, but he's a busy busy man.

Thanks for sharing a look inside you home Sven. Looks like the perfect spot to escape from the worries of the outside world. Relax, recharge and imbibe. Just amazing.Thanks agian.

Thanks Trav, did you see the Vimeo video on page 1 ? :)

While still on the subject of my lamp collection, here is another one of my faves (which I have shown somewhere else here before):
The beachcomber jug lamp I bought at O.A. in the 90s:

The bottom of the bottle was cut out, and the inside sprayed matte, to hide the bare bulb and make the bottle glow. The drift wood on top got some clear adhesive on it, and got sand thrown on it, for that fresh beachcombed look. Those are the loving details I appreciate!

The only concept cooler than that was O.A.'s "Nautical sea life" version, in a non-matte bottle:

The only examples of this cool concept I have seen in situ were at the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, now gone.

Sven I love those lamps, and now I need to make one.

Thank you so much for posting them.

It's so well done, and retains the light-colored ceilings. Kudos!

Better late then never:

Just enjoying this thread again... it's Friday, I've got a cocktail...

Ground Zero. :D

Sven, while watching your video I noticed your gope board @ the 1.22 mark. It reminds me of the one I have.. What is the story behind yours? And can you give me an idea as to where mine could be from?

Among the many things I envy in the remarkable treasure-chest that Sven calls "home" are his drool-worthy collection of Witco -- of which I own precisely none -- and his delightful collection of Spanish tiki mugs -- of which I own precisely ONE, due only to Sven's warm generosity. (It was an unexpected gift.) But good luck trying to find any of those babies on eBay!