Tiki Trash

Give our Tiki Trash hats a look-see...
Quality embroidered patch on a nice fittin' mesh hat...

http://www.clunkerstore.com/hats/tiki/tiki-brown.html

Thank ya kindly,
Russ

Hi Gustw,
Pardon me for asking, but is "Tiki Trash" a derivative of the popular slang "White Trash"?
Just wonderin,
Unga

Yup... it's a play off of that. Take a look at the hat, and you'll see what it's about (Easter Island-like Tiki wearin' a trucker hat and smoking a cigarette). It's kinda a trashy homage to Shag.

--Russ

Right.

I have said it before...WTF?

I'm assuming you don't mean "White Trash Fun"... so ... what are you saying?

--Russ

DawnTiki & Unga Bunga:
I find that to be quite amusing. I expect there is going to generate a great deal of discussion and gnashing of teeth, though.

That little item starkly points out something about Tiki culture that I haven't seen admitted on the board. Ok, here it is --there are two "Tiki cultures", the original source, and the transplanted re-interpertation. Tiki, as adopted in the U.S. in the 50's - 70's is NOT "high" culture.

Granted, you can't say that about Tiki in it's original context, but TRANSPLANTED Tiki always get lumped in there with lounge / googie / spaceage / lowbrow, and for a reason. It's a recreational escape.

[ Edited by: Philot on 2004-01-20 07:49 ]

[ Edited by: Philot on 2004-01-20 07:51 ]

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6786&forum=5&4

Philot, I think the issue weather or not Tiki is kitchy or lowbrow or whatever :roll: (does it really matter) has been brought up on Tiki Central pllllenty. I just think the hat is stupid. But that's only my opinion. Plus, I just love it when someone joins to sell their crap on TC. Hmmmm, I guess I woke up a little cranky today. WTF?

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-01-20 09:20 ]

Actually, what I was pointing out was that there were TWO Tiki cultures, and that stuff like "Tiki Trash" fits in quite well with the later one.

But then, someone just joining the board to hawk their wares is just cashing in on a fad. (Which, once again, fits in well with the TRANSPLANTED Tiki theme. Aiiigh! It's all so post-modern!)

Actually, I consider the high/low culture thing to be a false distinction. There is a difference between the two, but it's more in the use things are put to, not some classist hooey.

[ Edited by: Philot on 2004-01-20 08:23 ]

Oh I have lots to say on this matter, but jeez, how scholarly can I make myself sound, so that the forum thinks I'm a tiki historian?

PUH-leezz... you must have tikis in your house made essentially in a sweat shop... oh, but I'm sure you've picketed Pier 1 and Cost Plus... somehow you think that how you've adopted another culture is acceptable because you take yourself so seriously...

And Shag? His latest painting is of a woman and cat sippin' out of a a frickin' 15ft tiki mug? Is that serious? Is he disgracing the polynesian past with his silly portrayal? How is that so different from our stupid little silly hat?

Are you gonna kick me off now miss moderator? Was I so offbase to offer my hats for sale here?

You don't like the design, fine, but all this "holier than thou" tiki talk is ridiculous...

No, you weren't off base. Dawn just didn't like the design. If you're so worried about pleasing 1 person, come up with a design that pleases her. It'll probably piss off someone else, but why worry? You'll probably come up with yet another & so on...

You had 1 person not like 1 design, do you know how much Shag gets slammed on this board? Look through some of the accumulated acretia of this board & you'll see almost everyone gets slammed, flamed or trolled @ 1 point or another.

Since when is "WTF" a scholarly term? You might have been addressing Philot, I couldn't tell. Speaking just for myself here...I like it when people contribute to the boards before they ask us to buy something. I don't know why, that's just me. Freddie was right, I just don't like the hat.

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-01-20 08:59 ]

Man, just think if I'd made a derogatory statement about the hat, Hanford would get an PM immediately from the likes of a certain Mr TC (or so I hear!).

My only comment is that, from what I've seen on the tops of the 20-somethings around Huntington Beach is - mesh hats are out!

Fair enough... you don't like it, you dont like it, but I definitely got the vibe and/or suggestion that somehow the design was sacrilege or inappropriate and it reminded me of the vintage rockabilly crowd and their reaction to my uncuffed pants, meanwhile they're toolin' around in a KIA so's they can afford all those old clothes (run-on sentences are okay in the forum...eh?)

mesh, I guess, is out...if you wanna maintain the ultimate hipness, try engineer hats, although they're already slipping on the cool scale.

Hmmmm....I'm gonna plead the fifth on this one...and the "say nice" rule. Cou-Cough...exc-cough excuse me (puking...) :(

another fine mesh you've gotten us into...

gustw:
I certainly wasn't casting aspersions upon your design. I was trying to point out that it fits in quite well with how Tiki stuff is seen in pop culture.

Now, jumping in here as a new poster and promoting your product does make it appear that you're one of those people following the current Tiki fad. Different people here on the board will have different views on whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Hell, it was a fad in the 60's, too.

I guess a "TIKI TRASH TALKERS" design would've gone over better with this group...but it couldn't be a mesh trucker hat, cuz you know the "20-somethings" aren't wearing them anymore.

it's great to be down with tiki since day one...BUT...

When did you get on the Shag bandwagon, and when did you jump off?

those silly trendsters...what will they wear next? Fedoras?

You got something there Johnny Dollar...a new t-shirt design perhaps?

Mojo could be your celeb endorsement...

And Philot...I got you, what you said was fair, I was reacting to what seemed to be a whole lotta polynesian pretension, but maybe Dawn just ain't down witit...ya know?

But, let me say this...if I was out to make a buck off trends (tiki or otherwise), I would've bought Von Dutch hats wholesale and sold 'em off at $100 a pop. My designs are silly, maybe just stupid, but they're not money makers.

Ok I'm posting at risk of being heckled.
Who owns anything Von Dutch? Does it relate to a tiki group, maybe.
If you have it where did you get it?
Now here's my point, I love Von dutchs work, But am disgusted by some french idiot that bought the rights to the flying eye design and logo.
I get even more agitated when I see little girls in lowrider jeans cruzin around in it at the mall giggling how "Elvis" just walked by.
You've got yer own design, you offered it to people who you thought would appreciate it, and what good self promoter wouldnt, most of all ITS YOURS, your idea, design and all.
Who cares whats in or out. If it mattered why are people on this list?
Why is there this list?
The whole Tiki thing died out years ago, There are few if any big Tiki Resturaunts going up, and if they are they are not what they used to be. So to the masses of people out there, we (Tikiphiles) are not "IN".
We are into what we are because we love it, not matter what area it is.
sorry for rambling, thanks for reading
Jay

Well to end on a good note, gustw did post in the correct forum! Welcome aboard!

Gustw~

First, welcome to Tiki Central.

A bit of information that you may not have known (unless you were a long-time reader of this site), is that in the past TC has been hit with LOTS of individuals that come on to sell their tiki-related items. Most of the time these past seller/posters that came on the board just end up fading away (no pun intended).

Looking at your hat, I would say that the quality of the stitching really does look like it is made very well, with lots of detail and tight stitching. The message on the hat, though, may not be as well accepted as you would like it to be. Why? Well, first, most of members on this board would probably like to associate "tiki" in a more positive light rather than to wear or buy something that says "Tiki Trash" (even though you said it was an homage to Shag). Second, there has been talk on this board as to whether people like or dislike smoking, with opposition to it from people that have lost loved ones or are currently caring for loved ones with failing health as a result from smoking. This is a whole other discussion, but my point is that even if someone did like Tiki, they may not like wearing something with a cigarette on it. (I myself am an occasional cigar smoker). Third, there may be some people that are not fans of mesh hats, thanks to Ashton Kutcher.

I can understand and appreciate your wanting to sell your hats and make a whole load-o-cash. Who wouldn't? Unfortunately, TC may not end up being a cash cow for these hats. I also took a look at the past history of the sales of your Tiki Trash hats on ebay. Since December 14th to present, out of 13 hats being sold, only 1 sold for $8.99. The counter, where it shows how many people viewed your hat, was as high as 186 people. To date, that viewership has declined.

My point? Well, there may not be as many people that share (or understand) your view as this being a "trashy homage" to Shag. Maybe try redesigning a new image that would appeal to the majority, rather than the minority. After all, you have the resources (monogram tools, machines and hats), try something different and see what happens.

You said that you are not out to make a buck off of trends. Ok, but you are in business to make a buck, right? Well, since there are quite a few cocktail drinkers here online, how about a cool bar-cloth with a cool tiki design? Just a thought. This, of course, is my personal insight to this. I'm not much of a marketing expert. :wink:

I do hope that if you are a tiki enthusiast that you will stick around, either as an active member or lurker, and wish you the best of luck with future designs and sales.

SugarCaddyDaddy

Nice points, SCD!

I'd LOVE some swank bar towels with embroidered martini glasses, or some nicely embroidered tikis. I personally just can't STAND gimme caps in ANY context, but especially with something I love on them!

Now Jimmy Buffett - he beLONGS on a gimme cap! :wink:

Wow...my stupid hats getting a complete and total critique...you're right, I'm not marketing the right crowd...BUT probably the reason the tiki hats haven't sold like gangbusters is that most mesh hat buyers are 16 year olds scared of what people will think. They want something safe like a beer brand or Von Dutch...and maybe the general "tiki" crowd, in all its manifestations, wouldn't wear mesh on a bet. But, I thought I'd throw it out there, and at least it wasn't totally ignored.

As I look up at the "Tiki Central" blinking logo, and look down at the "Lotta Livin'" banner, with some consideration of what has been written here (exceptin' J. Dollar and a few), I can't help but think some people are taking things a little too seriously. Jimmy Buffett and plastic tiki mugs don't make for much intellectual discourse. Yes, the Maori culture is well worth conversation, but most of what I see is pretty kitschy...no?

My WHITE HOT TRASH design might offend rural folk, JIVE TURKEY could piss off african-americans for assimilating their slang dialect, and my JESUS IS MY HAIRDRESSER (a reaction to the JESUS IS MY HOMEBOY phenomenon) needs not be explained.

On another note...I am a fan of tiki, own a couple Shag prints, various tiki-related carvings, and I like Fleetwood Mac and Fugazi. I don't hate Ashton Kutcher, but I think Kid Rock sucks.

On 2004-01-20 12:24, gustw wrote:
...and maybe the general "tiki" crowd, in all its manifestations, wouldn't wear mesh on a bet.

I wore mesh on my bet once. Got a horrible sunburn!

YEE-OUCH!

Those mesh hats are all the rage in the fashionable Hoxton district of London where all the young media go-getters reside. Saying that, mullets were the last big craze down there...

Trader Woody

On 2004-01-20 12:24, gustw wrote:
Jimmy Buffett and plastic tiki mugs don't make for much intellectual discourse.

Wow. there it is in a nutshell.

-Z

Man...I've sure stirred up Bond's Martini...lucky I discarded my "TWEAKY TIKI" idea with sunken stone cheeks and bloodshot eyes! (okay, I never really considered that... cuz I didn't want to insult people who know other people suffering from Meth addiction)

On 2004-01-20 11:11, gustw wrote:
Mojo could be your celeb endorsement...

Who, me?

Are you Mr. Nixon? Gawd dang... who else is famous here?!

I usually like to stay away from topics like this, but who were you seriously targeting for this product? And the tweaky tiki thing? What tiki fan would not be above that? I do have to commend your attempt at a tiki themed product though. The market is out there, you just have to know who they are and what they like. There are plenty of people cashing in from the recent tiki resurgence. I can't blame you for that. I used to be one of the people that would run people off the site because I felt they weren't contributing to the wellfare of the tiki resurgence. That is just a waste of time and energy. If you feel you've been insulted or anything, you definately didn't get it as bad as I've seen people get it in the past. Please stick around on the board if you are truly into tiki.

...and speaking as someone in the fashion industry, no matter what you've heard, mesh trucker hats aren't going anywhere any time soon.

umm ... I was joking about the Tweaky Tiki. I just found it funny that there was such a negative reaction, especially from people who probably have a Shag painting with a monkey servin' up tiki drinks in their living room (that, or they just take stuff WAAAY too seriously). It gets thick with pretension in here, but there are a lot of funny and thoughtful comments too. If someone doesn't like my designs fine, but I'll fire back if they make it sound like I've desecrated sacred tiki culture, when they're buying ceramic mugs on Ebay....c'mon.

Good grief people! I'm not even going to take the time to search through all the old posts on this topic. Gustw posted a new Tiki related product in the correct Collecting Tiki forum. Isn't that one of the main reasons for the Collecting Tiki forum? Don't we want to know about every Tiki item available in the new and collectors marketplace? Be it vintage, Shag, Finding Nemo, Target tissue holders, Hot Wheels, Barbie, or Bratz, at least we know about it and know how to get it. Whether we like it or not it's all part of the Tiki phenomenon past or present. Do you really think that Tiki hibachi's and the like weren't past fads? In 20 years the Tiki Trash hat may be a collectors item from the current Tiki revival period. As a community we should at least try to be nice to visitors whether they have posted just to sell a Tiki related item (especially in the correct forum) or they have joined to become contributing members. I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

Scotty

Thanks Scotty. And shoot, now that I've negotiated a licensing agreement with J. Dollar for his Fedora Moai t-shirt design, all is good.

On another subject, can someone point me to a source for relatively inexpensive tiki carvings that are guilt-free? I was serious about having qualms about buying stuff from Cost Plus (although some of my hats are made in Taiwan, but it's nearly impossible to find good quality mesh in the U.S., not that ya care)

On 2004-01-21 07:07, Kanaka wrote:
Good grief people! I'm not even going to take the time to search through all the old posts on this topic. Gustw posted a new Tiki related product in the correct Collecting Tiki forum. Isn't that one of the main reasons for the Collecting Tiki forum...As a community we should at least try to be nice to visitors whether they have posted just to sell a Tiki related item (especially in the correct forum) or they have joined to become contributing members. I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

Scotty

What I think is funny is that 2 "GRAND MEMBERS", whom I do very much like, broke the very rule they swore to when they became "GRAND MEMBERS".

Here I paid my measley $24 and was denied "GRAND MEMBER" status by the powers that be (Like I give a F*$#).

I remember once, this old man I worked with once said, regarding grand titles "you can call me a big white steamboat, but I'm not..."

Tiki_Bong you are totally right. It would seem like I have broken some of the rules of the Grand Member code of conduct. WTF wasn't the nicest or most intelligent statement I could have used. I want to thank SugarCaddyDaddy and the others for trying to put a positive spin on this thread. But when I originally wrote about "the hat" in December (which was ignored, not one person was impressed with the hat enough to comment about it at all a month ago). There wasn't any Grand Mystery Member code of conduct rules to break then. And gustw wasn't a TC member yet, so no ones feelings were hurt. I hadn't and still haven't insulted anyone person or called anyone any names. Where the implication that I was acting scholarly or a Tiki Historian (Yea, thats me) came from I don't know. Or why he said that I implied his design was sacrilege and that he had desecrated sacred Tiki culture is all beyond me. I said none of those things. Implied none of those things. All I said was WTF, and I thought his hat was stupi...well you know. Believe me if I wanted to say those things I would have. On the subject of the design of the hat, well, I didn't have to say anything. It speaks for itself. It was a waste of my time and everyone elses to have brought it up in the first place. Lesson learned :) . So, I want to apologize to all the Tiki Central members for not keeping on the high road.

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-01-21 11:36 ]

On 2004-01-21 08:23, gustw wrote:
Thanks Scotty. And shoot, now that I've negotiated a licensing agreement with J. Dollar for his Fedora Moai t-shirt design, all is good.

On another subject, can someone point me to a source for relatively inexpensive tiki carvings that are guilt-free? I was serious about having qualms about buying stuff from Cost Plus (although some of my hats are made in Taiwan, but it's nearly impossible to find good quality mesh in the U.S., not that ya care)

Check with Tiki Tony, I've got 1 of his Tiki Bobbers on my desk @ work & everyone loves it.

I can't help you with the high quality mesh problem, have you tried vintage Tapa cloth? :D

Personally I thought only students in Agriculture faculties wore meshback ball caps. You sure as hell don't see 'em on the streets of Vancouver...

em.

On 2004-01-21 10:22, DawnTiki wrote:
I want to apologize to all the Tiki Central members for not keeping on the high road.

DawnT,

You can come down here to the gutter and visit me anytime!

On 2004-01-21 09:12, Tiki_Bong wrote:
Here I paid my measley $24 and was denied "GRAND MEMBER" status by the powers that be (Like I give a F*$#).

The only way this is true is if you consider yourself to be your own "powers that be", Bong.

Even if these 2 Grand Members here did not stick to the Code, they at least tried. That's more than can be said for you. The 2 Grand Members you're capping on here didn't bail out when they saw they're actually going to be asked to do something in return and (gasp!) have some decorum in their posts. They agreed that paying 24 bucks didn't give them the right to trash the place.

Remember I didn't deny your membership, in fact I welcome your membership in open arms. But I simply said that all Grand Members agree to the Code, and you're free to paypal me any amount of money anytime if you didn't want to agree. You were the one who chose not to. You were the one who decided that that was too much to asked of Bong.

You claim you "don't give the F#CK", but at the same time your signature says "hey I paid 24 bucks". It's obvious to me you want some sort of reconition for your donation.

Well anyone can pay 24 bucks ... but being a Grand Member is more than that. The Code of Conduct is an attempt at helping fix what's wrong with Tiki Central these days; things that I've heard you complain about. If you don't want to agree to it, that's fine. But that was your choice, you weren't denied it.

I'm starting to wonder if it's worth putting up with your posts, man.

~Hanford

Maybe I was mixin' references/people when I went off on pretension, but let's face it Dawn, "WTF" definitely implied contempt for the product, and your overall vibe suggested that you thought it was inappropriate that I posted it. BUT, I put it in the right category, and I'm not sure why being an active member is any factor. I certainly didn't try to strong-arm anyone into buying my hats, or contact anyone directly. If someone else can advertise a plastic mug or tiki lamp, I can surely list Tiki Trash hats. Obviously, you've made it clear that you don't like the design, but initially it came across that you thought I was out of line for posting, and that's what I reacted to. It's a little ironic that there is sorta a suggestion that Tiki Trash is somehow "lesser" or inappropriate, and the response is TRASH talk. But, hey, I'm cool with that game, otherwise, I wouldn't have posted 12+ responses. I'll take all comers. Many of you are programmed to hate mesh, just as the kids are programmed to love it. Mesh isn't cool anymore, and a good chunk of you wouldn't wear it mainly out of a fear of appearing like a hipster (okay, the hats are considered ugly, but that's part of their charm...I have a whole other rant on the defense of the trucker hat). I like the hats, and I won't stuff 'em away in the closet, no matter how many Ashton Kutcher wears.

Lock this post!

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-01-21 15:07 ]

topic locked.