Official Introductions Thread. New Members, Post your introduction here...

1983 or 1984, I think! I just remember having the flu and being mesmerized / obsessed by a purple dragon called Figment, haha.

So it's been a loooooong time since I've been back! : )

On 2014-05-15 17:16, PabTiki wrote:
1983 or 1984, I think! I just remember having the flu and being mesmerized / obsessed by a purple dragon called Figment, haha.

So it's been a loooooong time since I've been back! : )

Oh, wow. You were there at the height of the place. Figment was from Journey into Imagination, which is no longer there. Figment still is, though, just in a new ride.

That and Horizons were my favorites.

I just saw both rides on YouTube; they were both cool. I've only been to Disney Land out here once, but my favorite ride here is the Star Trek ride.

I vaguely remember we went to a luau too, so I guess we must have gone to the
Polynesian Village.

Out front of the Journey into Imagination ride there was a guy dressed as "Dreamfinder" (I guess that was his name, according to DisneyWiki). He was holding some sort of molded rubber / plastic Figment that was like a big hand-puppet. But you couldn't "tell" it was a puppet at first because the arm holding Figment was fake (as I discovered with closer inspection). So it seemed to be animatronic, even though he was holding it. I think it even blinked its eyes.

After the ride, I bought a stuffed Figment animal, and I remember I was irritated that I couldn't get a molded plastic puppet one like Dreamfinder had, haha. I wished they'd sold something closer to that! It was pretty cool.

Greetings Tiki friends! New to the forum and wanted to say Aloha to the forum and some long-time friends like Big Tiki Dude, Tiki Tena and others that I've known for many moons! This is Norm of The Ghastly Ones and Boss Fink. Both of my bands played Tiki Oasis and I'm really looking forward to playing again this year on Sunday at the Car Show stage.

I'm also having a sale of some Tiki/Exotic items next Sunday MAY 25 at the Topanga Vintage Market at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. I'll do separate post about that with details.

Thanks for having me here and looking forward to chatting with my Tiki Pals.

Norm

Welcome!

Thanks PabTiki! Hope everyone is having a blast at Tiki Caliente! Wish I was there.

On 2014-05-16 08:26, PabTiki wrote:
I just saw both rides on YouTube; they were both cool. I've only been to Disney Land out here once, but my favorite ride here is the Star Trek ride.

I vaguely remember we went to a luau too, so I guess we must have gone to the
Polynesian Village.

Out front of the Journey into Imagination ride there was a guy dressed as "Dreamfinder" (I guess that was his name, according to DisneyWiki). He was holding some sort of molded rubber / plastic Figment that was like a big hand-puppet. But you couldn't "tell" it was a puppet at first because the arm holding Figment was fake (as I discovered with closer inspection). So it seemed to be animatronic, even though he was holding it. I think it even blinked its eyes.

After the ride, I bought a stuffed Figment animal, and I remember I was irritated that I couldn't get a molded plastic puppet one like Dreamfinder had, haha. I wished they'd sold something closer to that! It was pretty cool.

ah, yes. Dreamfinder. Long gone, but still beloved. And yeah, the meet and greet with him was fantastic. It was a puppet operated by a man by the name of Rob Shnieder. Great dude.

On 2014-05-17 21:45, EPCOTExplorer wrote:

On 2014-05-16 08:26, PabTiki wrote:
I just saw both rides on YouTube; they were both cool. I've only been to Disney Land out here once, but my favorite ride here is the Star Trek ride.

I vaguely remember we went to a luau too, so I guess we must have gone to the
Polynesian Village.

Out front of the Journey into Imagination ride there was a guy dressed as "Dreamfinder" (I guess that was his name, according to DisneyWiki). He was holding some sort of molded rubber / plastic Figment that was like a big hand-puppet. But you couldn't "tell" it was a puppet at first because the arm holding Figment was fake (as I discovered with closer inspection). So it seemed to be animatronic, even though he was holding it. I think it even blinked its eyes.

After the ride, I bought a stuffed Figment animal, and I remember I was irritated that I couldn't get a molded plastic puppet one like Dreamfinder had, haha. I wished they'd sold something closer to that! It was pretty cool.

ah, yes. Dreamfinder. Long gone, but still beloved. And yeah, the meet and greet with him was fantastic. It was a puppet operated by a man by the name of Rob Shnieder. Great dude.

If you haven't read it already, you might want to check out Ron Schneider's excellent biography. "From Dreamer to Dreamfinder - A life and lessons learned in 40 years behind a name tag".

On 2014-05-17 22:14, Hakalugi wrote:

On 2014-05-17 21:45, EPCOTExplorer wrote:

On 2014-05-16 08:26, PabTiki wrote:
I just saw both rides on YouTube; they were both cool. I've only been to Disney Land out here once, but my favorite ride here is the Star Trek ride.

I vaguely remember we went to a luau too, so I guess we must have gone to the
Polynesian Village.

Out front of the Journey into Imagination ride there was a guy dressed as "Dreamfinder" (I guess that was his name, according to DisneyWiki). He was holding some sort of molded rubber / plastic Figment that was like a big hand-puppet. But you couldn't "tell" it was a puppet at first because the arm holding Figment was fake (as I discovered with closer inspection). So it seemed to be animatronic, even though he was holding it. I think it even blinked its eyes.

After the ride, I bought a stuffed Figment animal, and I remember I was irritated that I couldn't get a molded plastic puppet one like Dreamfinder had, haha. I wished they'd sold something closer to that! It was pretty cool.

ah, yes. Dreamfinder. Long gone, but still beloved. And yeah, the meet and greet with him was fantastic. It was a puppet operated by a man by the name of Rob Shnieder. Great dude.

If you haven't read it already, you might want to check out Ron Schneider's excellent biography. "From Dreamer to Dreamfinder - A life and lessons learned in 40 years behind a name tag".

Yup! Great dude and great book. Highly recommended.

Hey everyone.
Been lurking here a long time and finally got around to registering an account. Haven't been into forums much for years but I spend enough time here I figured it was time to go ahead and make an account. I collect anything that interests me, including tiki mugs, movie props, and especially Disney. I've enjoyed Tiki anything since I was young most likely due to a combination of Adventureland at Disneyland, and Gilligan's Island, which was my favorite show growing up. But it really took off a few years ago when I finally turned 21 and was able to actually GO to the tiki bars I've always been so fascinated with. Currently living in Venice Beach, CA. I've been photographing for years, slowly working toward doing more professional work (portraits and weddings primarily), and I'm finally working on sculpting which I've wanted to do for years (not just tiki, anything that interests me, really). I've got lots of project ideas in the works. I'll get around to them sooner or later and post anything relevant here on the forums.

Some of you probably know me on Instagram. I post some of what I've done/am currently working on, as well as pieces of my collection. I don't post a ton, but feel free to follow if you're into that kind of thing.

Hi all.

My name is Dave and I have been a member since 2011 and just recently needed to post a question. This was my 1st post and was called out on the fact that I have been on here since 2011 and never posted. My apologies but frankly I didn't have anything to say that I felt would be a contribution. The amount of information to read on here is just so much fun that I have been reading and learning.

I have been a fan of Tiki, Poly Pop, African art and general Mid Century Modern since the mid 1960's. I grew up with older brothers and was exposed to most of the cool stuff that existed back in the day. I still think life was better overall back then. It just seemed that everyone was happy with their situation in life.

Today I am semi retired, I say semi because I still work a little but only at what I like. Currently I am a contributing Photo Journalist for a national Nostalgia Drag Racing magazine. I fill my days with writing, wood & metal work, Airbrush art and pinstriping. Right now there is a 26' single rowing shell in my basement being repaired. There is a 19' Double rowing wherry in my yard that is for sale and a 17' all wood kayak also in the basement being built.

Thats about it for me. I have yet to realize my dream of publishing a magazine and writing a book but God willing those will happen soon.

Dave

Hi everyone! My name is Jay Hesselgrave and found TC while mourning the loss of BAHOOKA. My story is on the Rufus thread on page 16. Looking forward to experiencing more in the Tiki world and to meet other members soon.. I;m in Riverside or Long Beach when at my boat, Shambala. Peace!

Hey shovinoff, since you spend time in Long Beach, have you been to Don the Beachcomber yet?
as a member of TC now, you know this is mandatory.

Aloha, my name is Mickey and after visiting Hawaii for the first time in 2009 I fell in love with the culture and everything Tiki. I am so glad I found this forum. After years of googling every word but "Tiki" I had poor luck in finding any meaningful information on where to connect and learn about the Polynesian culture. I am so excited to dive into the information and cannot wait to start hunting Tiki bars as I travel and collecting some great Tiki memorabilia!

Hi Mickey, where are you from? You may be able to find tiki places near you here on Tiki Central. Happy hunting!

On 2014-05-21 16:27, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Hey shovinoff, since you spend time in Long Beach, have you been to Don the Beachcomber yet?
as a member of TC now, you know this is mandatory.

Looking forward to it

Aloha! my name is Peri, I'll just start with saying that I've always liked Tiki and Polynesian themed stuff. I'm a native of SF, so there was always Trader Vic's and the Tonga Room nearby. I've also visited Hawaii and was enchanted by it. I wasn't really aware that Tiki had a strong underground culture until I heard about Forbidden Island, and then later about Tiki Oasis from a friend of mine in '12. I went to my first TO in '13 and loved every minute of it (at least the ones I can remember!). I had so much fun there and met so many new friends, as well as meeting new people at other events since.

So, here I am at Tiki Central, to learn more about all things Tiki, especially the history (I am a history nut). I'm a moderator over at reddit/r/tiki (a very low traffic subreddit, please come one by!), and this site should be a great resource for both.

Mahalo!

Welcome Cosmogrrl, can you post a link to reddit/r/tiki?

Ahoy!

I am new to tiki culture, but feel myself being pulled in this direction.

I came to Tiki via a rather roundabout path - especially considering that my decorating aesthetic is Victorian and I don't expose myself to direct sunlight if I can in any way avoid it.

Last year, while idly browsing the food and drink section at a big chain bookstore, I randomly discovered Ted Haigh's "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails". As a history geek, who regularly hosted dinner parties for friends, this appealed to me immensely - I would make such drinks as the Aviation, the Golden Dawn, the Monkey Gland, the Corpse Reviver, as an opportunity to bring back the feel of the 1920s.

Problem was, I generally preferred beer. My liquor collection was meagre - about ten dusty and neglected bottles, some a decade old, in a cabinet inconveniently located behind an armchair. A few bottles of absinthe (which appealed to the Victorian eccentric in me), a bottle of gin with Queen Victoria's face on the label (same reason), one bourbon and one scotch, and some industrial-grade vodka. Rum? That would be a half-empty handle of Bacardi bought during the Bush administration and a bottle of Malibu Coconut (I have always loved coconut).

I started to expand my collection, with the goal of making the recipes from Doctor Cocktail's book. Next time I hosted a dinner for friends, we drank Aviations (gin + lemon + maraschino + violet), and I spoke of how the drink dated to 1916, and was named for the hottest new technology of the day, but the ingredient that made it sky blue had been unobtainable for the last forty years or so, until this book had inspired a movement that brought it back... etcetera.

I maintained a list of all the different cocktails I'd made (current count is one hundred and thirty). As I got deeper into mixology, my collection of spirits quickly outgrew its inconveniently-located cabinet.

So I built a bar, using the sort of wire shelving you see in restaurant kitchens or internet startups' server rooms. The work surface is a hardwood shelf, sold as part of this modular shelving system; on the lower level is a mini-fridge (for citrus, syrups, juices, vermouth, etc.). Upwards of sixty bottles of liquor and fifteen bottles of bitters now crowd its every horizontal surface.

As I progressed through the recipes, something unexpected started to become clear: I was someone who enjoyed rum-based and tropical drinks most of all.

My first Mai Tai attempt was awful - I had the wrong kind of rum (that decade-old Bacardi), a seven-dollar bottle of bottom-shelf curacao, and some nasty chemical goop that masqueraded as orgeat; and I didn't even know what a Mai Tai was supposed to taste like, having only once had something by that name in a chain restaurant. I made a Singapore Sling shortly after and this turned out a bit better; and after picking up some more rums I was able to mix a perfectly adequate Planter's Punch.

In February of this year, my neighbourhood cocktail bar - Scofflaw, considered one of the best in the country, is three blocks from my house - hosted a tiki night. That's not their usual style; this was just one of a series of themed events they did to drum up business and lift patrons' spirits during the coldest, bleakest winter that Chicago has experienced in the past hundred years.

I had a Pusser's Painkiller, topped with grated nutmeg, and a Zombie, garnished with mint and a cinnamon stick. Both were phenomenally good - and that's how I came to discover I liked tiki drinks.

By the end of the week, I'd made a Jungle Bird at home (finally finding a use for that nearly-full bottle of Campari I had), and a Voyager, and a Zombie. I bought some proper orgeat, falernum, Don's Mix. I made Hurricanes, Royal Bermuda Yacht Clubs, Ancient Mariner (Navy Grog), lots and lots of Painkillers (for I have always loved coconut). I went back to the Mai Tai and made it again, properly, with rhum agricole.

In April during a software engineers' conference, Groupon hosted an after-party and recruiting event. They rented out the main room of Three Dots and a Dash, a new tiki bar in Chicago that you've all probably heard of - the place is fantastic, with two hundred rums, a menu of a dozen or so tiki drinks (classic and modern), served in traditional mugs. Every drink was heavily garnished with flowers and fruit; beautiful waitresses in floral dresses circulated constantly with platters of crab rangoon, steamed buns, pork ribs, satay...

I returned to three dots a week ago, after attending a meeting downtown, and had a banana daiquiri, garnished with half a banana cut to resemble a dolphin, studded with leaves as fins.

So, now I'm hooked; I'm a tiki addict. I have friends from out of town arriving in a few weeks, and hope to be a good host by artfully presenting a well-made drink.

I bought Beachbum Berry's books yesterday (Kindle edition) and will be working my way through the recipes. I've ordered some tiki mugs from awesomedrinks.com. I have thirteen kinds of rum now, a top-shelf curacao, pineapple and passionfruit juice, fresh bananas and oranges and blueberries; and now it's time to start researching, mixing, and tasting.

[ Edited by: mattchicago 2014-06-07 09:54 ]

mattchicago, Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself
and welcome to Tiki Central!

Matt, welcome to TC! You're on the right track - history and good research - all in the books you have mentioned, and all supported by the material here on TC. I, too, have a big appreciation for history, and I also love discovering cocktails from the past.

Have fun and start posting so you can plug in here!

longtime lurker, thought i should register! Married, two kids, live in SW Ireland. My interest in tiki stems from surfing, and particularly surf history. Aloha.

Hi. I'm Peter. I found this forum while looking for help with a Tiki drink recipe. I had a particular drink in CA, and I know the ingredients, but I just can't seem to get the proportions right. I hope someone here can help.

Thanks, Peter

Welcome to TC!

What drink was it and where did you order it? I am sure we can try to help you out with that.

Aloha all,

Just joined Tiki Central after years of lurking. I'm Robin and my husband is Ken. We have a humble home tiki bar in Yonkers, NY. Though we've always been fans of tiki, we only within the last year or so became fully engrossed in the culture. It's a nice break from our busy New York lives.

Look forward to getting to know everyone more.

Mahalo,
Robin

Lots of fun people joining. Can't wait to see and hear about your tiki bars and adventures. Don't be afraid to share and ask questions.

Welcome aboard!

• Dale

Hey everybody! Long time lurker/tiki aficionado here. I've been hanging around these forums for years, mostly reading the "home tiki bars" threads and longing for the day that I'm out of an apartment and living in a house where I can build one of my own. That day is (sadly) not here yet, but my girlfriend and I have been driving around visiting antique shops a lot more lately, so I've kind of begun building my collection in earnest, even without a permanent place to store it.

I'm also a cartoonist/illustrator living in Pittsburgh PA (mostly children's illustration, but I've done a few tiki pieces for personal use) so I'm fortunate enough to know a few others on this board in real life already. Anyway, that's it! Just hoping to glean some knowledge from the experts so I can be more informed when I come across treasures in the wild.

--Pat

[ Edited by: Pakalui 2014-06-10 10:42 ]

Hi fellow tiki enthusiast! Im Zonie! tiki carving in the scorcin hot desert of AZ! ...A little over a year ago I dove head first into the beautiful art of Tiki carving..heres some stuff Ive done over the year

Hello everyone! Fastbackadam here, I have scanned this forum before and Spent many late nights looking and reading about carving. Recently decided to give it a try, and I'm hooked. Can't wait to carve more. Like zonie I also live in the hot arizona desert.These are the three I have made so far, and I feel each one is better then the previous, and hope it gets even better. So far using electric chainsaw, angle grinder and basic chisel and mallet. I need to find a good supplier of palm trunks and I will get busy carving more! Adam

Wow, looks great guys! Welcome to TC. Keep up the great work!

Hi everyone! I'm Dan from Maine and I've checked this site out quite a few times over the years. I got into tiki back in 1997 when I first read Michener's Hawaii. That got me looking up Polynesian stuff online where I found Wayne Coombs' Mai Tiki website and I bought my first tiki.

I'm also an illustrator. One of my recent goals has been to post a Tiki sketch on Instagram for every day of 2014.

http://instagram.com/d_s_edwards

I would love to find more resources to understand Polynesian culture - I've read a lot of books, but I love hearing more about the myths from people more knowledgeable than I!

I also always love to see more carvings, more art, and more crazy drink recipes.

I look forward to meeting some of you!

D S,

I like your illustrations. You have some great ideas.

Thank you!

Dan

Hey everyone, new poster here. Just fell into the Tiki hobby and am loving it! Hope to have a bunch of great conversations and learn from the pros!

Greetings fellow Tiki lovers. I'm L Tiki
Chief Of Imagery for the new Tiki Club Liquors.
Were a proud sponcer of Tiki Oasis 2014

I like : cocktails, tiki girls, rat fink, rockabilly, surf, munsters
monsters, elvis, 50s-60s, barris, hot rods, customs, the keys

Hello Tiki Central, we are exactly as our user name suggests, Tammi and Joe. Husband and wife team of Tiki lovers in San Diego. We started by making our VW Van Tiki, Then our office and now are working on a 300 square foot Tiki bar in our home. We had been collecting hand carved Tikis from our travels as souvenirs, Now we have refined our search to target some of the most talented artists in Tikidom. Hope our Tiki Bar is someday of a caliber to be included in a local tour. Tiki Central appears to be a fantastic resource. Bottoms up, and remember Eddie Would Go !

We are the Velveteria, we have a tiki Tale for you guys! check it out:

http://www.culturalweekly.com/velvet-paintings-tale/

One hundred years ago, Black Hander Gavrilo Princip plugged the foppish befeathered Archduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, starting the war to end all wars. When the feathers hit the deck, gone were the last vestiges of royalty. Welcome to the 20th Century.

My grandfather Carl Baldwin and his brother, my uncle Charlie, were minding their own business down on the farm in Kansas. Carl soon found himself in a scratchy doughboy uniform, gun in hand, off to France. He dreamed of visiting Paris to see the buildings his great-grandfather had designed for Napoleon. He took mustard gas in the battle of Maine. Gassed, war left him a changed man. Uncle Charlie told my brother Jimmy and me about his wild adventures. Charlie lost an eye one July 4th (his birthday) playing with explosives. He and his friends used to put pieces of metal on the train tracks to make scissors. We never knew our grandpa Carl except through his brothers’ stories. The ravages of war killed him in his 40′s in 1945. Charlie’s boyhood accident helped get him out of WWI.

Charlie Baldwin was a fortune hunter, adventuring across the Middle East searching for oil. He had a photo of himself with cutthroats he had met at the Khyber Pass. He had another picture of himself standing at the end of Balancing Rock at Glacier Point in Yosemite. His wife, Aunt Ina, regaled us with stories about Persia, Singapore, Pago Pago, Rangoon, Papeete, Jakarta and Paris. In the 1930′s in Burma, Charlie was with the British blowing up the oil fields before the Japanese invasion. From their backyard in Fullerton, Ina and Charlie opened our eyes to the world. The house was like a museum filled with treasures from all over. There were Native American baskets, swords, ivory busts and much more.

In a secret passageway between closets Charlie kept his artwork. It was then that my brother Jimmy and I spied our first naked lady. A beautiful island girl on black velvet from Papeete. We were scolded pretty hard. Never to venture into that closet again. We went in that hallway as boys and came out men.

"Tahitia" by Edward Leetag
“Tahitia” by Edward Leetag

But we hadn’t figured it all out yet. Surf was up in the summer of 1966. We lived at the peninsula in Balboa, California near the fun zone. We hung out at a head shop called Nirvana. This place had blacklight posters and a velvet glowing devil painting pointing at us to join in the fun. We did. Our next door neighbor, a slender, statuesque Spanish man, had claimed to be a matador.

Over his davenport was a six-foot-long velvet painting with a matador and a very nasty looking bull.

From Tijuana to Juarez, velvet exploded. In the 60′s, it was mass-produced in factories. These velvet paintings were sold across the nation on street corners, in swap meets and even door to door. The Elvises, banditos, matadors; the young, dead and famous. People like JFK, Marilyn, Hendrix, and Jesus were portrayed. Political messages from MLK, Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers shouted from these paintings.

Going to TJ was a series of fun experiences. Get diarrhea from the food, deathly ill from the mickey they slipped you at Club Bambi, where you also got a lifelong dose of the clap. After that, some fist fighting in the alley, a trip to the medic or maybe the morgue. A night in jail if you are lucky. Remembering it all when you get back home toasting that black velvet bandito that you rode out of Mexico with.

There’s a vacation!

Velvet goes back to the silkworm. Weavers in China and Persia made beautiful tapestries. Velvet is made when two pieces of fabric are woven together and then cut in the middle creating the nap of the fabric. That is where the magic lies. When paint is applied to this luscious fabric the luminescent glow gives off a 3D effect and light dances off the fabric. The subject comes to life, unlike on canvas. There is no other effect like this in art. Therein lies the allure. That makes it the greatest art in the world.

Edgar Leeteg, a short, round German American from St. Louis, Missouri, was born in 1904. He had a domineering mother who wore him down his whole life. He had an eye for the ladies and a virtuoso art talent. He had been impressed as a boy by a velvet painting he saw in a church.

As a young man he worked in Sacramento for Foster and Kleiser doing the work of three men. During the Depression he took a three-week vacation to the South Seas. He went from Hawaii to Tahiti and eventually settled in Tahiti where he built his island paradise, Villa Velour. With a small inheritance from his father, he moved his mother and himself down to Tahiti.

Tuesdays were spent drinking in Papeete. His once-a-week forays into town had become legendary, along with his paintings on velvet that “captured the beauty of the Polynesian race.” He was disregarded by critics, but he dismissed them, saying, “they couldn’t produce what was on the end of a stable boy’s shovel.” The world loved his art. Even Picasso was an admirer. Bob Brooks from Hollywood bought his paintings to his bar, creating the TIki craze. Wayne Decker, a jeweler from Salt Lake City, had over 200 of his works. Alas, the party ended for Leeteg when he fell off a motorcycle after a night of debauchery in 1953. Others took up the brush. Burke Tyree, Charles McPhee, Bill Erwin, Earl Frysinger, Louis Behan, and Cecelia Rodriguez. McPhee and Erwin were even students of Leeteg in Tahiti.

CeCe Rodriguez was born in 1921. Her father, W. R. Schmitt, worked with Tod Browning and Lewis Milestone on the Academy Award-winning film All Quiet on the Western Front. CeCe, too, left California for Hawaii and saw velvet paintings in the 60′s. She said, “I can do that.” She taught herself to paint on velvet but it didn’t pay the rent. So she went to cake decorating school. A passerby spied one of her velvets in her window and inquired if it was for sale. She said, “Yes,” and the man asked if she had anymore and she told him, no, she was going to culinary school. He told her to keep painting and he would buy everything she painted. His name was Dr. Loren Kitch. Dr. Kitch did buy many paintings and, she said, “he kept me in money.” CeCe had many other fans of her work and ended up touring Australia and China with her art. She had paintings in galleries in Hawaii and painted under the famous Banyan tree in Maui. The 60′s to the early 70′s was the heyday of the finest paintings on velvet.

Dr. Kitch was a well-to-do oral surgeon in Pasadena and he kept all his velvets in his office in a place he called “The Exotic Back Room.” He was a world traveler and quite a character. He was also a ladies’ man. He had marble statues around his pool. Meanwhile, life took its course and I ran into Caren Anderson from high school. We met up in the Old Pueblo, Tucson, Arizona. Took a drive to Tombstone, home of the OK Corral. While knocking down a few at the bar Big Nose Kate’s we decided to head down to the border. We ended up in Bisbee, Arizona, where we laid eyes on her. A woman with a big blue Afro on velvet. We wondered out loud, “What ever happened to these things?”

Then in another corner of the store was a velvet of JFK, his eyes following you wherever you went. We left JFK’s wandering eyes there and with our lady we took our first steps on the Velvet Trail.

After that we went on a jag of buying every velvet we could find from 10 bucks to 100. We got about 40 paintings and hung them up tastefully all over the house and had a party for Caren’s co-workers at the hospital where she worked. The guests were laughing and talking and seemed to like the paintings without the aid of drugs or alcohol. This could make a cool museum, we thought.

We found a basement storefront in Portland, Or. and opened up and charged $3.

Within 6 months we had Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel, Tonight Show, HGTV, a Sunday feature in the Oregonian, AM Northwest–it was a media blitz! We were flabbergasted.

Carl Baldwin at the Musée Du Quai Branly in front of Edgar Leeteg's "Tahitia," on loan from the Velveteria collection.
Carl Baldwin at the Musée Du Quai Branly (Paris) in front of Edgar Leeteg’s “Tahitia,” on loan from the Velveteria collection.

One hot July day in 2006, a woman named Wendy called. “I have a collection of velvet paintings, 200 plus, I am down here in the desert in California. Nobody wants them, do you want to see them?” A week later I was sitting on a tree stump next to some marble statues that surrounded the Dodge Caravan that was home to Dr. Kitch, CeCe Rodriguez’s patron. The stench from the Suk Mai Kok chicken coop filled my nostrils and gut. There were carpet remnants on the ground to keep the fine silt from blowing through everything. Wendy and I went through the storage shed with some flashlight in stifling desert heat. I called Caren and she told me to buy the collection. We were about to go to the bank when Kitch walked over to a knothole in a tree and pulled out some cash, a few scraggly bills. It was all he had. I could see the California rot; Dickensonian, if you will. I looked into his 88-year-old eyes and said, “How did you end up like this?” He said it was the women, they took it all, everything. Looking around at this Grapes of Wrath lifestyle, I felt bad for him. “The women, goddamned women,” I said. He looked up at me with a glint in his eyes and with a shit-eating grin, said, “Yeah, but it was worth it.”

He had fallen and I wasn’t going to insult him by haggling. We spent our nest egg on Kitch’s velvets. He married Wendy, 40 years his junior, and went to Acapulco, then honeymooned on a cruise through the Panama Canal. Then after a few more years of his high life he died with that grin. The one thing that the women never wanted had paid off. In the end, the beautiful velvet wahine made his last years a paradise.

Velveteria, the museum of velvet paintings, is operated by Carl Baldwin and Caren Anderson. It has more than 3,000 paintings from every corner of the world in its collection. Velveteria is located at 711 New High St., Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA 90012.Open 11am-6pm Weds-Mon; closed Tues.

see the full article with pictures: http://www.culturalweekly.com/velvet-paintings-tale/

Hi, i'm working on making my backyard and patio area a vacation getaway. I don't have a tiki bar yet, but do have a few tiki items. Right now my patio looks more like a dive bar than tiki bar

[ Edited by: onemoresean 2014-07-12 09:27 ]

On 2014-05-15 07:27, Hakalugi wrote:
Welcome to Tiki Central Brett. If Outrigger Island's contribution to Burning Swan involved Tikis, be sure to start a thread and share some photos!

Cheers!

Thanks mate! Yeah, there's big plans for next year.. Including a 5 Metre(16-17ft) tall tiki carved out of lava rock. The mouth will be the entrance to the Tiki bar :) I'll apologise in advance for bugging you guys for sources and info :)

On 2014-07-11 17:58, onemoresean wrote:
"Right now my patio looks more like a dive bar than tiki bar"
[ Edited by: onemoresean 2014-07-12 09:27 ]

Datsa good start! Welcome-have fun!

Hello,
I thought I already was a member of Tiki Central, but it turns out, I've just been stalking all of you for the last couple of years. my wife Rachel and I are always searching out Tiki where ever we go. Rachel surprised me with Tiki Oasis passes for this year (it's our first one). We're dragging ourselves down from Vancouver BC, and looking forward to seeing a few friends that we know hang out here, and meeting a few more too.
Julian

Welcome to TC, Julian and Rachel. Jump right in and join us in the forums!

Hi all, been lurking this site for a while and finally decided to join and participate in the fun. My fiance and I are originally from Florida and are now living in Austin. It's a wonderful place that offers endless opportunities (for example, we opened a mid century modern vintage store last November, something we'd never be able to accomplish in South Florida), but there is a serious lack of tiki culture here. We miss the Mai Kai. Greatly. And in fact will be getting married there next Spring. But until then, I'm going to have to keep honing my mixing skills to fill the void. Always anxious to learn more and this site is a tremendous resource. Hope to make some new friends too.

Mike.

Ahhhh, Fresh meat for the grinder!
Welcome new folks! welcome indeed.....

Stalkers and lurkers are the best kind of new members. We can skip all the formalities and jump right into the spirited debate without fear of chasing them away :>)

I saw some critics regarding individuals who are just posting to get evaluations. So having said that I've put on my flame retardant suit. I have the unenviable task of disposing of some estate items for the brother and sister of my friend. Pictures attached and am looking to sell them on behalf of the estate, any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Regards RLW

You may want to post that over on this Witco thread to get a better response ...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=20416&forum=5&start=1365

Hey. As a new member I am introducing myself. I have been interested and involved in all things tiki from working on a bar interior with a dear friend called the Hula Hula in Seattle, to playing and singing in a a ukulele hapa haole band here as well, some global travel and work have had me in exotic Rarotonga and New Zealand so just about all things on this forum are AwEsOmE!, mahalo!