how do you tell Dad ~ thats not tiki?

my dear old dad loves looking for tiki items for me at garage sales and flea markets. i dont want to do anything to discourage him, as sometimes the non tiki things are actually pretty cool. for example these two i have displayed.

but alas, today, dad sends me these pics via email. he's bringing them next month when he visits. i cant figure what these might be.

i suppose i'll add them to the tiki room while he's in seattle, take a few pics and email them to him with a thank you note..

hey, is there an UglyCarvingCentral somewhere i can trade these things?

My sister (a shopaholic- a real one, not just a big shopper) spends most days at Marshall's. I made the mistake of telling her about some of the things I was looking for (Suffering Corn Flake Oil, etc) and I described them in excruciating detail. Well, I am now the proud owner of an Aztec wall plaque and Hindu book ends.

When I showed her the bottles after I bought them myself, she said, "oh, that??? that's not ANYTHING I would have thought you'd want"

Humph.

-Z

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: feelin' zombified on 2004-06-10 20:33 ]

I know exactly what your talking about.. I often head out to obscure places looking for TIKI, what I find is most places have "things" that would almost pass for TIKI but in reality there kind of African and not TIKI.. there is a fine line there and a very noticable difference... I have told my family about this TIKI hunt that we are all so proud to be apart of, so I am sure that at some point I too will be the proud owner of some stuff to offer on the "Ugly Carving Central"..

Best of luck to you and go easy on the family.. I don't think they understand

Cheers

:tiki:

well... whateve they are they look pretty incredible.

i do plan on leaving copies of BoT, Tiki Quest, and Taboo on the coffee table. couldnt hurt to have some Oceania books (from the library)..

it is sometimes hard to tell the difference

hmmm.. maybe if the wood is nice enough, maybe the carving can be reworked!

My Uncle was over last weekend, when he sat down in my living room and asked why I have a viking ship carving hanging on my wall (Witco 's Kon Tiki)...Doh! I guess you can't edumacate everyone...I give up!

I have one of those wood guys beating on the drum like in that picture. While not tiki, I always thought he was cool enough to sit on a shelf. He kind of reminds me of the people on the Tamboo album cover.

Erich

I'm kinda lucky, my brother-in-law spends most of his time shopping on ebay, swap meets & estate sales to buy & sell to supplement his income (usually making almost asm much as I do working a 40 hr week!). He's been in the "vintage biz" for 20+ years and has a good eye for "the deals" (he recently bought a 1930's aloha shirt for $1.00 at an estate sale & said "I can sell this for $1000.00 on ebay). He throws me on to some good stuff sometimes, but if it's something he can turn around for big bucks, I have to get in line with everybody else.

Great thread before Father's Day!
I love that guy that brought me into the world, but for security measures, I simply tell him and the rest of my family, that my tiki bar has no more room (which is true by the way).
I have no more room for any more “Target Tiki Attempts”.
Gotta love my family for the thought though!

A Tiki Cheers To You

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-06-11 12:04 ]

My dad keeps telling me how when he was a kid HE used to carve totem poles aswell, I've given up trying to explain the difference.

i dont want to discourage him ~ we dont have an incredibly close relationship ~ so thriftshop stuff gives us a common ground.

besides, he had to put up with ties and clay handprints for so many fathers' days. (and cripes, he had a blue collar job and rarely wore ties!)

besides..what if he does see something valuable.. and passes it, because he doenst want to be rejected..my tiki room is still pretty bare, so i'll probably have some shelf space. the saving grace, is that he wont spend more than 3-4 bucks for an item.

hmm. i should tell him to be on the lookout for that severed head mug...

I think it's great that family members want to help you stock your tiki room-be glad your dad is still alive-mine isn't.

Maybe someone needs to have a Ugly contest at one of the events and the winner with the most Ugly piece gets to be the guy to throw the match on the pile made from everyone's entries. Might be nice on a cold night at the beach.

"May the Tiki Gods bless you and always keep your life Tikifull!"

[ Edited by: Tiki-Toa on 2004-06-11 15:38 ]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

very true about the gift horse. I personally think fondly (not saying your not) of friends and family who saw an item and thought of me.

oh i DO appreciate every gift i get ~ some i treasure, and some i post here for amusement value!

i'm enjoying all the other stories of "nearly tiki" too.

as i said, i wasn't accusing you of not appreciating a gift.

one of the funniest moments in my collecting was this: My mother went to an import store where she picked me up a statue. When she gave it to me she said "The guy at the store told me this would bring you good luck, if you place it by your bed it should help your dreams or something like that" I smiled and thanked her and placed it in my living room. The reason, she had picked up an African fertility god. With all the girls I had... well you know... I was NOT going to put it in my bedroom for the fear of it actually working.

I have actually broaden my collection to include aztec and central american idols. seeing I'm from TX and live so close to the border. Dogbytes, I bet yall have a mess load of totems around your area for sale.

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

[ Edited by: Unkle John on 2004-06-12 20:26 ]

oddly enough, i have NOT found tons of totem stuff in the PNW..plenty of steins, owls and mushrooms though..

lately, i've not been very lucky at antique stores or thrift shops... thats why i'm always chiding my relatives with tales of "paying full price" (a no-no, in our thrifty family).

my favorite aunt passed away in Jan, she was my garagesale maven. i think having my list of "must haves" in her purse, helped her to keep going out on weekends, even when her chemo was making her a bit tired. gave her a purpose, of sorts.

hm.. still need a juice-o-matic, ice-o-matic ~ i better email pix to my dad..

:)

Awww thats kinda cute! And so sweet, how he tries to help out!

Last year I had to have surgery for something, and it was my first time under the knife. I was so nervous. When I finally woke up after surgery, my whole family was in the room cheering. There were toy monkeys hanging everywhere (I also collect monkeys), and a row of tiki mugs along the windowsill with flowers in each one! I already had many of the mugs that were there, as they are ones that are super easy to find just about anywhere. But I was so moved by the gesture just the same! I felt so loved! :)
You must feel so loved too! Congrats on your new (I think African?) finds lol! Too cute :wink:

~Lenore

dose things have their own vibe ~ the two-tone carvings with the darker hair / beard i believe are jamaican - i've seen dem in flea markets and antique stores marked 'jamaica...'

My friends have developed a penchant for getting me tiki trinkets. I don't mind. Salt and pepper shakers from Hawaii (very cool), Some wooden cats salt and pepper shakers (my sister thought they were tiki, but they're pretty cool none the less) and most recently some stackable tiki citronella candles and old anondized aluminum glasses (oxymoron?). I don't mind at all.

here's my dad's latest find

its all wood, unsigned... its hard to figure what this might be. but its growing on me..
dad mailed this to me, along with a couple plastic party city masks and a really nice Waring Blender. he was really proud of this garage sale find.

I don't know if this provides perspective from the other side.

For Chirstmas, my (then) 6 year old daughter got me a ceramic latte cup from Target. The cup had a picture of a pineapple on it. To her, the pineapple made it Tiki. She was so proud of herself for getting her daddy something to add to his collection, I certainly had no intention of disappointing her.

To me, that that cup is more valuable than any mug I could ever own, and I use it almost every day.

Awww, Tikipedia, you're the swell guy who always wears an uglier-than-sin tie on Father's Day, too, aren't ya!

You're the best kind of dad :)

With gifts from your kids, it's almost ALWAYS the thought that counts (gawd, the crap I gave my mom!). When do we lose that? When do we start requiring that the gift be an actual GOOD gift too? I've never thought about this. Shouldn't it always be the thought that counts - from anyone? (But I'm NO better than anyone else on this point, no sirree! I do love it when I also love the gift and not just the giver!)

I have an ugly African mask chosen by the darling little boy of one of my best friends. I'll find a place for it when I get all the other stuff finally up, you betcha (um, not so prominently placed). I'll hear his little voice every time, "Oh, Mom! We have to get this for ALICE! It's tiki!"

(but why-oh-why couldn't it have actually BEEN tiki.....)

Perhaps the best approach is the 'holiday fruitcake tactic'.

People give you something that isn't Tiki. You smile and thank them. When they leave, you get rid of it.

If you drop it off at the local Goodwill, Dogbytes' dad might buy it, and the circle is complete. :D

Yeh, my folks just went to Africa and i got an African carving. Looks tribal, but not tiki. I love it, cause they dont reaaly like tiki but bought it for me anyway.

Tikilicous - thats a cool story. You got cool freinds and family.

My step-dad got a gnome from his son for fathers day. My mum hates it, so its buried in the garden. You can hardly see the tip of his gnome hat sticking through the foliage...

i've had this treasure hidden away for a while, but todd showed it to our guests, and we all had a huge laugh.. its a full sized mask, complete with "scalp"

a rug only The Donald would wear!

It's Viking Chic!

I think I have a winner here...

my sister (mentioned earlier in this same thread) told me she bought a tiki mug for me for Xmas. I didn't get my hopes up... and it was not only as bad but WORSE than I thought:

(photo taken from an Ebay auction)
"You like Star Wars and Tiki... this is both!"

Now keep in mind that she:

• has viewed my collection

• has a degree in art and should know better

The good news is that it looks like I can get $13 on Ebay for it.

-Z

My dad is a garage sale hunter from way back and I suppose I have him to thank for passing the germ on to me. I KNOW it doesn't come from my mom's side. Anyway, he's retired and can go to the sales while I have to work so I have him on the lookout for tiki goodies. If he finds me anything tiki, I love it. He knows it is better to go ahead and spend a couple of bucks for something and let me decide later if I want to keep it or not. Usually there isn't a lot out there but occasionally he finds something I really like and I appreciate it so much. I never tell him when I don't like stuff because he was so kind to think of me and I don't want him to feel as if I am rejecting his thoughtfulness just because it was something I would not have bought myself. Here is his best score so far. I know some may not like this but I think it's great! It's vintage, made of plaster and was used as a table top candle holder. The light was inside and shone out from eyes, nose and mouth. I've never seen another like it. Thanks Dad!!

On a little different note, my mom knows in addition to Tiki I
love vintage 50's and 60's stuff. She has definitely sent me some
"what the hell is that?" items, but last year she scored huge for me!
She found a large set of mint condition Franciscan Starburst dishes
at a little old ladies house and got them for next to nothing. GO MOM!

On 2006-01-16 17:40, Feelin' Zombified wrote:
I think I have a winner here...

(photo taken from an Ebay auction)
"You like Star Wars and Tiki... this is both!"

-Z

Hahahahahahahahaha! :lol: :lol:

You WIN, FZ! :lol: :lol:

(so WHAT part does she think is tiki, if she even realizes that it's Star Wars?!?
If it's a glass, it's tiki?! What? WHAT?!)

On 2006-01-18 13:35, Formikahini wrote:

If it's a glass, it's tiki?! What?

exactly.

maybe she's thinking "tiki" is any drinking vessel with teeth(?)

-Z