Bamboo Ben Masterpiece

Oh Yeah! And you get paid for this?!?! Sweet.

Well, let's see... the web site's down. Probably not a good thing.

Revised: Site back up now. Guess is was temporary. Thought for a moment there that Tiki Lee should kiss that $900 goodbye.

[ Edited by: GatorRob 2006-03-28 07:37 ]

Wow Tiki Lee and Bamboo Ben, it's been such a treat watching this project gradually take shape since I joined Tiki Central. I'm excited to see it develop further and fill up with exotic goodies! Hey, what's with Crazy Al being so secretive? The suspense is killing me! It's hard to believe a man who regularly stands on one foot twirling an axe could suddenly become shy!

While reading your previous post wondering if your original bedroom set would clash, I remembered Frank Lloyd Wright used to design most of the furnishings for his spaces to fit them precisely. Ben is such a remarkably gifted craftsman I'm sure he would build a bed fit for a king (Kamehameha!)

Mahalo for sharing. - HodadHank

This is truly amazing. You both did a fantastic job.

Alright then....... introducing......
Crazy AL Tiki#107-111! the "Lee Tiki Tree"
(play on the word 'Family Tree')

you think this seven foot sweetie looks great on the cover of Tiki Magazine...(ok.. i'm only 6'1")... You should see it in Ben's(aka Lee's)awesome Tiki ROooooomm!!!!!! and i suspect you will soon.

Ben had a lot to do with the creation of this seven month wonder.... mostly in the concept of 5 tikis in one.... then there was the use of his palm logs... the use of his parking lot... the use of his electricity... the use of his friendly neighbors' tools, hospitality, and encouragement....

Lee had everything else to do with his Tiki... If there were only a Lee Tiki for every one of my tiki carving adventures. Lee You Are The Best.... Lee even help me get the cover of Tiki Magazine shot. His encouragement was unlimited and so appreciated by my wacky work ethic.

BEN and LEE RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr skeeeeeeeeeeee Barr Harrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Holy moley! That's not just a tiki, it's a TIKI! It's a spectacle! That's really, really cool, C'Al -- congratulations, and well done. Can't wait to see pics of it in place, and big mahalos to Tiki Lee not just for supporting tiki art, but being willing to share it with us.

Okay, now that the magazine is finally out, I can break my silence. No, the room is still not completely done (although we're down to the finest of finest details), but the centerpiece of the room IS finally done, and Al and I can finally share it with you. You've now seen Crazy Al's amazing tiki on the cover of tiki magazine, but now you can see it in its rightful home -- our tiki hideaway. I carefully documented the tiki's arrival and installation last month, and I've shared some of the photos in the gallery. With Al's permission, I'll later share photos of the tiki's carving, as well as of the Tiki Magazine cover photo shoot.

Al did an incredible job. Is it his best tiki? That's for him to decide. But it will always be my favorite. Al designed the tiki around my family -- the guy on the bottom symbolizes me, holding up my family above. My wife stands on my head, cradling my young son (well-endowed, thanks Al...). In my two hands are my two daughters. I have a family of five. Al carefully worked this idea of fives into the tiki, just as meticulously as Bamboo Ben worked the idea of fives into the room itself.

This weekend I'll take some detail shots of the tiki -- the devil's in the details, and Al spared no expense. There's abalone inlay all over the tiki, and its just gorgeous.

I thank Ben, I thank Al, I thank everyone who appreciates the work that has gone into this room. As you can well imagine, we love it. It's far beyond how we ever dared to dream it could be. I went to the best, and I got the best.

After the link, scroll to the end of the thumbnails for the tiki installation shots. FYI, I also added captions to all the prior photos.

http://tiki.unkrich.com/tiki_hideaway/

-- Tiki Lee

Absolutely the most incredible, outstanding, stunning and moxie filled room I've ever seen. The tiki....I have no words...

WOW, TikiLee, you are so Blessed. You definitely got the best. The room is Awesome and the tiki is Awesome and that only Begins to describe it........ Ben, Absolutely top knotch but typical work for you,just a bit better than normal. I think you left some of your heart in that home for ALL to see, Thanks....C'Al, you too left no holds barred. that tiki is just plain Spectacular, a few cuts beyond your normal work. The detail is beyond description. You too left a lot of heart and soul there, uncovered, for all to see. What a team. Tiki Lee, youmust have the right stuffabout you to get this level of work from these two jokers, My hat's off to you, Congrats.
Again all I can say is WOW!

Wow!

This project has been just magnificent! What a room! What a tiki! Ben and Al are impeccable craftsmen and will surely be legends in our culture for decades to come, but I so admire your devotion to their art with these commissions, Lee. Great patrons like you not only inspire great artworks, but inspire us all to dream a little larger.

Mahalo nui loa. - HodadHank

As promised, here are some detail photos of Al's amazing creation, as well as some more detail shots of the room. Tonight I'll take some "night" shots of the room so you can see the mostly-finished room in all its glory.

The detail work on Al's tiki is staggering. These photos aren't quite the same as experiencing the tiki in person, but it's the closest I can do!

http://tiki.unkrich.com/tiki_hideaway/

Enjoy...

• Tiki Lee

[ Edited by: Tiki Lee 2006-04-15 16:26 ]

What an tremendous tiki. The family symbolism turned out great. No wonder Crazy Al wanted to keep this a secret. I've been checking this post for a long while hoping to see it.
JP

I don't think it can be said enough - that is THE most beautiful tiki hidaway I have ever seen. I don't think I would spend time in any other room. Ben and C'Al have really outdone themselves

Lee, thank you so much for sharing your little piece of aloha with us.

Dude, you guys are f*ckin NUTS! (Best Ali-G snap...) "Reeespe-cccc"..

As promised, I've added some night shots of the room:

http://tiki.unkrich.com/tiki_hideaway/

As awesome as the room looks during the day, it really comes alive after dark. It's nearly finished -- besides a cushion for Ben's window bench, the only things I'm still working on are a corner chair and ottoman. I'm getting these, from LaneVenture:

Of course, there will always be more and more art and tiki knick-knacks, that goes without saying.

Picture the ceiling fan lazily turning, many of the lights gently flickering as if lit by candles, and the forbidden sounds of Martin Denny drifting from the speakers hidden in the ceiling.

A little paradise in Northern California.

Next project: A mug of the tiki to give out to guests lucky enough to spend the night in the room.

-- Tiki Lee

Adn Lucky guests they will be to stay in such a superbtiki room. Your pride is showing through and Well Justified too. The Night shots really add something to the room just not seen in the daylight. WOW. I'm only a teency weency bit JEALOUS!
Thanks again!

On 2006-04-15 22:42, Tiki Lee wrote:
Picture the ceiling fan lazily turning, many of the lights gently flickering as if lit by candles, and the forbidden sounds of Martin Denny drifting from the speakers hidden in the ceiling.

... and a lovely wahine with come hither eyes...

Man! That's coming along quite nicely! I'm totally envious.

Awesome - totally jaw dropping.

The room has so much detail, but still holds together beautifully.

Lee,

I found the site with all the photos before it dawned on me that this was YOUR place!! O M G !! What an amazing room!! The farther along I went through the photos the lower my jaw dropped! What really kicked me in the head, though, was Crazy Al's Marq. It looked like a really nice carving - until I saw the detail shots - and then it blew my mind! You are seriously blessed, dude, in many MANY ways! You could sell tickets! (I'd buy one.)

Classic Silver Line Boats

[ Edited by: SilverLine 2006-05-04 20:08 ]

I'm still waiting on my TikiMagazine but holy crap. Just seen the C'Al pics today and its a true work of art that will stand the test of time. TikiLee, do you ever even leave your bedroom?, I wounldn't. I think "TikiArt III" has to be held here this year.

WOW!!!

That is beatiful! A true credit to everyone involved :)

So, a large amount of extra bamboo, matting, rope, etc. has been sitting in my garage for months. Ben had some leftovers, and I just couldn't bear to chuck it. However, my wife's out of town with the kids this week, so I took a day off and decided to clean out the house. I got a big dumpster in the driveway, and first thing this morning, started filling it up. As much as I hated to just toss it, the first stuff that went in was all the excess tiki room stuff.

A couple hours later, two delivery guys showed up with a treadmill we just bought. After they assembled it, one of the guys said "Are you just throwing this bamboo out? I've been building a bad-ass tiki set-up in my back yard -- I could use it."

So of course I said, "Bad-ass? You wanna see bad-ass?"

After they gawked at the Tiki Hideaway, we went back out and they loaded their delivery truck with every last scrap of boo, rope, matting, even some scrap boards that Ben had tested his routing on.

I was so happy to see it head off somewhere where it will live the tiki life. A little moment of Tiki Karma.

Tiki Lee!
You have proven that tiki dreams really do come true!Your home looks incredible!That attention to detail and the additional drama with the lighting....Wow! Congratulations to you and BambooBen-Genius and Madman!You two are keeping the dream alive!Now when are you having that Luau?

That Was so nice that someone rescued the Bamboo and other stuff from the dumpster. The tiki gods Planned for you to clean that garage just on that day. Too bad they didn't have you starting an hour or so later.
Excellent room and good KArma to go with it!

You throwing out bamboo is not good but in the end it went to a good place.

I was reading your last post and was like yeah, yeah, and then put two and two together and then, nope, not a bamboo treadmill. Think about that.

i just checked out this thread and the progress pics for the first time today, and i'm blown away! what an amazing room. congrats, tiki lee. the art is incredible! great work, c'al and ben.

Wo!!!!

Almost a year and I still haven't linked Tiki Lee and Laura's Tiki Hideaway to my website. Doh!

Might be back up in the Bay Area to do some work for one of Tiki Lees co horts around Oct. Nov. If Tiki Lee's not to busy, maybe we can do a "Vouge Type" photo shoot to complete the room. Would be a classic for the BOT vol 3.

Many MAHALOS for all of your thanx and praises TC'ers.

Man, this thing is the Sistine Chapel of Tiki rooms! Great work Ben and Al, the detail you've put into this project really stands out. I've just spent the last 15 minutes staring slackjawed and drooling at that gallery. Kudos to Tiki Lee too for having the vision and not compromising in any way!

That is truly incredible work. Unbeievable transformation....Thanks for sharing the photos. Enjoy your new room!

I pity the fiends who aren't stunned by this! Truly a piece of art. After I finish weeping at the beauty, I'll begin weeping that MY place doesn't look like that!
(Unless I finally pick up these #$*! carving tools I bought a few months ago but just give furtive glances to every now and then... )
Too sweet.

this room rips! i want to move in! its really amazing!! is the rest of you house done up like this also?

Geeezy Weeezy, fantastic job Bamboo Ben. And great tiki, Crazy Al.
Wow
XXXOOO
Ivy

Hey, Ben -- I think the Vogue photo shooot is a great idea. Maybe we can build a volcano outside the window and see a supermodel being tossed in...

On 2006-08-17 23:34, RevBambooBen wrote:
Wo!!!!

Almost a year and I still haven't linked Tiki Lee and Laura's Tiki Hideaway to my website. Doh!

Might be back up in the Bay Area to do some work for one of Tiki Lees co horts around Oct. Nov. If Tiki Lee's not to busy, maybe we can do a "Vouge Type" photo shoot to complete the room. Would be a classic for the BOT vol 3.

Many MAHALOS for all of your thanx and praises TC'ers.

BOT # 3 ??? confused

What's about Vol. 2 ? Are there any information about the release date ?

BOT vol 2 refers to Sven's upcoming book on Witco. It's supposed to be out sometime in 2007.

On 2006-08-30 12:51, GatorRob wrote:
BOT vol 2 refers to Sven's upcoming book on Witco. It's supposed to be out sometime in 2007.

Awesome, can't wait to hold it in my hands.....but it's a long time till "sometime in 2007". :wink:

On 2006-08-17 23:34, RevBambooBen wrote:

Almost a year and I still haven't linked Tiki Lee and Laura's Tiki Hideaway to my website. Doh!

Might be back up in the Bay Area to do some work for one of Tiki Lees co horts around Oct. Nov. If Tiki Lee's not to busy, maybe we can do a "Vouge Type" photo shoot to complete the room.

OK, Now I know the FIRST person I'm gonna call when I win the Lotto....BEN!!! :)

This place is here in the Bay Area? :o

OK, Lee & Laura have I introduced myself yet? :wink:
When is the "Official Tiki Opening Party"?

Love the Crazy Al Tiki as well!

Ben, I'm a photographer -I shoot 35mm, High Res Digital, Medium Format and Large Format Pinhole....anyone who offers more variety than that...call me!

Just found this thread....OMG....that is just off the hook. It is so beautiful and such a great blend of products...simply stunning. Its got class written all over it...nice work Ben & Al...jealousjealousjealous. :D

HOLY CRAP!! I too just found this thread. That room is worth every penny! I thought my tiki bar is cool but now it looks like I will have to kick it up a notch. Great work Bamboo Ben and thanks for sharing Tiki Lee!!

Simply amazing and fantastic stuff !
Rev Bambooben + Crazy Al ! A dream came true.

Bravo,

Benjamin.

HOLY CATS - the Bamboo Ben Room is incredible

Ben rocks!

Bump- I still can't believe my eyes when I look at the pics of this place.

Bamboo Bens' work and Al Evans' tikis. HOLY SHIT that place is beautiful! You couldn't have gotten two better guys for the job, man. I'd like to have Ben work on my place just be able to hang out and drink beer with him all day, but I can't afford him and I'd end up going to work all beery. This thread is pretty old, but this is the first I've looked. Totally dumbfounded, man.

UNHOLY.

Aloha, Lee! And Major Mahalos to both you and your wahine for having the alluring South Seas dream that became the reality known as "Lee & Laura's Tiki Hideaway"!

Your "guest bedroom" has long been one of my personal Holy Shrines of Tikiness at which I periodically stop and bow in worshipful awe! And massive kudos must also go -- fittingly enough -- to those 2 masters of tropically-infused magic & madness, Bamboo Ben and Crazy Al! You guys are simply Da Best!

Along with The Moai Lounge, and, much more recently, The Jungalero Lounge, Lee & Laura's swooningly gorgeous Tiki Hideaway has provided my major inspiration as to what transformational possibilities exist for ones home environment.

However, a BIG difference, in my case, was a little problem called... err... extreme LACK OF BUDGET! So it rook me over a year -- having only one "employee" (i.e., Yours Truly) to do all the work -- to transform my once boringly plain white bedroom into "Castaway Clemens' Paradise Cove Tiki Lounge"!

U can see the pix-heavy thread at: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=28843&forum=18&23

And the non-home (i.e. commercial) establishments which also provided lots of fantasy-fodder for me were ANOTHER of the Good Rev's creations -- Forbidden Island -- as well as, unsurprisingly, The Mai Kai, the late lamented Kahiki, and, on a much smaller scale, The Tiki Ti.

The final look of my place may actually owe more to the Ti, when all is said and done, than anyplace else, just because, like my Cove, it's such a densely layered hodge-podge of oceanic flotsam and jetsum! And though my lil' project is mostly done now, I still have a few major and minor things yet to do to complete it to my full satisfaction.

And, just like you, Lee, a major source of decorative STUFF of all kinds, proved to be the invaluable Oceanic Arts! What a place THAT is for tiki-obsessed home-improvement fanatics!

But, coming back to your now-iconic Tiki Hideaway, the only things I could really see being added, at this point, might be a token glowing puffer-fish lamp and a few float-lights. But I guess that's my love of kitsch and Poly-Pop tradition speaking. The vibe in your room might just be a bit too classy for those elements not to look out of place.

The final effect of your Hideaway, I've always thought, is commensurate with what a thousand-dollar-a-night room in the most elegant of Polynesian-styled hotels should ideally look like!

However, since I, sure-as-shineola, don't have the needed capital to get Bamboo Ben to create a SOAP-DISH for my bathroom -- let alone my whole bedroom oasis -- I was forced, by that ole "mother-of-invention" herself, to get desperately creative. And, in the end, I guess that's not such a bad thing!

But I can always dream of someday having a Tiki Hideaway on a par with yours!

Cheers! :drink: And Mahalos once again for all the inspiration!

This is by far the coolest bedroom I have ever seen. Whoa! OOOO, Ahhh, and all other extatic sounds......