New 2006 Tikis at Big Lots!

....it's a shame people actually spend money on it as it only perpetuates the production of more crap similiar to it..

True...but I wouldn't want to put a carving I paid good money for outdoors. I keep the good stuff inside...I bought the Big Lot's Pele to put out in the garden.

I am actually grateful when I see stuff like this being sold; some of it is not terribly attractive, but some of it looks pretty good to my eye.

I usually think I'm dreaming when I see anything tiki-related in a store, and I think, "Hey wow...it's decorative crap that I would display, for a change!"

I like the pele statue..it's actually one of the better ones, but alas, they don't seem to carry those in the midwest as far as I know....

On 2006-03-29 10:17, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
....most of the big lots stuff is low-grade crap....it's a shame people actually spend money on it as it only perpetuates the production of more crap similiar to it.....

On 2006-03-29 10:17, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
the tikis look good but apparently big lots (and target) feel that, if the stores are not located by an ocean then they should not contain any tikis as land locked people don't want to buy that sort of thing....what a bunch of discriminating mother****ers!!

Tipsy, you just gave me vertigo.

:-?

For those of us who were / are late coming into Tiki of our own, anything we can find, and no matter where it is being sold or manufactured is a great find....I'm in Florida and everything around me is centered around the tropical setting and Tiki is mostly a descriptive meaning of the merchandise...Becasue if you ask most sales clerks if they have anything Tiki....They just look at you....

I just found some Tiki (ceramic) drink tumblers at one of the antique / collectible stores in the area. The wife and I spent 2 1/2 hours in there and only found two items.

Florida is a long ways from the South Pacific Islands....Thanks for all the post everyone, I really enjoy the reading.....

Thanks for posting about this thing, ZuluMagoo. It straddled my "too cheesy for the money" line until I thought of it as a patio accent light....still haven't found the Disneyesque one, but am looking.

Just a heads-up to my fellow midwesterners, I was passing through Pittsburg, KS today and they had unloaded a shipment of two of the $29 Disney knock-offs so maybe they are shipping more widely. Look these over carefully; one of the two I saw had a hole in the base...I didn't look inside it for fear of finding pink booties.

Beware -- bought one of the disney knockoffs at the Big Lots in Dublin/San Ramon (they had four last week), but it blew over during one of the storms and cracked -- half his toes came off and one of the dragonflies from the hat. Nothing freaky inside though...

On 2006-04-09 21:24, TikiKini wrote:
Nothing freaky inside though...
And you KNOW that was the question on everybody's mind!!

Hello friends,
I was just at Big Lots in Anaheim and one in Lancaster. Neither of them had any of the glowing eyes Tiki, nor Peles, nor ice buckets. They both have the 3 stacked up "Disney" Tikis. For any of you who have last years version of them, these new one are a huge improvement. The detail in the sculpt is a lot better and more Disney-esque. Last years looked like a cheap knock-off. By the way, the Pottery store Tikis discused earlier are pretty ugly in my humble opinion...
Has anyone seen any other Big Lots Tikis? Are they still selling them elsewhere?
Keep us updated!
Your friend,
Louis

Big Lots Fullerton (CA, near CSUF) is the same as Anaheim. No Pele's, no buckets.

I finally got around to painting the Pele Tiki, it took longer than I thought but he really comes alive with a little color. I used the red one for the model and took a few liberties, he will soon be in the backyard.

BTW, I always thought the fire goddess Pele was a woman, what's going on with that?

[ Edited by: naugatiki 2006-04-13 16:44 ]

I went to Big Lots today and picked up some inexpensive, but kinda cute, plastic tiki glasses, dishes, and serving trays...such a deal! Perfect for patio parties so I don't put any of my 'good stuff' at risk...hehe. There was actually a pretty nice variety of styles available, from clear bright green plastic tiki face glasses with pitchers to colorful tropical designs with and without tiki statues included in the decoration.

amiotiki

here's my Pele painted in the red and yellow paint scheme. She is perched on a pedestal that I carved from pine last year. I drilled a hole in the bottom and filled her with sand for added ballast. Helztiki, I used exterior acrylic craft paint (Walmart); no surface prep. don't load the brush with alot of paint; do a couple of thin layers to get a more textured look.

thanks to those who posted the ETR Pele photos for color reference (hodadhank and gwenners).

The painted pele really looks great! I also dig the pedestal.. Lookkin' good!

T.F.

Thanks TikiFink. i've been to three Big Lots in the last few days, and they are all sold out of the Pele statues. i was hoping for another to try a different paint scheme.

Can anyone post what the Luau Flame Idol looks like powered up? Or describe it better, I have no clue what it does.

Hey, Gang! I sent an e-mail message to the folks at Big Lots trying to find the Pele Statue near Buena Park and they gave me this reply:

The item sold very well and is sold out at most of our stores. There may be limited quantities left in the following stores in your state:

PASADENA 1260 N. LAKE AVE. 1 (626) 794-7602
TORRANCE 5017 PACIFIC COAST HWY 1 (310) 373-8079
STOCKTON 2720 COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE 1 (209) 941-8726
CHULA VISTA 1210 BROADWAY 1 (619) 420-4716
SANTQA CLARA 3735 EL CAMINO REAL 1 (408) 247-0389
NORTH HOLLYWOOD 5321 VINELAND AVE. 1 (818) 506-7699
LOS ANGELES 1815 SIAUSON 1 (213) 294-9725
INDIO 82-150 HWY 111 1 (760) 342-1253
OILDALE 1211 OLIVE DRIVE 1 (661) 393-4559
MORENO VALLEY 23607 A. SUNNYMEAD 1 (951) 247-7590
CATHEDRAL CITY 69026 HIGHWAY 111 1 (760) 321-2968
MURRIETA 25260 MADISON AVE. 1 (951) 698-1417
BANNING 3403 W. RAMSEY 1 (951) 849-4051
CUDAIIY 7925 ATLANTIC BLVD 1 (213) 771-0481
OAKLAND 3020 E NINTH ST 1 (510) 434-9010
ESCONDIDO 1625 E VALLEY PKWY S 1 (760) 747-7467
CORONA 740 N MAIN STREET 1 (951) 735-7242
SOUTH PASADENA 1401 B W. HUNTINGTON DR. 1 (626) 441-5493

I would suggest calling these stores and asking if they can check their on-hand inventory. Thank you and have a great day.

I hit the one in Cudahy on Atlantic and SCORED! They still have one, but it has minor damage to the base, which I'm sure would be easy to repair.

On 2006-04-17 20:51, larryc39 wrote:
Can anyone post what the Luau Flame Idol looks like powered up? Or describe it better, I have no clue what it does.

Woo! I just picked up the Totem, it was the only one and the only thing one of the nicer BL's in Michigan had. Most of ours are in the ghetto, so to speak, and are pretty small and don't carry much of anything.

On 2006-04-17 20:51, larryc39 wrote:
Can anyone post what the Luau Flame Idol looks like powered up? Or describe it better, I have no clue what it does.

Larry: look at Zulu's first post on this thread and you will see one of these idols in blue. ( They also come in purple )In the photo you will see a brown looking thing in the mouth. This is the little silk flame thingie. The Idol takes 4 aa batteries and when you turn it on, a little fan activates to make the flame stand up. There are also several LEDs that light the flame up. Another cool thing about these is that they are made to stack so you can create a fair sized Tiki. The bad thing about these is that they are pretty tacky. They would look great in a Shag - esque environment with lots of greens, blues and purples. A cartoonish Tiki environ if you will. They would stand in sharp contrast to anything remotely natural looking.

I purchased two of these for a Tiki Farm mug display in my Booze-a-torium. (wine and spirits shop) In this context they really do look cool.

For those of you in Denver, you can get mugs at my store and not hassle the shipping. Send me a PM!

T.F.

Ok, that's what I thought from the boxart...but then I thought they could have been really cheezy and just been a flickering light in that white thing to make it look glowy.

looking around on ebay, i saw the pele statue. it's available to buy it now for $119. it's pretty crazy how much they're trying to make off of it, but they'll probably find a sucker somewhere to pay that for it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7760996191&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX

[ Edited by: tiki5-0 2006-04-25 08:36 ]

Good grief!

At least this guy didn't say "I was told it was Witco" or "...from The Hula Club" or some other BS!

But what HUEVOS! A $39 statue for $119!!

I just visited a Big Lots In Huntington Beach, and they had a really cheesy Tiki bar for sale... 59.99... plastic thatch canopy, fabric Tiki print wrapped around the front of the bar... I guess if you were in a pinch for an auxillary bar for a party, it would do with a little doctoring up...!

They also had a coordinating Tiki arch!

I'd hit one Mich. one in Macomb/Shoenner, tehy didn't really have anything but the one totem. I'd stoped by the Dequinder/Universla Mall store and they had a whole AISLE of Tiki. The glowy eye guys, the flame guys, totems, but no ice buckets or disney statue. They also had a lot of flamingo themed items, and both small hanging tiki-face party lights and larger (c9 bulb) stick-in-the-ground lights along with some silly junk, IE bamboo tiki bar signs, holographic surfboard, etc. Might be worth a second trip to see what your local has restocked.

BTW I got the log carving (VERY nice for the price) and the flame thing. Bit disappointed with the flame thing though, I was expecting a nicer quality (thicker) plastic for $20 and a little better flame effect. It's definitely an indoor-only toy.

Big Lots Solar moon lights (my photo):

These emit very bright white light (perfect for me because they go down a path on a small hill driveway). They also make suns (cheesy face on them though) and stars. I should have gotten the stars but didn't. So instead I put some of these solar suns (Fred Meyer on sale) in between:

Not my photo:

And I got a couple of the solar palms flowers (not my photo either). Again, Fred Meyer or you can find them online at various places like The Hunger Site:

I just quickly shot of photo of both of them in my Everblooming Lavendar (Lowes--what am I a sales person?):

They are gorgeous to look at and at night give a very, soft illuminative glow (don't count on them for real light though).

I found this tiki statue, but not Pele:

Could NOT find the Solar Tiki, but they all said, "we had a couple but they're gone".

I bet you didn't know they had TIKI STEPPING STONES, did you?

Yep:

I made a plant stand into a mini table (I could only find TWO of the Tiki Stones, would like two more):

(That Corona is long history, btw)

I did find enough of the happy yellow pineapple stepping stones to line the path on the side of the house so got those:

Here's a cluster of them just sitting on the ground waiting for me to put them in their real location:

I think they'll look ok in perspective to everything else once they're landscaped (because they do lean towards cheesy). I already managed to crack one when I was pouncing towards the grotto one particularly warm night last week, so don't step on the stones until they've been properly embedded!

I was in biglots the other day, here's some quick photos I snapped off. We picked up a set of the tiki head light string.

-adrian

Hey, mobile...did you pick yourself up one of those hula tops?

I have hit up the same 3 Big Lots twice each now--that's a whole lotta Big Lottin'! But guess what? At the last one I unexpectedly scored on the SOLAR TIKI!!! I'm still in shock. Persistence pays off (your lesson for the day).

..better run back to big lots..they now sell tiki bars for a mere $50....they have a thatched roof and all...real super cheesy, but would make a great portable bar that would be easy to set up in a hotel room at say, hukilau? perhaps...hint hint..

hahhaaaaahhhaaaaaaa!! the same damn bar is being sold on ebay with a buy-it-now for $99!!!!!!! don't be a sucker......get yours from big lots........

WooHoooo! The bar we had in our room at Oasis was from Big Lots :)

ZuluMagoo wrote:

Once again Big Lots! has released their spring tiki line for 2006.

Bought a bunch of the cheap plastic/melamine dinnerware with tikis
and the hawaiian shirt mini snack plates, a couple of the tiki paper
lanterns and a palm leaf tray (medium "clear" green plastic) and a
bright green tiki pitcher and 8 matching tiki tumblers. The last
items will be for use outdoors and around the pool (once I move to
a location where I can put in a pool) and most of the others will
be for serving food when I host tiki parties. MIGHT go back and get
the skim board if it is still there (only saw one) and the tiki bar
(saw one in the box and another set up for display). Haven't seen
Pele or the planter/bowls yet. They had a couple of the stacking
tiki's, both the same size and color. :( MIGHT buy a tiki bra in
case I ever meet the wahine of my dreams. Will have to try some of
the other BL's in Grand Rapids as well. Didn't see the patio light
sets either. They DID have the limbo set and I might get it too.
Also, got a "Salty The Parrot" rude talking parrot and a fake bowl
of fire lamp, plus an industrial/ship's passageway light as the
Spencer Gift store at the mall. I MIGHT get a BIG neon sign that
has a couple of palm trees in neon as well as "The Bar Is Open" in
neon as well. They want $200 for the sign, but I have a discount
card for 10% off and I MIGHT be able to get a bit more off as well.

Yeah, you know what? Some BASTARD, or maybe it's more than one person, by golly, but SOME BASTARD went to all the Big Lots stores in my area and bought all the good stuff. Now only the really awful stuff is left. So...which one of you did it? I'm only kidding. But it's true that someone has been going around here buying all the cool statues, etc.