big lots 2010

I went by the Big Lots in Lancaster, CA on Thursday. They had a small Tiki collection. I bought a candle holder for $8.00.

Big Lots is kinda Party Citys red headed step child!

[ Edited by: Mongoloid 2010-02-28 09:11 ]

It has repainting potential... maybe.

i went to big lots today...lot's of new stuff this year including some different versions of some previous released products (i.e. tiki planters, oil table torches).....this years solar tiki is about the best thing they got...it's actually sculpted like a classic upright ku tiki and it's really not half bad !!.....the other tikis look sculpted by someone that never saw a tiki.....

they do however have a new crop of sea shell hanging baskets, mobiles and chimes, which look great on the ceiling of any tiki room to fill in the blank areas...they are super cheap too......i hope to pick up some more to decorate the ceiling of the bar at the chef shangri-la before their anniversary party in july......

Wow, I definatley have to run by Big Lots this week.

they do however have a new crop of sea shell hanging baskets, mobiles and chimes, which look great on the ceiling of any tiki room to fill in the blank areas...they are super cheap too......i hope to pick up some more to decorate the ceiling of the bar at the chef shangri-la before their anniversary party in july......

This sounds cool.

On 2010-03-07 16:06, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
....the other tikis look sculpted by someone that never saw a tiki.....

Very common with low budget Tiki nowadays, since it is all manufactured (and apparently designed too) in Asia, where they have no clue about Polynesian artifacts. The above candle holder is really funny that way: Not only that Mai Tiki's Pineapple heads are at the low end of the Tiki-taste totem pole, now the Chinese have misinterpreted the pineapple into some abstract thing. Maybe all this time we did not realize that those old Hawaiian Ku and Kane headdresses actually were abstract renderings of PINEAPPLES! :lol:

I second TipsyMcSwagger's comment about the solar tikis. They work a hell of a lot better than last years model too.

One of the hanging shell sets has really great potential to be turned into a cool lamp too!

I agree with you guys, I bought the solar tiki for the back yard, the eyes are blue/purple color at night it looks real creepy. Also I bought one of the shell hanging chimes, mine is a hanging glass float with shells, it is perfect for the tiki hut.

I was in my local Big Lots Saturday and saw they had put out the luau stuff. I knew you guys probably already started posting about it :) . Like many of you I'd rather have stuff outside that I don't mind if it gets ruined by the weather or damaged or stolen so I'm okay with stuff like Big Lots has for that reason. The better it looks the better I like however. Always a trade off.

My store had about 4 of the Disney-like Peles (I never warmed up to these although some of the paint jobs you guys have done make her look so much better). They had 1 -2 large tiki planters with a big pineapple on top of the head, the Pink Eyed solar tikis (maybe 6, I bought 2), saw 2 of the votive tikis pictured above, 4 or more of the toucan solar statutes (bought one last year on clearance and think it could be improved with a new paint job too), and some torches. I did see the netting mentioned, the windchimes, some signs I think, drink umbrellas and other tableware stuff. That's about all I can remember. I saw people had posted pics of some of these items under a Big Lots Pele restock thread.

I bought 4 of the Yellow Eyed solar tiki heads last year and agree that this year's Pink Eyed ones are much nicer looking. I like that Pink Eye has a entire body. I guess Yellow Eye could be modified with a log body beneath his head which would help complete the look and add some nice height. Both BL solar guys are similar in size (Yellow Eye - appx 7-1/2 inches wide x 18-1/2 tall x 4-3/4 deep; Pink Eye - appx 6-1/2 inches wide x 17-1/2 tall x 5 deep). Pink Eye was $25, don't remember how that compared to Yellow Eye. I didn't see any of the Yellow Eyed guys this year.

BTW if you are going to pick up a solar guy, cover your hand over the solar panels on the top of the head and push the on/off button to make sure the eyes light. They should have a charge in them unless they've been played around with for a while. Given the small quantity of these in the stores, nothing like getting one home to find it defective and nothing to exchange it for on a return trip. I ran across a bad one when I checked--only one eye would light.

[ Edited by: Polly_Nesia 2010-03-08 13:50 ]

The scene a few days ago at Big Lots in Santa Fe, NM.

On 2010-03-08 01:18, bigbrotiki wrote:

Maybe all this time we did not realize that those old Hawaiian Ku and Kane headdresses actually were abstract renderings of PINEAPPLES! :lol:

Probably not since Pineapples are NOT native to Hawaii.

"Captain James Cook later introduced the pineapple to Hawaii circa 1770. However, commercial cultivation did not begin until the 1880s when steamships made transporting the perishable fruit viable.

In 1903, James Drummond Dole began canning pineapple, making it easily accessible worldwide. Production stepped up dramatically when a new machine automated the skinning and coring of the fruit. The Dole Hawaiian Pineapple Company was a booming business by 1921, making pineapple Hawaii's largest crop and industry."

Tikibob purchased this fellow at BigLots recently.

Um... that "fellow" is Pele (Goddess of Fire) she just looks like a dude and judging by her appearance I'd say she prefers the company of women so she'll forgive you. :wink:

I was thinking about the Big Lots Pele statute (ala Disney). Maybe the originators got confused and thought Pele was a soccer god. Would explain the pants on her....

Hey Brenda, is Tiki Bob going to dress her up with paint? If so, would love to see the finished project.

I have 6 of those BL Luau Flaming Idols (with the silk fire cloth) that I bought on clearance a year or two ago and have been saying I'm going to give them a paint job one day and make them useful (they are the original blue and purple right now). I bought them with modification in mind and thought I would set them on some kind of base and have two flaming totem poles as a greeting as people enter our patio area during luau parties. I've looked back through the threads on here to see what others have done but sadly a lot of pictures are missing from posts. I see places online selling them (for much more than I paid at BL particularly on clearance) with a brown paint job but think they look a bit lackluster. I'm not sure if I would do them up in a stone finish or make them woodlike. Anyone with pics of any BL idols they have altered? Also curious if anyone has seen these again at their BL? I wouldn't mind picking up a few more for some additional height on my totem poles.

How much was the Pele statue? I didn't even price it but now I'm thinking maybe I need to go back. (I did buy the solar tiki with the glowing eyes (25.00) and a couple of the hanging seashell/ball things...

Hottiki posted on another thread it was $40.

I swung by yesterday, on my way home from work. The Pele-ish statue really is decent, but the rest of the stuff is just heinous.

I dont know what to think about this. That tiki is seasonal and will back again next year like Halloween items, or with Big Lots selling discontinued items, have we seen the peak of tiki and now seeing its (again) gradual decent into popular oblivion? Well I for one will ride this decent to the very bottom, kicking and screaming. You can have my tiki mug when you take it from my cold dead hands...

I went through 4 of the Big Lots solar Ku statues. The first one worked one day until it got rained on. The rest did not work at all. Crappy even by Big Lots standards. I got my money back and bought the Pele-ish statue instead. Too bad, the Ku did look cool when his eyes did work.....that one time.

Robotiki
Mira Mar League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

[ Edited by: robotiki 2010-04-18 08:40 ]

I took some clear silicone and did some minor mods on mine.
Replaced crappy NiCad with a NiMh

I went into a Big Lots the other day to kill some time. I saw the usual crapola and then lo and behold something I could actually use -- the long straws for scorpion bowls, etc. Came in packs of 200 for two fitty.

I stocked up on those straws too. I may have to go back and get some more. They also had some "not-too-tacky-tiki" cocktail napkins.

I went to Big Lots , COOL!!!. Also Dollar Tree in Ca had some great hula girl bobble heads for only $1.00! DT also has great Tiki party stuff for a kids party....
If you are size Med check out the great vintage Tiki Shirts at http://stores.ebay.com/styleofyesterday

I would very much be in the market for one o' them Peles from Big Lots. Our local shop didn't get them, or else someone...ahem...beat me to them. If anyone wants to part with one of theirs, please let me know: shipping is no object.
Thanks!

I went to Big Lots and picked up some inexpensive, but kinda cute, plastic tiki dishes, glasses, and serving trays...such a deal!

Its perfect for patio parties so I don't put any of my 'good stuff' at risk.

Regards,

Ross Taylor

[ Edited by: rtaylor 2010-07-29 21:29 ]

[ Edited by: Hakalugi - obnoxious spam link removed - 2010-08-10 00:22 ]

plenty of good stuff that's quite affordable and made for parties from artists here. why buy big box store stuff when you can support a true lover of tiki art. people that make these things care about it more than anything.

check around, you'd be surprised how affordable it is.

I got some wonderful ceramic tiki planters from there, I love them except for 1 thing, I had them outdoors on my patio and after a month the paint started chipping off :( I had to repaint them again this year. They were in the 'garden' section of the store, I wish they had been labeled 'not for outdoor use'.

We have a couple of the "big box" resin tikis and all the paint was gone from them after a year, and the silly things were not that cheap. The "big box" stuff is for the most part poorly-made junk. I've also bought a lot of stuff from TC artists and it's all been really great, high quality stuff that was priced quite well. I agree with pdrake, look to TC artists first for your tiki needs :)

I did swing by there the other day and got a few supplies to decorate my balcony at Tiki Oasis. Then I ran down to the Dollar tree and got some cheap stuff there too.

On 2010-07-28 00:14, pdrake wrote:
plenty of good stuff that's quite affordable and made for parties from artists here. why buy big box store stuff when you can support a true lover of tiki art. people that make these things care about it more than anything.

check around, you'd be surprised how affordable it is.

I would LOVE to have some nice original tikis for my yard. I'm not worried about theft, but do have quite a problem with weather. Temps range from the teens to the one hundred teens. Periods of heavy rain and flooding mixed with drought, oh and throw in a little high wind and bugs. What can stand up to that? That is one of my dilemmas. The other being cost, when you factor in shipping to Texas. Is anyone making weather-proof tikis that won't cost a fortune to ship like concrete would?

I'm wondering what the price was originally on the big lots Pele? Does any one remember?

I believe the original price at Big Lots for Pele back in 2006 was $29.99. I recently found one for $50 on Craigslist and bought one. She's very cool and large in person, over 30" tall.

On 2013-07-20 13:34, jimsflies wrote:
I'm wondering what the price was originally on the big lots Pele? Does any one remember?

Yes $30, mine still has the tag on the bottom.

Anyone got an extra they'd be interested in selling?