A Moment of Tiki (Episode 81 - Installing Disney Polynesian Village Wall Sconces)

This month's episode of A Moment of Tiki is now live on the YouTubes! I take a look at black velvet art--a popular tiki decor element everywhere--and discuss Edgar Leeteg and Ralph Burke Tyree, the most influential practitioners of the 20th century.

Episode 71 may be viewed at this link.

[ Edited by Prikli Pear on 2024-09-02 08:07:36 ]

Cool, this is perfect timing. I spotted these beauties just yesterday in The Colony at the "Limin' Lounge." Any idea who this artist is, based on the signature?

Good question, Solomon! I do not know. Those all look to me like more modern paintings. Jason (Boozy Doodler) is the only black velvet artist I know personally, although there are several scattered around the country. I'm going to poke around a bit and see if I can figure this one out.

Episode 72 of A Moment of Tiki is now live on the YouTubes. This time out I visit Pineapple Parlor and I have to say that Galveston finally has a legit tiki experience! Highly recommended!

Episode 72 of A Moment of Tiki may be viewed at this link.

Episode 73 of A Moment of Tiki may now be found on the YouTubes! This time out artist Tony Canepa drops by the Lagoon of Mystery to discuss the creative process that goes into designing original mugs, glassware, menus, swizzle sticks and other accoutrements for such tiki bars as Hidden Harbor, Inside Passage and Tiki Tatsu-Ya.

Episode 73 of A Moment of Tiki may be viewed at this link.

Trader Mort's Liquor, located in San Diego, boasts a distinctive tiki mascot carved by the late, great Eli Hedley. In my never-ending quest to increase the tiki population in the Lagoon of Mystery, I've decided to try my hand at recreating this unique character. It's an instantly-recognizable tiki design that offers technical challenges I've never attempted before--which is what I'm looking for in order to improve my carving skills. So come along and watch as I power carve my way through this latest project.

But wait! That's not all--it's Mele Kalikimaka season, friends! As I've done in the past, I have carved three hand-crafted holiday ornaments to give away! That means three chances for you to win one. I'll be giving away on YouTube, another on Instagram and a third on Facebook (links below). Good luck, and happy holidays!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDFTISER4dX/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1432537603612183

Episode 73 of A Moment of Tiki may be viewed at this link.

[ Edited by Prikli Pear on 2024-12-02 15:00:43 ]

This time out I do a deep dive into Sven Kirsten's Tiki Pop, an absolutely insane bargain of a book. If you don't already have this in your library hurry up and grab it before it goes out of print and costs $200 on the used market!

Episode 75 of A Moment of Tiki may be viewed at this link.

I've been excited to do this episode for two years, and now I can finally share it! Uncharted is one of the newest and most immersive tiki bars in the U.S. Hand-built by Jason Straughan, aka the Boozy Doodler, it is a throwback to classic tiki spaces of the past. Let me know if you think it deserves to be included in the "League of Extraordinary Tiki Bars."

Episode 76 of A Moment of Tiki may now be found on the YouTubes here.

Episode 77 of A Moment of Tiki may now be found on the YouTubes. This is probably my single biggest undertaking thus far--installing a tiki bar ceiling. While there are many different approaches and styles for tiki ceilings, I opted for the popular combination of reed fencing and bamboo. Tackling such a build can be daunting, but it turned out to be fairly straightforward for me.

Installing a Tiki Bar Ceiling may be viewed at this link.

Have you ever wondered how to hang a Chinese jade breezeway tile in your tiki space? Well, have I got a show for you! I've partnered with Stroud's Specifics for a whiz-bang tiki tile hanging demonstration. A Moment of Tiki episode 78 may now be found on YouTube--link in comments!

Hanging Jade Tiles may be viewed at this link.

The latest episode of A Moment of Tiki is now live on the YouTubes! This month I sit down with Jen and Marty of SWIZZLE, Dallas' premiere tiki lounge. We talk about menu theory, bar design choices and DALLAS TIKI WEEK. This is a fun one, folks!

Swizzle Dallas Tiki Bar may be viewed at this link.

[ Edited by Prikli Pear on 2025-05-31 20:21:51 ]

Spring is the time when all tikiphiles turn their thoughts to tropical landscaping to enhance the immersive tiki experience! Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in the warm climates of Southern California or Florida, but there are plenty of cold-tolerant landscape options for the rest of us!

Episode 80 of A Moment of Tiki may be watched at this link.

Really great! We've been digging up the yard and looking for ideas, perfect timing for me.

I hope you're able to come away with some useful ideas--I started this one a while back, then set it aside when I realized it needed to run in the spring when people were actually planting stuff! I got into the more cold-hardy tropical stand-ins once the frustration of dealing with delicate tropical hibiscus got the better of me. I realized there were hibiscus that were a whole lot tougher. Easy call! And I've always been crazy for passiflora--at one point (in my pre-tiki days) I was growing more than a dozen different types.

The passion flowers are great, and the hibiscus. I need to figure out which ones are edible so I can harvest them for drink garnishes without poisoning my guests.

Oh! I can help you with that! All hibiscus are edible--flowers as well as the leaves. Okra is actually a close relative of hibiscus--look at the flowers and you'll see it.

As for passiflora, every part of the plant is toxic! The vines have a natural cyanide compound in them to discourage herbivores. Certain butterfly species have developed a tolerance to that and their caterpillars feed exclusively on the plants, absorbing that toxicity as a defense against predators. The fruit is absolutely fine to eat just as soon as it fully ripens. I know some people make a tea from the leaves of the vine, but dry them first so the toxic compounds break down. But don't use passion flowers as a garnish (they don't last very long before wilting, anyway).

Re: Episode 48 Glass Float. I know a while ago. Short story found two smaller vintage floats sans rope at flea market and finally got around to adding nets. First smaller floats need less rope. While this may seem well duh, there are no rules anywhere of length required. 5 1/2" float requires about 13 Yds / M.
Next all jute rope is not created equal. Do NOT get "decorative" rope. It will start to unwind like yarn and start curling like those old long telephone cables. Get real nautical rope. That being said, it got done, so thanks for the video and of course, all your videos.

mk

Heh, yeah, the rope length thing is tricky. Honestly, what I do is use the full length of the coil and cut it off when I have enough. Admittedly, that adds a lot of time pulling it all through every knot. Ugh! I use sisal for almost all my netting ties. It's relatively inexpensive. Quarter inch is the best all-around size. I used thicker manila rope for some larger floats going outside. The manila is more durable than sisal but if I had to do it over again I'd use quarter inch manila rather than half inch. The thicker rope is MUCH harder to get tight knots with, and looser knots means sag. I've had to take down my big floats several times to tighten them as they've slowly drooped down over the months.

In Episode 81 of A Moment of Tiki, I add a big of Disney World's Polynesian Village Resort to my home tiki space! Every so often the Mouse does a complete refurbishment of the hotel and the replaced fixtures are sold as surplus. I snagged myself a pair of light sconces and this video shows how I incorporated them into my tiki build.

Episode 81 may be viewed at this link.