In 2002, the artist Gecko was so excited about having recently joined the Tiki Central community that he offered to create a limited edition Tangaroa wall panel for anyone at Tiki Central who wanted one. It was offered at a very generous price for such a large panel: only $60. It would become the first of many limited edition artworks from Gecko (back then, a limited edition of 50 items of anything would sell out in weeks, not minutes), and it generated not only a flurry of interest, but also some very good aloha feelings.

I will put your usernames on them to make them special. So when we grow old and gray or gone [through] the Tikigates of heaven our next [Tikiphiles] will be collecting our wall panels and saying “WOW! Do you see that old TC edition wall panel of Kokomo Tikibar&Grill on ebay”!

- Gecko, Sept. 2002, Tiki Central

Gecko had been carving for several years when he joined Tiki Central, and shortly after making these wall panels he was able to focus on art full-time with Gecko’z South Sea Art. In addition to carving, he now creates beautiful tiki mugs and other ceramic pieces.

I loved my Gecko tiki (#18 of 50), and gave it center stage in my home tiki bar at the time, the Humuhumu Room (the source of my name). When I moved away from Seattle in 2003, I was worried about how it would fare in the storage container, and there wasn’t room for it in my Miata. My dear friend Mimi has held onto it for me all this time. Now that I have room for another home tiki bar, it has returned to me, Modesty Tapa and all!

• new items on ebay [the gecko TC limited edition thread] [Tiki Central]
• Gecko’z South Sea Arts
• The Humuhumu Room [Critiki]

Seattle-based artist Dawn Frasier, a.k.a. Sophista-tiki, has designed some lush Polynesian-inspired fabrics, available for purchase through Spoonflower. There are currently seven designs available, and more designs are under consideration for the future. Her style reminds me of the beautiful watercolor backgrounds created for Lilo & Stitch.

Spoonflower provides the fabrics in a number of different Lose Weight Exercises and sizes, and sample swatches can be had for $5.

• fabric by sophista-tiki [Spoonflower]
• Sophista-tiki fabrics now available [Tiki Central]

I last mentioned Velvet Glass on Humu Kon Tiki in 2006, when they first started selling their stunning mosaics online. In the intervening four years, their pieces have only gotten better and more inventive; there are some particularly clever pieces that incorporate actual tiki mugs. A trip through the Velvet Glass website is a swell way to spend a Monday afternoon.

In addition to their famous mosaics, they are also creating smaller-scaled pieces like pendants and belt buckles, putting their work within most everyone’s reach. Their pendant version of the Kahiki fireplace logo is sure to be a big hit.

The folks behind Velvet Glass, Mark Bloom and Maggie Rickard, recently spearheaded the Relight the Night event celebrating the return of gas-lit tiki torches at their hometown tiki bar, the Kon Tiki Lounge in Tucson. In addition to being artists of astounding skill, they are also completely awesome people.

Mark and Maggie are vending at this year’s Tiki Oasis; unless you’re a sad stay-at-home tikiphile like me, seek them out and get your own piece of tiki glass!

• Velvet Glass
• Tiki Mosaics by Velvet Glass [Humu Kon Tiki]
• Relight the Night [Kon Tiki Tucson]

Kevin Kidney is the A#1 lover of all things Hawaiian Eye, the 1959-63 Warner Bros. TV show… he’s also, in my opinion, the A#1 Polynesian Pop artist. No one does Polynesian Pop in true keeping with the midcentury style of the art form like Kevin does.

So this is a natural: a tiki mug, sculpted by Kevin (he paints! he draws! he sculpts! he’s unstoppable!), based on the Hawaiian Eye tiki. Kevin says this is a project in the works, with a squishy estimate of it becoming real in early 2009. It’ll have a bisque finish, and a lid with a straw hole.

Sing it with me now… HAWAIIAN EEEEEEEYE – AH!

• Hawaiian Eye Tiki Mug by Kevin Kidney [Flickr]
• Hawaiian Eye [Wikipedia]
• HAWAIIAN EYE tv show opening [YouTube]

Tiki bar construction is a bit weird — it’s an effort to intentionally create something that looks a little haphazard, a little goofy, and frankly… a little ugly. Now of course, I find it beautiful — and you probably do, too — but you have to admit, it’s not likely to wind up in the pages of House Beautiful.

I just got a really nice email from a professional woodworker who normally specializes in a much more conventionally refined style, and was asked to create one of these delightful little monsters for the first time:

My name is Wes Bailey, and I am a furniture maker in Atlanta, GA. A few months back, a client came to me and requested that I design and build a Tiki Bar for his basemant renovation. I must confess that, at the time, I was woefully unaware of the well-established sub culture of the Tikiphile. So I did some internet research and came across your terrific site, which helped give me the requisite inspiration to deliver the goods! It turned out great, the customer loved it and hasn’t been sober since, so I view that as a real success.

I have to admit, it makes me warm & squishy. I get lots & lots of really wonderful emails along the lines of this one, and they always make my day… but this one is a favorite because, well, I just really like the bar he built. A lot of credit goes to the owner, who has done a great job decorating the room. But the bar itself is really nice, especially for a right-out-of-the-gate effort. Tikis: check. Not too clean in the design, but still with a sense of balance: check. Organic feel: check. I especially like the detour from the standard thatch roof: wood slats that look like they’ve been through a hell of a storm, and loved it. It floats my outrigger.

• Wes Bailey, Fine Craftsman

Susannah Mosher, a.k.a. Atomikitty, has started a coconut monkey refuge:

Captured and brought to the states as souvenirs of exotic tropical vacations, or with servicemen after their tours of duty in the pacific, these coconut monkeys took up residence in american homes and became an icon of the tiki and cocktail culture of the 50′s and 60′s.

As rumpus rooms and home tiki bars fell out of fashion, so too did the coconut monkey. For decades they have been discarded by their owners, stranded on garage sale and flea market blankets, and forgotten in dusty attics as their coconut husks fray.

Over the past 10 years I have made it my personal mission to seek out these weary travelers and to open my home as a sanctuary for them. Here they are restored to a place of honor among the bamboo, tiki mugs, and exotic rum bottles to be enjoyed and appreciated by all.

Portrait and subject

A saintly effort, and worthy of support. How can you help the Coconut Monkey Project? You can buy Atomikitty’s fabulous coconut monkey portraits — each print that is purchased can support up to five coconut monkeys for a year! You can also commision your own coconut monkey portrait, for that special coconut monkey in your life.

Of course, if you know of a coconut monkey in need of a home, you can send it to Atomikitty’s refuge, and rest well in the knowledge that it is leading a better life. If you have any doubts about Atomikitty’s sincerity, and her ability to provide a good tiki environment for these monkeys, know this: aside from being a stellar artist, she is a spiffy tiki bartender, and has served time behind the bar at both the Lucky Tiki and now the Tonga Hut in Los Angeles.

If you’d like to purchase one of Atomikitty’s truly lovely varnished and bamboo-framed coconut monkey prints, they’re available for sale at Yessy.com. If you’d like to keep up with the latest goings-on with the Coconut Monkey Project, check out the official MySpace and blog.

• The Coconut Monkey Project Portait Gallery [Yessy.com]
• The Coconut Monkey Project [MySpace]
• The Coconut Monkey Project Blog

I lovelovelove this new mug from Munktiki. It’s called Pokop Kambang; only Munktiki can say for sure, but it looks to me like they were heavily influenced by Papua New Guinea designs, which is probably a big part of why I am so enamored of it. They’re creating 100 of these in the color shown, which go for $50, to be followed by a very limited run of 25 more in a yet-to-be-announced glaze. WANT.

• Newest stuff [Munktiki]
• Pokop Kambang [Ooga-Mooga]

On Saturday, April 14, Judd’s Hill winery in Napa will be holding their First Annual Judd’s Hill Musical Bonanza. The lineup is pretty impressive: APE (quite possibly my favorite tiki band), King Kukulele, and the Maikai Gents featuring the Mysterious Miss Mauna Loa (that’s the Judd’s Hill house band, of sorts, with Judd himself on vocals). If that isn’t enough, there’s food — barbecue prepared by National Champion Barbecuer Pat Burke. And of course, there will be wine — the debut of Judd’s Hill’s 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel. Yum!

The event is a benefit for Arts Council Napa Valley, a non-profit organization that supports arts education and development. Ticket price is $70 for Judd’s Hill Wine Club members (join the Wine Club at the Judd’s Hill website), or $85 for non-members. To make a reservation, talk to Pat at Judd’s Hill: (707) 255-2332.

It’s happening at Judd’s Hill’s new winery; they moved last year from St. Helene into a beautiful new winery, and we got to see it a few months ago. It’s so beautiful — they’ve got a few tikis onsite, too. It’s a great event in a great setting, and we’re hoping to be there ourselves.

Judd’s Hill Musical Bonanza
Noon – 4pm
2332 Silverado Trail
Napa, CA

• Judd’s Hill
• Musical Bonanza! April 14, Napa Valley: APE, King Kukulele, Maikai Gents, Wine & BBQ [Tiki Central]

Tiki Farm‘s annual parking lot sale is coming up this weekend, on Saturday, April 14, from 9am-3pm. It all goes down in the parking lot at Tiki Farm’s HQ in San Clemente, and it’s a great way to see where the magic happens, and also take home some great tiki mug deals. In addition to special Tiki Farm deals, there will be a couple dozen tiki-centric vendors, including Bamboo Ben, Crazy Al, Velvet Glass, BarTiki, Ken Ruzic, Chongolio, Tiki Magazine, Monkeyman and Doug Horne. Many of the vendors have posted examples of what they’ll be bringing on Tiki Central, and it’s a pretty impressive lineup of goods. The event also includes a free concert by the Glasgow Tiki Shakers. Be sure to get there early and get the best deals!

Saturday, April 14, 9am-3pm
Free admission
1305 Calle Avanzado
San Clemente
Call (949) 940-1006 for more info

• Tiki Farm’s Parking Lot Sale this Saturday – HUGE!!! [Tiki Central]
• Tiki Farm

Fountain, tikis and tiki birds
in a corner of the Kona Luanii

I’ve mentioned ZuluMagoo’s Denver home tiki bar in passing, when pointing out his amazingly spot-on Enchanted Tiki Room birds. It’s turning out so well, the whole room deserves to be showcased. It’s still just under development, and all the photos so far have the dreaded ambience-killing flash, but it’s already awe-inspiring. I cannot wait to see pictures of this bar once it’s completed and he can take some beauty shots.

The attention to detail, combined with a fab sense of design and a great use of different textures, makes the Kona Luanii stand out already. The scale of the items being used is just right — not too big, not too small; I can almost hear the gasps of surprise people will be uttering when they enter this space for the first time. The bar is themed in a nautical-meets-tiki style, and has a whole backstory… this is the shipwreck of the Kona Luanii, which sailed around the world, bearing tiki cargo to great Poly Pop restaurants everywhere. The room looks darned-near seaworthy. It’s chockablock with riggings, pulleys, masts, lanterns, lots of rope, and of course a beautiful figurehead. The tiki elements are well done, too, and are very inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland.

Be sure to look through the Tiki Central thread for the Kona Luanii, where ZuluMagoo is posting his progress pictures, including some step-by-step work.

Barrels of rum, coconut milk and pineapple juice

• The Kona Luanii, Denver, CO (home-bar) [Tiki Central]
• Homemade Enchanted Tiki Room Birds [Humu Kon Tiki]
• The Kona Luanii, Denver [Critiki]