Tiki Trivia

I’ve gotten messages from Myra, Merrilee, and Diana in Maui to tell me that the spelling is PuPu, not PoPo. It helps in research to spell things correctly, so I after spelling it PuPu, I did learn something new about the Tiki craze. Apparently it was started in California by a guy who changed his name to Don the Beachcomber, to match the name of his restaurants that were popular in the 1940’s and 50’s. But then here's another story...

As I read about Tiki’s origins, I realized that the common attraction then and now is, people are looking for a fantasy escape. Moving back to the warehouse has not been so easy, especially working by torchlight (heh, just kidding.) But at the same time, it’s reinvigorated my interest in the Tiki Lounge that we built in our studio several years ago. We built it after an inspiring trip to a San Francisco swing club that had a cool Polynesian bar, the kind of place that serves drinks in coconuts with little umbrellas.

When we returned home, we put together our own version of a Tiki bar / Art Lounge in a side room of the warehouse. Russ topped the bar with metal, I covered the sides and roof with bamboo from our garden, and the stools came from Target.

Oh look, we even got Austin Powers to tend bar. It was a great place to hang out, play pool and host Halloween parties. But then we got busy, and the dust accumulated, and the Tiki Lounge fell into shadows.

But now, moving back here and looking at all this stuff everyday has revived my optimism for the strange fantasy world of island life, mysterious objects, and far away places. I’ve decided to embrace the decor, and actually enhance it! As a matter of fact, when all this renovation is over, I might just move the Tiki decor up front for a more prominent place.

So far, I’ve newly acquired a fake banana tree, a retro Metal Art Desk, Hawaiian music box, coconut cleaver and assorted funky lamps. I dug the Hawaiian Hula girl and bowling trophies (my grandmother’s) out of boxes, and dusted off rocks, baskets, and Asian masks. It’s been fun! Okay, but I wouldn't go this far. For the more adventurous DIYers, here's how to make a Tiki fireplace using foam. It's even got eyes that glow.

Totally Tiki

I’ve been collecting lots of Tiki memorabilia for the Tiki office. Here’s a monkey with wire glasses. He's made out of coconuts, and has a slash on his stomach because he’s also a bank. Next to him is a girl with pigtails made out of some kind of nut. She’s also hollow and her hat lifts up -- so I think she’s meant to be a little purse.



The most fun thing so far has been filling up this Hawaiian serving tray with office supplies. It has a cute carved pineapple on the top and individual trays spin around. I thought this was called a popo platter, but can’t seem to find out for sure. Help Myra -- what’s it’ really called?