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News Article
Say Aloha to a resurgence in all things tiki
By William Flood

HUDSON, Ohio — There is a growing interest in tiki pop. It’s showing up in new restaurants and watering holes, home tiki bars, and tiki events like the TU Tiki Flea in northeast Ohio. The modern tiki rage is connected to the popularity of mid-century modern and has collectors clamoring for everything from vintage tiki mugs to carved statues.

Tiki culture originated in California during the 1930s with the opening of Don the Beachcomber in Los Angeles and Trader Vic’s in Oakland. These establishments introduced iconic drinks like the Mai Tai along with buildings festooned in South Seas fantasy like fishnets, puffer fish lamps, and bamboo furniture. Tiki’s popularity grew after World War II when American GI’s once stationed in the South Pacific tried to recreate an idealized sense of the tropics in their workaday lives. Interest in tiki magnified with Hawaii’s statehood in 1959. Soon, Polynesian Popular style showed up in residences, restaurants, bowling alleys, and motels. Everything from home decor to entire buildings were game for a Polynesian theme. It was a strange juxtaposition to the clean modern lines of atomic age design, but it just seemed to work.

The love affair with tiki started waning in the 1960s as the hippie generation began rejecting the values and tastes of its parents. What was once stylish became viewed as tacky. By the mid-1970s, once-popular tiki bars began closing in droves.

Tiki got rediscovered in the late 1990s; enthusiasts, mainly from tiki’s epicenter of Southern California, started hunting down tiki items languishing in local thrift shops and yard sales. They started to preserve the iconic decor, welding it with nautical, rat rod, surf culture, and a healthy dose of mixology. Soon, the revival spawned the opening of new tiki establishments further fueling the revival.

Hudson, Ohio, about as far removed from Polynesia as one can get, is home to Tiki Underground, and the TU Tiki Flea, held this year on June 2. Over a dozen vendors participated in the Flea, split about evenly among purveyors of mid-century merchandise, strictly tiki items, and tiki-revival artisans offering everything from 2-D art to modern tiki carvings.

Tiki mugs are a siren call at shows like this, and Nate Howe’s booth obliged with scores of mugs ranging from vintage to modern. The hobbyist-turned-vendor has been collecting tiki mugs for years, then started thinning his herd about 8 years ago. He’s participated at both TU Tiki Fleas and other tiki revival events. Mugs were priced as low as $8 for common Orchids of Hawaii pieces while rare items from long-lost restaurants ran as high as $400.

Catching everyone’s eye was the collection of Witco offered by Donna Jackman. Witco furniture and decor, known as “brutalist” style, features dark heavy wood, chainsaw cut to provide its signature texture. It was popular in lounges and home bars in the very early 1970s. Jackman was selling from her personal collection, offering some amazing pieces - a witch doctor magazine rack for $500, a hippo bar stool for $500 and a set of cats priced from $50-$150.

Jessica Manko from Cleveland was a vendor with a mission, supporting a local animal welfare organization with sale proceeds. Her booth was stocked with mid-century bargains like a1960s era modernist lamp for a mere $10 and a spherical copper ashtray, also $10.

Regan and Peggy Smith, aka Wahini Wares, offered a cross-section of mid-century merchandise. A 1950s panther TV lamp was priced at $25. Spotlighted was a Frankie’s Tiki Room mug for $60 surrounded by five Trader Vics “big shots” priced at $35 each. Out in front, a rack of vintage aloha shirts ranged from $20-$35.

Nearby, Marie Stutz from Fairview, Ohio, has been selling for about a year through a local consignment shop and at shows like the Flea. A prize in her booth: a brass front door handle from the former Sheraton Kon Tiki in Cleveland for $2,300. Other stunning items included a mounted Pan Am Airlines poster for Hawaii for $150 and a Heywood Wakefield Polynesian coffee table bargain-priced at $60.

Elsewhere at the show, a bamboo corner table was quickly purchased for $20; a complimenting Polynesian tray was snagged for $8. A set of Belart wall pieces was priced at $100. A complete and working 1950s aqua blue GE stand mixer was $100 while a vintage bowling bank was a modest $14.

In addition to the merchants, the free event supplied live music and entertainment. Food and authentic tiki bar cocktails were available. Later that evening, a paid luau with traditional Polynesian dancing was available.

Tiki Underground is proud of the success of these events and has plans to offer them biannually. For more information contact: tikiunderground.com

6/29/2018
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